Republican Sen. John McCain said he would suspend campaigning to help tackle a $700 billion bailout proposal and called on Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama to postpone their debate Friday, as the roiling U.S. financial crisis took center stage in the presidential campaign.
Democrats dismissed the moves as political gimmickry, and Sen. Obama replied that the debate should go forward as planned. "Presidents are going to have to deal with more than one thing at a time...It's not necessary for us to think we can only do one thing and suspend everything else," Sen. Obama said.
But by day's end, the two men had agreed to issue a joint statement calling for bipartisan cooperation for swift action, and both agreed to come to the White House Thursday for a summit meeting with President George W. Bush and congressional leaders to try to achieve that goal. In recent days, both candidates have converged in their positions on the bailout, pushing for similar provisions, such as limits on executive pay at firms that take the help.
The latest twists in the neck-and-neck campaign landed in the middle of a week when troubles on Wall Street and Washington's reaction came to dominate the contest, leaving both Sens. McCain and Obama scrambling to figure out how best to respond.
Sen. McCain cast his actions Wednesday as bold moves that rise above partisanship. Barely a week ago, both men had suspended activities to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and Sen. McCain evoked the event again. "Our national leaders came together in a time of crisis," he said in a statement. "We must show that kind of patriotism now."
It was unclear whether the return of Sens. McCain and Obama to the capital would provide the jolt needed to reach a bipartisan deal that gives cover to politicians of both parties. And it was unclear who would benefit most from the new jockeying between the presidential contenders.
Gerry Images McCain speaks on the financial crisis Friday at a hotel in New York.
The Arizona lawmaker also moved to take down his advertising Wednesday, and the dramatic gestures were in keeping with a career with many such moments. As in the past, it was both high risk and high reward. It draws attention to him at a time when Democrats stand to benefit from economic turmoil and helps him recast the question as one of leadership, where he is viewed positively. But he risks coming off as exploiting a very real problem for political gain.
With just 41 days remaining before the Nov. 4 vote, the issue is a challenging one for Sen. McCain, given that polls show he and his party are less trusted by voters to solve economic issues.
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Wednesday gave Sen. Obama the edge on a range of economic questions, including dealing with the Wall Street financial crisis, with 35% saying he'd handle it better, compared with 30% for Sen. McCain. It found voters generally angry about the economy and the conditions that led to the current mess.
But the poll showed that neither candidate had yet turned the crisis to their advantage: 48% said they'd vote for Sen. Obama if the election were held now, compared with 46% for Sen. McCain. A Journal poll earlier in the month, before the latest market meltdown, had virtually the same results.
As for the bailout, the survey found that voters aren't sure what to think, with a third in favor, a third against, a third uncertain.
It remained unclear Wednesday night whether or not Friday evening's debate would really go forward. Sen. McCain said he will attend the Oxford, Miss., event only if Congress reaches accord on a financial bailout package before then. Aides floated the idea of postponing until Oct. 2, which would bump the vice presidential debate, currently scheduled for that night. Sen. Obama said he plans to be at the debate Friday, declining to take up the challenge. "Sen. McCain is running his campaign, I'm running mine," he said.
Wednesday's campaign drama began at 8:30 a.m., when Sen. Obama called Sen. McCain to suggest the two men issue a joint statement laying out the principles they would like reflected in the $700 billion rescue package. Sen. McCain called back at about 2:30 p.m. and agreed -- but quickly upped the ante, calling for Sen. Obama also to follow him back to Washington, suspend campaigning and postpone the debate. Sen. Obama said he would consider the offer.
Moments later, Sen. McCain went before TV cameras in New York. He was there to meet with visiting heads of state gathered for the United Nations General Assembly and had planned to spend some of the afternoon preparing for Friday's debate. Instead, Sen. McCain disrupted that plan to issue a carefully prepared statement calling for the White House to convene a meeting of congressional leaders including himself and Sen. Obama, aimed at finding a solution before markets open on Monday.
"I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time," Sen. McCain said. "We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved.
Sen. Obama held a brief news conference to respond about an hour later in Clearwater, Fla., where he was holed up preparing for the debate. As he recounted what happened, the two men spoke Wednesday afternoon about issuing the joint statement during a "cordial" conversation in which Sen. McCain also broached the possibility of suspending the campaigns and shelving the debate. Sen. Obama said he ended the conversation by saying, "Why don't we get the initial statement out first?"
Sen. Obama said that when Sen. McCain suggested delaying the debate, "I thought this was something he was mulling over," adding that perhaps Sen. McCain was more decisive "in his own mind."
"When I got back to the hotel he had gone on television," said Sen. Obama.
Sen. Obama also seemed at first to express skepticism about the need to return swiftly to Washington to work on the package, saying he didn't want to "suddenly infuse Capitol Hill with presidential politics at a time when we're in the middle of some very delicate and difficult negotiations."
McCain aides said they began deliberating Tuesday evening, and they rejected a suggestion from the Obama camp that Sen. McCain was simply trying to one-up his opponent with a bolder proposal. "It was just a time for leadership," said one senior McCain adviser.
The pair did issue the joint statement Wednesday evening, but it was simply a generic call for the parties to work together, not the specific listing of the many areas where the two candidates agreed, as Sen. Obama had suggested. A McCain adviser said it was not necessary to detail principles since Sen. McCain had already clearly laid out his own.
Sen. McCain's moves were coordinated with the White House and congressional Republicans, who quickly issued encouraging statements. "Bipartisan support from Sens. McCain and Obama would be helpful in driving to a conclusion," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement.
Associated Press Sen. Barack Obama held a press conference in Clearwater, Fla., in response to Sen. John McCain's statement that he wants to postpone Friday's debate.
Another key event that aides said prompted Sen. McCain's actions: a roundtable Wednesday morning with some of Wall Street's biggest names, financial titans who told him that the rescue legislation must be passed soon. "We urged John to get all over it, that this is a national-security crisis," one financial executive said.
The financial executives, who were told on Tuesday that Sen. McCain wanted to meet with them the next day, included Merrill Lynch & Co. CEO John Thain, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Vice Chairman James Lee and private-equity fund owner Henry Kravis.
For Sen. McCain, figuring out how to handle the bailout bill presented a particular challenge because much of the resistance to the plan has come from conservatives alarmed at the cost of bailout and the scope of powers that would be granted to the Treasury secretary.
Sen. McCain, who has never been close to conservatives, has worked hard during the election season to earn their trust. But that could be at risk if he were to support a package that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called "a dead loser on Election Day."
In recent days, Sen. McCain has spoken of the need to act but also insisted in strong terms on various changes that must be included. Democrats on Capitol Hill were praising many of the same goals, but no deal was at hand.
By Wednesday, pressure to act had built. Senior McCain strategist Steve Schmidt said the campaign concluded that world markets would collapse if Washington didn't agree on a bailout solution by the open of the U.S. stock exchanges Monday morning.
"America this week faces an historic crisis in our financial system," Sen. McCain said. "We must pass legislation to address this crisis. If we do not, credit will dry up, with devastating consequences for our economy."
Sen. McCain's decision to return to Capitol Hill came after the Bush administration's proposal "had lost all momentum," Mr. Schmidt said. "It did not have enough support to pass."
Sen. McCain wants to gather with Sen. Obama and other high-ranking lawmakers "for the next 100 hours or however long it is between now and Monday morning," senior adviser Mark Salter said, suggesting they lock themselves in a room "metaphorically."
—Greg Hitt, Monica Langley, and Corey Dade contributed to this article.
Write to Laura Meckler at laura.meckler@wsj.com, Elizabeth Holmes at elizabeth.holmes@wsj.com and Christopher Cooper at christopher.cooper@wsj.com
John McCain.


El candidato presidencial John McCain anunció hoy que suspendería su campaña y pidió posponer un debate acordado con su oponente demócrata, Barack Obama. McCain explicó que esto se debe a la crisis financiera que azota el país, y recomendó a Obama que también suspendiera su campaña.

McCain agregó que hablaría con el Presidente George W. Bush para pedir una reunión del Congreso para apoyar el controversial plan de $700.000 millones para salvar la economía, pero dijo que no hay consenso sobre la propuesta y que no pasaría en su estado actual.

También tildó la crisis como "histórica", e hizo hincapié en que se necesita legislación, y advirtió sobre "consecuencias devastadoras".

"He llamado al presidente para convenir sobre una reunión con los líderes de ambas partes del Congreso, incluyendo el Senador Obama y yo. Es tiempo para que ambos partidos se reúnan y resuelvan este problema. Es claro que ningún consenso se ha generado para apoyar la propuesta de la administración y no creo que el plan en la mesa pase en su estado actual. Nos estamos quedando sin tiempo", declaró McCain durante una conferencia de prensa.

Barack Obama.

Esta mañana, Obama había llamado a McCain y pedido que tanto él como Obama pusieran de lado el partidismo, y así se concentraran en los problemas económicos. Ambos han convenido en dar una declaración conjunta apoyando el reajuste económico. Se espera que Bush hable por televisión a las 9:00 PM (EDT) de esta noche.

Obama respondió al discurso de McCain unos minutos después, confirmando que aún iría al debate. Asimismo, expresó deseos de equidad para los contribuyentes y objetó ayudar más de lo debido a quienes causaron en un principio la crisis.

La propuesta tiene lugar luego de que el Congreso expresara dudas sobre el plan. El Presidente de la Reserva Federal, Ben Bernanke, y el Secretario del Tesoro, Henry Paulson, urgieran a aprobar el proyecto y actuar rápido.

A pesar de esto, tanto McCain como Obama han expresado escepticismo sobre el plan de salvamiento, y el Congreso expresó preocupación de que la medida no beneficie a los propietarios de hogares tanto como a Wall Street.