Uncertainty still surrounds first presidential debate
WASHINGTON -- Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama took a detour off the campaign trail to visit the house both hope to occupy next year, wading into contentious talks over the government's proposed bailout of Wall Street and leaving their first debate up in the air.
At a White House meeting Thursday with congressional leaders of both parties and President Bush, the two senators provided a bipartisan show of support for moving ahead quickly with a plan to settle the nation's shaky credit markets. They differed sharply, however, on the wisdom and effectiveness of their intervention.
Both expressed a desire to attend Friday night's scheduled debate at the University of Mississippi-Oxford, but McCain remains uncertain.
"I believe that it's very possible that we can get an agreement … in time for me to fly to Mississippi," McCain said on ABC News. The Arizona Republican put in motion the chain of events that led to the day's unusual White House meeting when he announced Wednesday he was suspending his campaign to return to Washington to join the bailout talks. He has said he will not debate unless a deal is struck.
After a hastily organized trip to the nation's capital, Obama made a last-minute decision to remain in Washington overnight, stranding staff and most of his traveling press corps in Clearwater, Fla., where he had been preparing for the debate.
He told reporters here that he still plans to attend the faceoff. "The most important thing John McCain and I can do (Friday) is to go to Mississippi," he said. He questioned the value of his and McCain's presence at the negotiating table. "I'm not clear that in a very difficult situation like that, doing things in the spotlight is necessarily useful," he said.
Both candidates maximized the moment, however, conducting TV interviews to end a day that saw each make a rare appearance on Capitol Hill. McCain, who arrived in town first after speaking at former president Bill Clinton's Global Initiative in New York City, huddled with House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and supporters before heading to the White House.
Obama, who flew into town at midday Thursday, stopped at his Senate office before making the short trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Meanwhile, the University of Mississippi-Oxford and the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates continued to prepare for the presidential campaign's first debate — even if only Obama was fully prepared to be there.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, indicated at a news conference Thursday that he expects both candidates to be on the Ole Miss campus.
"We are having a debate," Pete Smith, a spokesman for Barbour, told USA TODAY.
Scott Warner, a spokesman for the debate commission, said moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS tested the sound system and checked out the stage Thursday afternoon — followed by representatives of both campaigns.
Steffen Schmidt, a professor of political science at Iowa State University, predicted McCain will appear to keep Obama from having the stage to himself. Recent national polls have shown McCain losing ground. "It's either going to be a one-person debate or a two-person debate," Schmidt said. "McCain can't afford to skip the debate."
Even so, the deal that McCain has said he wants before leaving town remained elusive. Hours after a tentative "agreement in principle" had been announced by Sens. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Robert Bennett, R-Utah, Boehner cautioned that members of his Republican caucus weren't on board with the deal.
Obama told reporters after the White House meeting that "the president and secretary of the Treasury still have work to do with House Republicans."
The continuing impasse puts McCain in an awkward position, said Alan Schroeder, author of Presidential Debates: Fifty years of High Risk TV. He said McCain will need a good reason to reverse his course and attend the debate.
"He's the one who said, 'Let's postpone the debate,' " said Schroeder, a journalism professor at Boston's Northeastern University. "If the debate goes forward, then it looks like McCain has lost."
The campaigns also sparred over whether McCain had really suspended politicking while talks are underway on the bailout deal. McCain campaign aides such as Nancy Pfotenhauer and Tucker Bounds did cable television interviews, while vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin toured Ground Zero in New York City.
"The only thing McCain really wants suspended is the American people's disbelief," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said. "In fact, he's been in full campaign mode the entire time."
Despite their squabbles, both candidates agreed on the urgent need to inject money and confidence into the financial markets. "I am confident we'll reach an agreement — we have to," McCain said on ABC News.
Failure to reach a deal could cost "people's jobs, homes, small businesses, the ability of people to make payroll," Obama said. "This is an extraordinarily serious moment in our country's history."