A White House meeting including both presidential candidates yesterday failed to craft a deal on the financial bailout package. Precluding a deal is apparent lack of GOP support for the rescue package. The New York Times reports that "by 10:30 p.m., after another round of talks, Congressional negotiators gave up for the night and said they would try again on Friday. Left uncertain was the fate of the bailout, which the White House says is urgently needed to fix broken financial and credit markets." The Politico recounts that "when Democrats left after the meeting to caucus in the Roosevelt Room," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson "pursued them, begging that they not 'blow up' the legislation." Paulson "even went down on one knee as if genuflecting, to which Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) is said to have joked, 'I didn't know you were Catholic.'"
The Los Angeles Times refers to "a roller-coaster day of hopes raised and hopes dashed," and adds that "what remained unclear was whether today's impasse marked the beginning of the end for the rescue effort, or merely a tumultuous interlude on the way to action that many in Congress consider unpalatable but unavoidable." The Times notes that "at mid-day" Thursday, "key congressional negotiators announced agreement on the outlines of a compromise," but "House Republican leaders quickly declared that no deal had been struck." Later, AFP reports, "backed by Richard Shelby, the top Republican on Dodd's Senate committee," Sen. John McCain "said 'there never was a deal' given the hostility of many congressional Republicans to the government's planned intrusion into private enterprise."
On ABC World News, George Stephanopoulos described the White House meeting as "chaos, pandemonium, theater. ... It was very heated." ABC World News also reported "any hopes for a bipartisan agreement on the President's bill" are "for now, in shatters." USA Today reports the story under the headline "Bailout Negotiations Break Down Into Bipartisan Bickering." The Washington Times, Los Angeles Times and Financial Times run similar reports on the talks.
The Wall Street Journal reports Democrats "could decide to go ahead with their plan without Republican support," as GOP "leadership aides said as few as 30 to 40 of the 199 House Republicans could end up supporting the Bush package." On MSNBC's Hardball, NBC correspondent Mike Viqueira also said Democrats "have to go it on their own" if they want "to pass this out of the House of Representatives. That is not good news." The Financial Times blames the low GOP backing for the plan on "the decaying authority of the Bush administration."
Democrats Blame McCain Democrats and some commentators are blaming McCain for the failure of the talks. The AP recounts House GOP leader John Boehner "expressed misgivings about the emerging plan and McCain would not commit to supporting it." Moreover, says McClatchy, Boehner "offered an alternative plan." Democrats "think that Republicans were backing away from a compromise many of them agreed to earlier Thursday -- without McCain's involvement -- in order to give McCain time to play a role and perhaps appear as a rescuer."
The Politico notes Rep. Barney Frank "accused House Republicans -- with the tacit support of...McCain -- of crafting an alternative to undercut Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson." The New York Times reports Sen. Chris Dodd, "looking tired and annoyed, complained that the late complications were making the episode sound more like 'a rescue plan for John McCain.'"
On ABC World News, George Stephanopoulos said "some Democrats suspect that" McCain is "coming in, working with the House Republicans to blow this up so he can put it back together, and get some credit." AFP says "top Democrats angrily accused" McCain "of sabotaging" the deal. But The Hill looks at the day's saga from the opposite perspective, reporting that the earlier deal came about because "with fears rising that McCain would swoop in and claim credit for a deal he had nothing to do with, Democrats appeared to drop their fear of taking ownership of the plan and aggressively promoted the deal, as tentative as it was." The Wall Street Journal also reports that "whether or not...McCain played a role in the apparent breakdown of talks couldn't be immediately determined."
The Wall Street Journal reports "McCain, who tied his political fortunes closely to the talks, may have the most to lose if they ultimately collapse." The Washington Post notes that in an interview on CNN, Obama "said that 'something happened in the intervening hours' between the Capitol and White House meetings that effectively threw a wrench into the works." The Hill reports Obama also told reporters that his McCain's "presence during the negotiations had not aided in their progress." On CNN The Situation Room, Obama said, "Well, Sen. McCain spoke briefly. I think he still wants to see something happen. You know, the concern that I have and one of the concerns that I have had over the last several days is that, when you start injecting presidential politics into delicate negotiations, then you can actually create more problems, rather than less."
On MSNBC's Hardball, Clarence Page said, "I think really everyone is waiting to see what John McCain is going do. He's become the deal maker here." E.J. Dionne writes in the Washington Post, " "McCain's boisterous intervention -- and particularly his grandstanding on the debate -- was less a presidential act than the tactical ploy of a man worried that his chances of becoming president might be slipping away." Eugene Robinson says in his Washington Post column, "McCain's performance in recent days has been, to put it charitably, erratic."
Did McCain Offer An "Alternative Plan"? Whereas most media reports say Boehner outlined an alternative to the Paulson plan during yesterday's White House meeting, the CBS Evening News reported, "We're told at the White House...McCain offered an alternative plan that would include fewer regulations and more corporate tax breaks for businesses, kind of a private solution. We're also told those ideas angered and surprised Democrats like Banking Chairman Chris Dodd who said he thinks the White House summit was more of a political stunt for McCain." Fox News' Special Report reported, "McCain aides [are] saying that there simply aren't enough votes to deal with the Paulson plan. And as far as they're concerned and as far as House Republicans are concerned, the Paulson plan, such as it was a couple of days ago, is effectively dead."
Polls Differ Wildly USA Today reports, "Nearly eight out of 10 Americans -- 78% -- say Congress should approve an historic bailout of the nation's financial markets, but most want lawmakers to significantly modify the Bush administration's $700 billion plan, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Wednesday night. ... Only 11% in the poll say Congress should take no action to ease the current credit crisis." The CBS Evening News, however, reported a "CBS News/'New York Times' poll shows little public support for the $700 billion taxpayer bailout. Only 16% say it's a good idea. 38% say it's a bad idea. And 42% say they simply don't know enough about it."
Despite a slew of negative economic news, the stock markets rallied on Thursday on news that officials in Washington had reached a deal in principle on bailing out the troubled financial sector. The Wall Street Journal reports, "Even before the latest blows to the US financial system, sales of new homes and orders for big-ticket items were slowing sharply, underscoring the precarious nature of the nation's economy." Sales of new homes "dropped by a seasonally adjusted 11.5% in August from the month before, the Commerce Department said Thursday, and the backlog of unsold homes rose to a bloated 10.9-months' supply at the current sales pace." Moreover, "labor-market conditions continue to deteriorate."
However, says the Washington Post, "Wall Street rallied yesterday when it seemed as if lawmakers had reached a fundamental agreement on a financial sector bailout and investors shrugged off new evidence of a struggling economy." The Dow Jones "rose 196.89, or 1.8 percent, to close at 11,022.06. The broader Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 23.31, or 2 percent, to 1209.18, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 30.89, or 1.4 percent, to 2186.57." The AP, Financial Times, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal also attribute the market rally to the belief that a bailout deal could be near. ABC World News reported that "if there's no agreement, the markets could be in turmoil" tomorrow. NBC Nightly News, meanwhile, reported that "on Wall Street...they had what they called a relief rally."
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The Wall Street Journal reports, "In what is by far the largest bank failure in US history, federal regulators seized Washington Mutual Inc. and struck a deal to sell the bulk of its operations to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co." While "the deal isn't expected to result in any hit to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s bank-insurance fund, according to a person familiar with the arrangement," it makes it "likely that another arm of government would have to pick up the tab. Some analysts have worried that a WaMu failure could cost more than $20 billion."
USA Today notes that "Washington Mutual's shares have plunged nearly 90% in the past year on concerns about its large holdings of subprime mortgages," and "on Wednesday, credit-rating agency Standard & Poor's cut WaMu's credit rating and preferred stock rating further into junk status, noting an increased likelihood that any sale of the thrift would only be done in piecemeal fashion."
In an exclusive report, the Guardian (UK) reports Israel "gave serious thought this spring to launching a military strike on Iran's nuclear sites but was told by President George W. Bush that he would not support it and did not expect to revise that view for the rest of his presidency," according to senior European diplomatic sources. Meanwhile, the Washington Times reports, "The House Democratic leadership has effectively shelved a resolution calling for what critics say would amount to a naval blockade of Iran because of concerns that it could provoke another war," officials on Capitol Hill said. Though the document "would not be a law but a 'statement of policy' aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, the Democratic leadership is worried that it could be viewed by the Bush administration as a green light to use military force against Iran," officials said.
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Sen. John McCain's decision to suspend his campaign until the Administration and lawmakers reach consensus on the Wall Street bailout has jeopardized the first presidential debate, scheduled to be held at the University of Mississippi this evening. The AP says, "Prospects were questionable at best that" McCain and Obama "would meet Friday for their first presidential debate as progress appeared to dissolve between Congress and the Bush administration on a $700 billion financial industry bailout." McCain "didn't plan to participate in the debate unless there was a consensus." The Wall Street Journal reports McCain "said he will not wait for a final vote to decide whether he will attend the debate scheduled for Friday night. Rather, if the White House and members of Congress reach an agreement on bailout legislation, the Arizona senator said he will travel to Oxford, Miss., as originally planned." USA Today adds Sen. Barack Obama "told reporters here that he still plans to attend the faceoff," and 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."
Bill Clinton Defends McCain Bid To Delay Debate Fox News' Special Report reported, "Bill Clinton, of all people, is defending Senator McCain's request to postpone the first presidential debate." Bill Clinton: "We know he didn't do it because he's afraid, because Senator McCain wanted more debates. I presume he did that in good faith since I know he wanted -- I remember he asked for more debates to go all around the country. And so, I don't think we ought to overly parse that. Just let's deal with this issue."
National polls continue to offer a muddled view of where the presidential race stands at the moment. A CBS News /New York Times poll of 936 likely voters conducted between 9/22 and 9/24 shows Sen. Barack Obama leading John McCain 48%-43%.
A Marist poll of 1,005 adults taken September 22-23 shows Obama leading McCain 47%-43% among registered voters and 49%-44% among likely voters including leaners.
A Franklin & Marshall poll of 1,230 registered voters taken September 15-21 shows McCain leading Obama 45%-43% and 47%-45% including leaners.
The Gallup daily presidential tracking poll of 2,731 registered voters taken September 22-24 shows Obama and McCain tied at 46% apiece.
The Rasmussen Reports automated daily presidential tracking poll for September 25 shows Obama leading McCain 49%-46%.
The Battleground tracking poll shows McCain leading Obama 48%-47%. The survey of 800 likely voters was conducted over September 18, and 21-24.
A Zogby Interactive online survey of 4,752 likely voters taken September 23-24 shows McCain leading Obama 46%-44%.
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McCain Edges Obama In Ohio A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 700 likely Ohio voters taken September 23 shows McCain leading Obama 47%-46%, down from a 50%-46% lead in a poll released September 21.
Two Polls Show Obama Up In Pennsylvania A SurveyUSA automated poll of 1094 likely Pennsylvania voters taken September 23-24 shows Obama leading McCain 50%-44%. A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 700 likely Pennsylvania voters taken September 24 shows Obama leading McCain 49%-45%, up slightly from a 48%-45% lead on September 21.
Obama Holds Narrow Lead In 3 New Hampshire Polls A Strategic Vision (R) poll of 800 likely New Hampshire voters taken September 22-24 shows Obama leading McCain 46%-45%. A Research 2000 poll of 600 likely New Hampshire voters taken September 22-24 for the Concord Monitor shows Obama leading McCain 48%-44%. A Suffolk University /7News poll of 600 likely New Hampshire voters taken September 21-24 shows Obama leading McCain 46%-45%.
Michigan Polls Vary Widely An EPIC/MRA poll of 406 Michiganders taken September 20-22 for WXYZ-TV and The Detroit News shows Obama leading McCain 48%-38%. A Today Show /NBC/Mason-Dixon poll shows Obama and McCain tied at 46% apiece. A Strategic Vision (R) poll of 1,200 likely Michigan voters taken September 22-24 shows Obama leading McCain 48%-43%. A Selzer & Co poll of 602 likely Michigan voters taken September 22-24 for the Detroit Free Press and WDIV-TV shows Obama leading McCain 51%-38%.
Obama Up 6 In Wisconsin A Research 2000 poll of 600 likely Wisconsin voters taken September 22-23 for WISC-TV shows Obama leading McCain 49%-43%.
McCain Up 2 In Missouri A SurveyUSA automated poll of 705 likely Missouri voters taken September 23-24 for KCTV News shows McCain leading Obama 48%-46%.
McCain Up 8 In West Virginia A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 500 likely West Virginia voters taken September 24 shows McCain leading Obama 50%-42%.
McCain Up 9 In Arkansas A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 500 likely Arkansas voters taken September 22 shows McCain leading Obama 51%-42%.
Obama Up 10 In California A SurveyUSA automated poll of 661 likely California voters taken September 23-24 for a group of 4 state TV stations shows Obama leading McCain 53%-43%.
Obama Holds Large Lead In Massachusetts A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 500 likely Massachusetts voters taken September 23 shows Obama leading McCain 58%-38%.
Although largely overshadowed by the financial crisis, Gov. Sarah Palin's interview with CBS News' Katie Couric last night is drawing some negative attention in the press this morning. For example, the Washington Post reports Palin, "describing the need for more troops in Afghanistan, said the United States has achieved 'victory' in Iraq." It was "an apparent misstep in Palin's third interview since agreeing to become" Sen. John McCain's running mate. Palin told Couric "that 'a surge in Afghanistan also will lead us to victory there as it has proven to have done in Iraq,' adding that 'we cannot afford to retreat, to withdraw in Iraq.'" The Post adds Palin "struggled at times and appeared less comfortable than in her earlier sit-down with ABC's Charles Gibson."
The New York Times says Couric asked Palin "what she meant when she cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as foreign affairs experience. Ms. Palin could have anticipated the question - the topic of their interview, pegged to her visit to the United Nations, was foreign affairs. Yet Ms. Palin's answer was surprisingly wobbly: her words tumbled out fast and choppily, like an outboard motor loosened from the stern." In a column titled "Palin talks to Couric -- and if she's lucky, few are listening," James Rainey writes in the Los Angeles Times that the interview with Couric "found Palin rambling, marginally responsive and even more adrift than during her network debut with ABC's Charles Gibson."
Other stories on Palin were also negative. The CBS Evening News reported, "Turning again to presidential politics, our new CBS News/'New York Times' poll shows Sarah Palin may be losing support among a key group of voters-women, 34% now have a favorable view of the Republican vice presidential nominee. That is down 13 points in two weeks." On NBC Nightly News, NBC political director Chuck Todd said, "It's been a very tough week for Governor Palin. In some ways, they ought to be glad that the financial crisis has consumed the presidential campaign. Because while the McCain campaign won the initial rollout of Palin and defined her early and there was this excitement around her, the last ten days have been very tough."
The Chicago Sun-Times reported, "A $100,000 state grant for a botanic garden in Englewood that then-state Sen. Barack Obama awarded in 2001 to a group headed by a onetime campaign volunteer is now under investigation by the Illinois attorney general amid new questions, prompted by Chicago Sun-Times reports, about whether the money might have been misspent. The garden was never built. And now state records obtained by the Sun-Times show $65,000 of the grant money went to the wife of Kenny B. Smith, the Obama 2000 congressional campaign volunteer who heads the Chicago Better Housing Association, which was in charge of the project for the blighted South Side neighborhood." However, the New York Post reports the Attorney General's office "said Obama's actions in giving out the member item aren't under investigation."
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Jay Leno: "To give you an idea how bad the economy is, Wall Street investors are now clinging to their guns and religion.
Jay Leno: "John McCain wants to suspend his debate with Barack Obama until the economic crisis is over. And Sarah Palin now wants to suspend her debate with Joe Biden until she can find Europe on a map."
David Letterman: "Bush says he believes that Congress now can work together in a spirit of bipartisanship to solve the economic crisis. And you know what that means, folks. ... He's drinking again."
Conan O'Brien: "Because of the financial crisis, John McCain says he may not appear at the presidential debate on Friday. So Ralph Nader has offered to fill in for him. ... That's true." However, "Nader is insisting that McCain work his shift at Kinko's."
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