Top Items:
CNN:
McCain camp to propose postponing VP debate — (CNN) — McCain supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham tells CNN the McCain campaign is proposing to the Presidential Debate Commission and the Obama camp that if there's no bailout deal by Friday, the first presidential debate should take the place of the VP debate …
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Jennifer Parker / Political Radar:
McCain: Scrap Friday Debate for Bailout; Obama: The Debate is On — ABC News' George Stephanopoulos and Rick Klein report: Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Wednesday said he would “suspend” his presidential campaign to come to Washington to help negotiate a financial bailout bill …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
McCain's gambit — McCain suspends his campaign, and asks to postpone Friday's debate, to address the financial crisis. — Both candidates have been marginal players; McCain, though, seems to have the potential to make himself a major one, and his move is a mark, most of all, that he doesn't like the way this campaign is going.
New York Times:
Obama Rebuffs McCain on Debate Delay — Senator John McCain on Wednesday injected another surprise into his presidential campaign, announcing that he would suspend campaigning on Thursday and seek a delay in this week's planned debate so that he could return to Washington to try to forge a consensus on a financial bailout package.
Tahman Bradley / Political Punch:
Bush Invites Obama to DC to Work on Bailout Bill; Obama Accepts — ABC News has learned that President Bush called Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., this evening and invited him to participate in a meeting about the Wall Street bailout bill tomorrow afternoon in Washington, D.C. …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Gateway Pundit, TalkLeft, The Corner, Political Machine, The Other McCain and TIME.com
Joe Klein / Swampland:
Gimmicks ‘R’ Us — McCain suspends his campaign because of financial crisis? Oh please. Given today's poll numbers—even Fox has him dropping—it seems another Hail Mary (like the feckless selection of Palin) to try make McCain seem a statesman, which is difficult given the puerile tenor of his campaign's message operation.
Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Behind McCain's Decision to Suspend His Campaign
Behind McCain's Decision to Suspend His Campaign
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, Hullabaloo, The Caucus, Salon, AMERICAblog News, Martini Revolution, BAGnewsNotes and Democratic Strategist
Tahman Bradley / Political Radar:
Ole Miss Official Says Debate Cancellation Would be ‘Devastating’
Ole Miss Official Says Debate Cancellation Would be ‘Devastating’
Discussion:
Open Left
Fox News:
McCain Suspends Campaign to Help With Bailout
McCain Suspends Campaign to Help With Bailout
Discussion:
Associated Press, MSNBC, Ben Smith's Blogs, Wall Street Journal, Michelle Malkin, The Politico, The Impolitic and You Decide 2008
Christopher Hass / Barack Obama and Joe Biden:
Joint Statement of Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain
Joint Statement of Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain
CNN:
McCain suspends campaign, Obama says he's continuing
McCain suspends campaign, Obama says he's continuing
Discussion:
politickerco.com, The New Republic, the talking dog, Kevin Drum, Althouse and Balloon Juice
Drudge Report:
EXCLUSIVE: LETTERMAN MOCKS MCCAIN CANCELLATION — David Letterman tells audience that McCain called him today to tell him he had to rush back to DC to deal with the economy. — Then in the middle of the taping Dave got word that McCain was, in fact just down the street being interviewed by Katie Couric.
Discussion:
The Caucus, James Fallows, Comments from Left Field, The Live Feed, First Draft, Lawyers, Guns and Money and Liberal Values
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Jane Hamsher / Campaign Silo:
LEAKED VIDEO: McCain Blows Off Letterman For Katie Couric
LEAKED VIDEO: McCain Blows Off Letterman For Katie Couric
Discussion:
Think Progress
Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
It's a good thing McCain's move is dominating the news — Sarah Palin's interview with Katie Couric, the first portion of which airs tonight, won't give Republicans any reassurance that she's ready for prime time. — It will, however, reassure McCain aides that they're ollowing the right course of action by keeping her shielded.
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Forbes:
Bad News For The Bailout — Lawmakers on Capitol Hill seem determined to work together to pass a bill that will get the credit markets churning again. But will they do it this week, as some had hoped just a few days ago? Don't count on it. — “Do I expect to pass something this week?”
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
RELATED:
J. Taylor Rushing / The Hill:
Paulson, Senate Dems reach tentative bailout deal — Senate Democrats emerged from a meeting Wednesday with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to report a general, conceptual — but fragile — agreement on a $700 billion plan to rescue the U.S. financial markets.
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National Enquirer:
SARAH PALIN LOVER REVEALED! — In a world exclusive The NATIONAL ENQUIRER names GOP VP Candidate Sarah Palin's secret lover! — No less than three members of the man's family including one by sworn affidavit have claimed that Sarah Palin engaged in an extramarital affair with husband Todd's former business partner, Brad Hanson.
Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:
McCain's Aides Give the Tick Tock — NEW YORK — McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt said the GOP presidential nominee had begun to take his television ads down unilaterally and said the Arizona senator is hoping that Sen. Barack Obama will do the same. — “Senator McCain made a decision today …
Discussion:
BAGnewsNotes
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
A non-emergency meeting — The McCain campaign's new urgency about the financial crisis didn't entirely clear his schedule this morning. — My colleague Amie Parnes reports that he made it to his scheduled morning meeting with Lady Lynn de Rothschild, a Clinton backer who recently came out in support of him.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Matthew Yglesias, The Daily Dish, Spin Cycle and Oliver Willis
Kathryn Jean Lopez / The Corner:
The Debate Debate — Obama is on TV right now. — Some of this is a lot of nonsense, but if I'm just getting home from work and I only pay casual attention to these debates, Obama sounds reasonable and less gimmicky than McCain. — He says that there is no reason why we can't do more than one thing at once.
RELATED:
Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
Palin gets question, looks to McCain, demurs — This is what happens when campaigns let reporters into photo ops. They get all uppity and ask questions. — From the pool report account of what happened after McCain and Palin's meeting with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvilli and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko:
Salon:
I ghost-wrote letters to the editor for the McCain campaign — I spent a morning in John McCain's Virginia campaign headquarters ghost-writing letters to the editor for McCain supporters to sign. I even pretended to have a son in Iraq. … By Margriet Oostveen
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com
Martina Stewart / CNN:
Florida congressman points to Palin to rally Jews to Obama — (CNN) - Rep. Alcee Hastings told an audience of Jewish Democrats Wednesday that they should be wary of Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin because “anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks.”
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Johnson to lead Obama briefing — Former Fannie Mae chairman Jim Johnson was dumped from Obama's vice presidential search team, but he's still playing a behind-the-scenes role on the campaign. — Former Senator Tom Daschle, a top Obama backer, emailed a select list this afternoon …