Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama gingerly expressed support for the emerging financial bailout plan, although The Politico reports neither Obama nor McCain "would commit Sunday to actually returning to the Senate this week to vote on the $700 billion bill aimed at preventing widespread economic collapse." The Politico adds the Obama campaign "was equally noncommittal." The Washington Post says the candidates commented "as both prepared to return to the campaign trail after an odd week in which electioneering was interrupted by the economic crisis, McCain's brief pledge to suspend his campaign, and the first debate between the two candidates."
On ABC's This Week, McCain said "hopefully" that he would support the financial bailout plan: "And the outlines that I have read of it, that this is something that all of us will swallow hard and go forward with. The option of doing nothing is simply not an acceptable option." McCain said that his principles â "protect the taxpayer, make sure that there isn't excessive compensation for CEOs, an oversight body, not leaving all the decisions in the hands of one individual" â all "are met here." The AP notes McCain also said "the latest version of the plan meets his insistence of an oversight body to monitor the Treasury Secretary and limits the compensation of executives of financial institutions applying for loans."
On CBS's "Face the Nation", Obama said the bailout plan included "some core principles that I set forth," such as strong oversight, taxpayers sharing in any dividends, and "reciprocity" through relief to homeowners, and limits on CEO compensation. Obama continued to suggest that he would support a measure that included those four provisions.
The battle is now on in the media for how much credit each candidate can claim in the shaping of the final package. The CBS Evening News reported Obama "claimed for himself at least some of the credit for the bailout deal." Obama said, "This Administration started off asking for a blank check to solve this problem. Joe Biden and I said absolutely not." Sen. John Kerry, appearing on Fox News Sunday, claimed that "the four principal components of this deal represent the exact four principles that Senator Obama laid out two weeks ago. They represent the exact principles that we put forward and almost agreed on last Thursday before politics entered into this.
McCain, on ABC's This Week, responded to critics who claimed his presence in Washington over the past week was "unhelpful." Sen. McCain said, "I did what I thought was the right thing. I saw that they had an agreement that we were working on in the United States Senate. I'm sure it was a good agreement. It wasn't as good as the one we have now." McCain campaign senior strategist Steve Schmidt, on NBC's Meet the Press, said, "What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all of the parties to the table, including the House Republicans, whose votes were needed to pass this. ... But what Senator McCain was able to do, the reason he suspended his campaign, the reason he came back to Washington was to help get all of the parties to the table." The Hill reports Sen. Joseph Lieberman said Sunday that McCain's "decision to come off the campaign trail and return to Washington was instrumental to the bipartisan compromise addressing the financial crisis that was forged over the weekend." Sen. Lindsey Graham, on Fox News Sunday, said McCain's intervention was "decisive in regards to the House being involved." ABC World News says, however, that "as Congress hammered out the final details, the McCain campaign allowed cameras to capture him working the phones. But it appears...McCain was, at best, a minor player."
The Politico reports, "Two days after a presidential debate many commentators scored as a tie, it's beginning to look like the public saw things differently, as several polls show a small but significant post-debate boost for Barack Obama." Obama's numbers, adds The Politico, "have ticked up nationally since the debate, the first of three scheduled this year, along with next Thursday's vice-presidential face-off." The Gallup daily presidential tracking poll of 2,719 registered voters taken September 25-27 shows Obama leading McCain 50%-42% The Rasmussen Reports automated daily presidential tracking poll for September 28 shows Obama leading McCain 50%-44%.
The Los Angeles Times also reports the debate "appears to have helped Obama slightly widen a lead over his Republican opponent, a post-debate Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg survey shows. Registered voters who watched the debate preferred Obama, 49% to 44%, according to the poll taken over three days after the showdown in Oxford, Miss." The numbers represent "a small gain from a week ago, when a survey of the same voters showed the Democratic candidate with a 48% to 45% edge." USA Today reports polls following the first debate "suggest" it "helped...Obama slightly expand his support." A USA TODAY/Gallup poll "taken Saturday picked Obama over...McCain when asked which candidate offered the best proposals to solve the country's problems, 52%-35%. They said Obama did better overall in the debate than McCain, 46%-34%."
The polls are leading to some speculation in the media that Obama may be breaking the race open. McClatchy reports, "Five weeks before election day, the tide may be turning toward...Obama." While "several things still could swing the contest back toward John McCain...as of now, forces are coming together to help Obama just as the long campaign enters the final stretch." In a story headlined "National polls put Barack Obama out in front," the Boston Herald notes Obama's post-debate leads in several polls, including the Gallup poll, Rasmussen poll, and the USA Today/Gallup poll.
In a countervailing view, the Washington Post reports Obama "may have won the insta-polls after Friday's debate here at the University of Mississippi, but the McCain team won the spin war, a postgame ritual that quickly seeps into the punditry enveloping such events. What was equally striking, inside the massive media tent, was that some of the journalists who profess to want an elevated debate on the issues -- which is precisely what they got, courtesy of moderator Jim Lehrer -- seemed unusually interested in style points."
Battleground Tracking Poll Still Shows McCain Ahead While the majority of polls reflect a widening lead for Obama, the bipartisan GW/Battleground continues to show McCain with a narrow lead. Its latest installment, reflecting interviews of 1000 "likely voters" conducted from 9/21 to 9/25, show the Arizona senator ahead 48%-46%.
Zogby Has Obama Up 1 A Zogby Interactive online poll of 2,102 likely voters taken September 27 shows Obama leading McCain 47%-46%. Forty-four percent of respondents thought Obama won the debate on Friday, while 41% said McCain did.
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One matter of contention during Friday's debate between Sens. McCain and Obama was former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's position on the issue of negotiations with Iran. Obama claimed Kissinger had expressed agreement with his position of presidential-level discussions with Iran. In fact, in a CNN forum on September 20, Kissinger said he was "in favor of negotiating with Iran," adding, "I actually have preferred doing it at the secretary of state level so that we -- we know we're dealing with authentic..." CNN's Frank Sesno interjected, "Put at a very high level right out of the box?" Kissinger added, "Initially, yes." But after Friday's debate, Sesno told BulletinNews that Kissinger was not referring to presidential-level talks, noting that Kissinger "did not say prez."
Backing that up, in an online report, CNN says that in a statement released by the McCain campaign, Kissinger "says he is not in favor of negotiations with Iran at the presidential level." Kissinger said, "Sen. McCain is right. I would not recommend the next president of the United States engage in talks with Iran at the presidential level."
The Washington Times reports "the stakes" for the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin "are magnified because of the indecisive contest between their running mates." GOP strategist Scott Reed said, "After an inconclusive first debate with the top of the ticket, the Palin-Biden event will be must-see TV." The AP reports on the upcoming vice presidential debate by contrasting the "loquacious" Biden with the relatively "underexposed" Palin, calling the debate "a potential white-knuckle moment: The free-wheeling Biden vs. the tightly managed Palin in a test of knowledge, fluency and grace before millions of TV viewers." ABC World News reported, "There will now be heavy pressure on Palin in this week's vice presidential debate." Kevin Madden, political analyst: "There's going to continue to be a little bit of a murmur that maybe this was the wrong pick. That maybe she doesn't have the national exposure that's needed to really get through a national campaign."
Obama Up By 1 In Florida An American Research Group poll of 600 likely Florida voters taken September 23-25 shows Obama leading McCain 47%-46%.
Obama Up 3 In Colorado An American Research Group poll of 600 likely Colorado voters taken September 23-25 shows Obama leading McCain 48%-45%.
Obama Up Solidly In Iowa A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 700 likely Iowa voters taken September 25 shows Obama leading McCain 51%-43%.
McCain Up 15 In Louisiana A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 500 likely Louisiana voters taken September 25 shows McCain leading Obama 55%-40%.
McCain Holds Wide Lead In Kentucky A Mason-Dixon/Louisville Courier-Journal poll of 717 likely Kentucky voters taken September 22-25 shows McCain leading Obama 53%-41% including leaners.
McCain Up Big In Tennessee A Mason-Dixon/Chattanooga Times poll of 625 likely Tennessee voters taken September 22-24 shows McCain leading Obama 55%-39%.
Obama Up 10 In Two California Polls A PPIC poll of 1,157 likely California voters taken September 9-16 shows Obama leading McCain 50%-40%. A SurveyUSA automated poll of 661 likely California voters taken September 23-24 shows Obama leading McCain 53%-43%.
Obama Up Big In Connecticut A SurveyUSA automated poll of 686 likely Connecticut voters taken September 24-25 shows Obama leading McCain 54%-38%.
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Congressional negotiators reached agreement yesterday on a $700 billion financial rescue package. With voting on Capitol Hill expected to get underway today, questions remain about GOP support for the measure, which the Los Angeles Times calls "the largest government intervention in the economy since the Great Depression." USA Today reports that while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "appeared confident that it would get enough votes to pass" the bill, "a critical factor was whether conservative House Republicans, who had objected to an earlier draft, would sign on. The GOP members were meeting Sunday to work out their response." Roll Call, meanwhile, says "rank-and-file GOPers trickling out of their more than three-hour meeting Sunday night said the final bill is more palatable to Republicans than previous proposals, but it is unlikely that there will be a unified floor vote on Monday."
The Wall Street Journal says the plan is "prompting widespread soul-searching within the conservative movement," with "many frustrated conservatives" viewing it "as cementing" Bush's "legacy as a big-government conservative," while "to others, it marks his apostasy from conservative orthodoxy." Moreover, the Journal adds "conservative legal scholars question whether the rescue plan is constitutional, and predict court battles in the years to come, similar to those set off by President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal programs." The New York Times also says "members of the conservative rank-and-file remained unconvinced," while the Financial Times reports that "it remained possible that a significant number of House Republicans could refuse to back the bill." Moreover, says The Politico, the bill faces "resistance still on the right and left," and Democrats "have their own defections." More optimistic is McClatchy, which reports that "though the package is expected to eventually pass, no one can predict whether the margin of approval will be overwhelming or skin-tight." The Hill runs a similar report.
In this week's edition, meanwhile, U.S. News and World Report reports that "just after his plan was announced, several aides to top GOP leaders said that they felt Paulson was out of touch with their concerns and had little political capital to work with. But as the House GOP, led by Rep. Eric Cantor, worked to develop its own, insurance-based plan, several leaders said on background that they now hold Paulson in great respect for being able to at least come to grips with the financial problem swiftly and develop a recovery plan."
Reporting on the final shape of the package, the Wall Street Journal says Pelosi yesterday declared it "'frozen,' meaning no changes would be made." The bill, adds the Journal, "leaves many mechanics of the operation up to the Treasury. Among these are the crucial issues of how the US government would decide which assets it will buy and how it would decide what to pay for them." The Washington Post also says the package gives Paulson "and his successor sweeping powers to bolster the US financial system," but "the Democrat-controlled Congress added layers of oversight and accountability to Paulson's original draft, and won curbs on executive compensation, which were not included in the original." The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times run additional front-page stories on Paulson's role.
The New York Times explains that "the rescue plan would use taxpayer money -- $350 billion initially, and up to $700 billion with Congressional approval -- to buy mostly soured mortgage-backed securities from Wall Street firms and banks. ... Besides buying troubled mortgage securities, the main features of the bailout package include restraints on executive pay for companies that sell off weak assets; a shareholder stake for the government in firms that sell large amounts of distressed securities to the government; and a requirement that the government take more aggressive steps to prevent home foreclosures." The Times adds "the eventual price tag for the bailout is uncertain. It all depends on the price that the government pays for the troubled securities it buys from banks, and the price the government receives when it eventually sells them, years later." AFP, AP and Financial Times, The Hill and USA Today also report on the contents of the compromise package.
In editorials this morning, meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times urge quick congressional passage of the plan.
33% Think US Economy In "Depression" USA Today reports, "As people on Wall Street and Main Street hold their breath to see if a federal bailout of the nation's financial institutions will work, Americans are starting to speak -- not whisper -- the word 'depression.'" USA Today adds, "In a sign that anxiety is growing, 33% of 1,011 adults surveyed over the weekend by USA TODAY and Gallup said the economy already is in a depression (though by economists' measures it is not). Just 12% said that 10 months ago."
Gingrich: Paulson Ought To Resign Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, on ABC's This Week, maintained that "we're about to buy 20 years of bureaucracy and expenditure and centralization of power in Washington in order to get through two weeks and I think that historically is dangerous. ... You have the former chairman of Goldman Sachs asking for $700 for billion, and in his initial in request, asking for it in such an un-American way. I think he should have resigned. I think Paulson has terminally misunderstood the nature of the American system -- not just no review, no judicial review, no congressional accountability. 'Give me $700 billion' -- $700 billion! â 'I'll be glad to spend it for you.' That's a centralization of power that is totally un-American."
The Los Angeles Times reports this morning "a series of explosions Sunday apparently timed to strike Muslims preparing to break the Ramadan fast killed at least 31 people in Baghdad and injured dozens." The blasts, adds the Times, "were particularly jarring because they came around sunset, when the markets are filled with people buying food for the evening meal that breaks their daylong fast during the holy month of Ramadan." The New York Times says the bombings "reinforced fears among a growing number of residents that the security situation in Baghdad was deteriorating, even though over all it remained at the most stable level since the American-led invasion in 2003, according to data measured by the United States military command." AFP and the CBS Evening News also noted the spate of attacks.
12 Of 18 Provinces Soon Under Iraqi Control AFP, meanwhile, reports "Iraqi security forces will take control of the central Shiite province of Babil within a month, the provincial governor told AFP on Sunday, but warned that armed groups still roam the region." Salem al-Saleh Meslmawe said control of Babil "would be transferred from mid to late October, making it the 12th of Iraq's 18 provinces to be handed over by the US-led forces."
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David Letterman: Top Ten Surprises in the Presidential Debate:
"10. Jim Lehrer began proceedings with, 'Which one of you morons wants to go first?'
9. McCain answered every question by cupping his ear and saying, 'How's that?'
8. Opened with closing statements, closed with opening statements.
7. McCain said he had more fun at the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
6. Everybody was talking about the new 'Late Show Fun Facts' book available at bookstores everywhere.
5. McCain pledged to fill entire cabinet with sassy, underqualified hockey moms.
4. Obama said he'll be on next season's 'Dancing With The Stars' -- this guy will do anything.
3. Both had uncomfortable restroom stories involving Senator Larry Craig.
2. They picked some guy out of the audience from New Jersey to read a Top Ten list.
1. The winner -- Tina Fey."
David Letterman: "But the presidential debate had an unusual format. After blowing a question on Bosnia, John McCain was told to extinguish his torch and leave the island."
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