CBS: On Bailout Failure ‘John McCain Had Far More to Lose’

Photo of Kyle Drennen.

Jeff Glor, CBS On Tuesday’s CBS Early Show, correspondent Jeff Glor reported on the presidential candidates’ reactions to the failure of the financial bailout, beginning with Obama: "Barack Obama's campaign had already released copies of a planned speech, saying lawmakers have agreed on an emergency plan. When that prediction went poof, Obama urged calm." Glor then turned to John McCain: "But Politico's Mike Allen believes John McCain had far more to lose. By suspending his campaign and jetting back to Washington, McCain staked a critical part of this campaign on a deal, then most of his fellow Republicans voted no and not a single representative from McCain's home state of Arizona voted yes." Half the Arizona congressional delegation are Democrats.

A clip Mike Allen was then played: "McCain set himself up for trouble. He came in late, he was a little half-hearted and now he owns a failure." Despite the bailout being characterized as a McCain failure in that report, earlier in the show, co-host Harry Smith questioned Virginia Congressman Jim Moran on the Democrats failure to pass the legislation: "Congressman Moran, let me ask you. You voted in the affirmative, yet, at least 40% of your Democratic colleagues voted against that. How -- how are you going to convince them that they should change their votes?"

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Moran blamed Republicans: "What was shocking was that the Republicans voted against it, two-thirds of them. I mean, I don't know where the leadership was...You know, maybe if the market falls another thousand points, maybe they'll get some sense and they'll do something on Thursday-" Smith then interrupted: "Congressman, Congressman, though, it's -- hang on a second. It's -- it's easy enough to blame it on the...It's easy enough to blame it on the opposition. Democrats are always seemingly going to be happy to vote for putting on more debt or making government bigger. You -- all you needed was another dozen votes or so. How come the Democrats couldn't come up with them?"

Here is the full transcript of Glor’s report:

7:13AM TEASER:

JULIE CHEN: Up next, how the candidates are handling the economic meltdown. We'll head out to the campaign trail.

7:16AM SEGMENT:

JULIE CHEN: Both John McCain and Barack Obama are calling on Congress to quickly come up with a new bailout plan. Early Show national correspondent Jeff Glor is with the McCain campaign in Des Moines, Iowa. Good morning, Jeff.

JEFF GLOR: Hey Julie, good morning to you. Hard to believe it's been nine months since those first in the nation Iowa caucuses here. Since that time, the presidential contenders have been settled. This economic crisis has not. This is what you get when you combine a once every four years presidential election with a once every 80 years economic meltdown.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: This bill is fueled by fear and hinges on haste.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: There's got to be a better way.

GLOR: One big mess that has enveloped everyone. Washington, Wall Street, main street, and our next commander in chief.

MIKE ALLEN: Both of these candidates were caught flat-footed. They're Senators, a failure of Washington is a failure of them.

GLOR: Barack Obama's campaign had already released copies of a planned speech, saying lawmakers have agreed on an emergency plan. When that prediction went poof, Obama urged calm.

BARACK OBAMA: One of the messages that I have to Congress is get this done. Democrats, Republicans, step up to the plate. Get it done.

GLOR: But Politico's Mike Allen believes John McCain had far more to lose. By suspending his campaign and jetting back to Washington, McCain staked a critical part of this campaign on a deal, then most of his fellow Republicans voted no and not a single representative from McCain's home state of Arizona voted yes.

MIKE ALLEN: McCain set himself up for trouble. He came in late, he was a little half-hearted and now he owns a failure.

GLOR: On Monday, a short statement from McCain acknowledged a grim situation with no clear ending.

JOHN MCCAIN: I believe that the challenges facing our economy could have a grave impact on every American worker, small business owner, and family if our leaders fail to act.

GLOR: Both John McCain and Barack Obama will stay on the campaign trail today in key swing states. Both are expected to return to Washington when, if, there's a vote in the Senate. Julie.

CHEN: CBS's Jeff Glor in Des Moines, thanks Jeff. Meanwhile, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is answering charges that she and running mate John McCain were not on the same page when it came to attacking targets in Pakistan. In an interview with CBS 'Evening News' anchor Katie Couric, Palin blamed so-called 'gotcha journalism.'

KATIE COURIC: Are you two on the same page on this?

SARAH PALIN: We had a great discussion with President Zardari as we talked about what it is that America can and should be doing together to make sure that the terrorists do not cross borders and do not ultimately put themselves in a position of attacking America again or her allies and we will do what we have to do to secure the United States of America and her allies.

COURIC: Is that something you shouldn't say out loud, Senator McCain?

JOHN MCCAIN: Of course not. But, look, I understand this day and age, gotcha journalism. Was that a pizza place? In a conversation with someone who you didn't hear the question very well, you don't know the context of the conversation, grab a phrase. Governor Palin and I agree that you don't announce that you're going to attack another country.

CHEN: Palin is expected to spend today preparing for Thursday's vice presidential debate.

 

Here is the full transcript of Smith talking to Moran and Republican Marsha Blackburn about the bailout failure:

7:05AM SEGMENT:

HARRY SMITH: We want to talk to a couple of members of Congress who voted yesterday on this massive $700 billion bailout package. We're joined by Representative Marsha Blackburn, from Tennessee, who voted nay and Representative James Moran, of Virginia, who voted in the affirmative. Let me first start with Representative Blackburn, why did you vote the way you voted?

MARSHA BLACKBURN: Well, let me first say we're committed to finding a resolution to this and I think that by week's end, we will have a solution to this problem. There are some reasons that I cast a no vote yesterday. This was too much bailout and not enough workout in this plan. It also was $700 billion and an immediate $250 billion blank check. The federal debt limit was raised to $11.3 trillion in this bill. And there are some other things that could and should be done first and should be done in conjunction with the actions that were taken yesterday.

SMITH: Right-

BLACKBURN: Increasing FDIC insurance-

SMITH: Let me ask you this very -- let me ask you this very quickly.

BLACKBURN: Yes.

SMITH: Yeah, there's so much involved in this, but let me ask you very quickly-

BLACKBURN: Yes there is-

SMITH: -you make the vote, the stock market goes down 700 points. Do you feel in any way responsible for that?

BLACKBURN: We are all very concerned about the total picture and have been and that is why we've worked diligently all throughout the week and will continue to work this week until we solve this problem. This is something you can't leave on the table and leave Washington. This is something that affects every man and woman, every family in this country, and I have a commitment and I know that those that are negotiating have a commitment. We are going to solve this problem. We have to.

SMITH: Okay. Congressman Moran, let me ask you. You voted in the affirmative, yet, at least 40% of your Democratic colleagues voted against that. How -- how are you going to convince them that they should change their votes?

JIM MORAN: Harry, I'm surprised it was that high. This is a Republican bill. It was the Bush-Cheney administration with Secretary Paulson who offered it. Getting 60% of the vote was pretty impressive. What was shocking was that the Republicans voted against it, two-thirds of them. I mean, I don't know where the leadership was. The Democrats were willing to hold the vote open, so that the president could call members and get them to switch their vote, but it didn't happen. You know, maybe if the market falls another thousand points, maybe they'll get some sense and they'll do something on Thursday-

SMITH: Congressman, Congressman, though, it's -- hang on a second. It's -- it's easy-

BLACKBURN: Harry, this is not a partisan issue-

SMITH: -enough to blame it on the-

SMITH: Hang on -- hang on one second. Well let's -- just hang on a second. It's easy enough to blame it on the opposition. Democrats are always seemingly going to be happy to vote for putting on more debt or making government bigger. You -- all you needed was another dozen votes or so. How come the Democrats couldn't come up with them?

MORAN: Well, you know, the Speaker Pelosi had said to Minority Leader Boehner if you can put 110 votes up, we'll match it. We will at least do half of this task, but we don't want to own this bill. This is your bill. If it's our bill, we want to put in some mortgage protections to help out the homeowners as much as we do Wall Street. We want to pay for the bill so we can do other initiatives, rather than financially strapping the country for the next decade. There are a number of things the Democrats wanted, but nevertheless they realize the urgency of this situation and so almost, you know, two-thirds of them went ahead and voted for it. What we need to do now is to make this bipartisan, to get half, at least half of the Republicans as well and I thought that would happen. It didn't. And, now, I think you'll see continued crash. The key day is today. It's the last day of the financial quarter-

BLACKBURN: Harry, may I articulate a few things-

MORAN: -and as a result, there are a number of businesses that could go under without being able to get a cash infusion today.

SMITH: Alright-

BLACKBURN: Harry, this is a grave situation-

SMITH: -for the time being, we have to leave it exactly – we're -- it is a grave situation and for the moment-

BLACKBURN: And there are some things that we can do.

SMITH: -we have to leave it right there.

BLACKBURN: Some actions to take.

MORAN: Well, we should of done it and we should of done it when it needed to be done, Marsha. There's really no excuse.

BLACKBURN: We will have it done by week's end-

SMITH: Congressman Moran, thank you so much, do appreciate it-

BLACKBURN: We're committed to finding a solution-

SMITH: We're going to leave it right there for now.

BLACKBURN: Thank you.

SMITH: We will be watching, believe me.

—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.


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The posting just previous

The posting just previous to this says pretty much the same thing: this hurts John McCain:

Harwood spoke in great length about how yesterday's failed bailout vote
in the House was bad news for -- wait for it -- John McCain.

Apparently that is the CW of the media for this story.  

Democrats voting no, with Pelosi's permission?  No problem.

Her Speakerness using her "rally the troops" speech to bash Bush and Republicans?  Not a factor.

John McCain unable to sway Republicans who were against this from the beginning? 

His fault and his failure.

That's their story and they're stickin' to it.

BTW, from listening yesterday, it sounded like the Dems were putting a push on at the last minute to keep the vote open, and get some of those "nay" Democrats to change their votes so that it would pass, but they were too late.

Serves Her Speakerness right.

 

And yet here it is Tuesday afternoon.

A week past Armegeddon and there are no soup lines being started up, no mass suicides of bank managers, and no public lynchings of the people responsible for this mess. More to the point, the rest of the worlds stock markets seem to be withstanding the turmoil.

Sounds like if we can simply show the rest of the world that we can approach this like grownups instead of greedy children, we've got time to put together a truly fair bill.

One approach is spelled out on  Daveramsey.com Check out

http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/fed_bailout/3_steps_to_change_the_nations_future_10928.htmlc?ictid=sml

Read it and send it on to your representitives in congress.

Hope this is in the bill

public lynchings of the people responsible for this mess.

This would be a great deterrent for the future

"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg

I heard Moran on the radio

I heard Moran on the radio this morning (Chris Plant show) and I got so upset at him I started to wonder if I'd mis-spelled his name. Maybe it should be Moron.

He was livid at the Republicans for voting No on the bill because it was their bill. They owed the country and the president a Yes vote. The fact that 90+ of the Dems voted no was no problem for him. It wasn't their bill.

I couldn't believe this idiot was/is a senator! Heck, I'm smarter than him!  (Maybe that's why I'm NOT a senator?)

These people try my soul, I tell you what.

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God."  - Paul (Rom. 13:1) 

"..Obama urged calm." Oh poof.

"..Obama urged calm." Oh poof.

Interesting how it works. Just a little while back, Sen. John McCain demonstrated calmness in the country by standing up and explaining that the the basic core of our economy is strong.

We remember the MSM's reaction to that, do we not?

Hi Gary... I

Hi Gary...

I agree...

..the thing I do not understand when it comes to this whole bail-out scare is just why do we need this at all when according to McCain himself this morning The Treasury has a trillion $$$ they can inject....blah blah blah..

...the Senate is deciding to call it a much nicer name so we little people out here aren't so outraged, they say we don't understand this like they do...this is on our side of the aisle that is doing the talking too. 

I wished they would buy a vowel or use a lifeline themselves...they haven't heard the end from us, no matter how they try to cram this down our throats, and it seems that is just what they are going to attempt to do...again.

JMHO 

"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh

BT..

Well, it is difficult to stomach. Yesterday, someone (a rather radical Hollywoodsy person) said to me in the phone, "My "God, those damn Repbulicans killed this thing. What is it that they don't understand here?"

Now, of course this person in any other conversation would be rapid against "bailing out Wall Street." So I said, "..isn't it an interesting tweak seeing the conservatives on the same side here in opposing this legislation as the radical leftists marching and protesting the bailout?"

They hate it when they have to think.

Imagine how different the flavor of the news would have been all day yesterday and today and what the headlines would have been today, had a majority of D's voted against the bill, and a majority of R's voted for, w/ Obama coming out blasting the bailout of Wall Street? (;~> gary.

 

Hey Gary, I agree, I know

Hey Gary, I agree, I know what the msm would be doing if it was exactly like the scenario you suggested, believe me I know.

I also agree when they have to think, they hate it, and they usually don't, they just turn it around with some other spin with a question back to you or your side with a question they have without ever answering yours.

Same old same old, and it is never going to change..it is frustrating...well beyond frustration, but heck, what can one do at times without bowing a gasket...

I just have to laugh...a lot...at times...it relieves pressure.

I am sorry I got off the topic somewhat with the tread and your post, but I am angry at times, I listen to congress daily, I listen to radio, I catch different political shows, I listen to the business channels...I just wonder how dumb they think all of us really are out here...that's all. 

"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh

bt.. exactly

..some other spin with a question back to you or your side with a question they have without ever answering yours.. Usually in that instance, the topic is suddenly something about mf evil Cheney, Iraq and Halliburton. In fact, I've noticed that quite often after someone asks me what I think about all the polar bears that are dying from AGW, and I politely correct them with the, "actually, for the past several decades their numbers are increasing markedly," that almost always the mf evil Cheney, Iraq and Halliburton is the dedicated response. (;~> gary

PS. I find it rewarding, in these instances to pull out my copy of a 1994 unclassified directorate from the Joint Chiefs; Subj: Rwanda Drawdown Estimates. In the attached list of preliminary costs estimates, only the "LOGCAP (Brown & Root) entry is marked with a "?" in the cost column.

Gary,

I still haven't heard a peep from anybody on the left about the 95 dims who voted against that hideous bill.

I guess that it, em, didn't happen.  :-)

-Dave

Fear makes people do weird things....it makes their brains stop working. - Dave Ramsey

My troll fuse length today: 0.000mm

R D. That would fall in the same

R D. That would fall in the same likelihood category as to why we haven't heard a peep from anybody on the left with an interest in drilling Sen's. Dodd and Frank for their role in creating the crisis. (;~> gary

LMAO at the fricken media...

HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa

 Really they just don't get it do they? I as a conservative am so gosh darn happy that the Republicans have stopped this crap. In fact I hope the bail out keeps getting stopped until it is forgotten...wait it will never be forgotten some of those Dems owe people money and so they need to get our money to pay thier debts.

Hey MSM...maybe J. McCain doesn't want the bill passed, maybe he is the one who told them not to sign anything with pork attached. I wish he would just say no to all bail outs but that is to far reaching. And maybe just maybe MSM the country is also glad the Republicans are stopping this mess. Most Americans don't want these companies bailed out...well except those Americans who benefitted from this subprime fannie mae give freddie crack a house program.

MSM I'm against all bail outs including the one that keeps on giving called welfare. How about we stop them all...

Standard Disclaimer Applies

My Standard Disclaimer applies:  I know diddly about this whole thing.  My gut speaks to me and I listen.

Having so said, however, (and loosely quoting Maha Rushie) it seems as though the Democrats got exactly what they wanted without seeming to do anything to get it.  I doubt they wanted the thing but after all their trumpeting they had to at least look like they were making some sort of effort (appearances being so vitally important don'tyaknow).  By maneuvering and blaming, they got the thing sunk so that they could then self-righteously point their trembling fingers at the Republicans and gasp "You...! You...!  why you wascally Wepublicans!"

Did I mention I know nothing about this whole thing?  Yeah, true story. 

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God."  - Paul (Rom. 13:1) 

Well as Rush also

Well as Rush also frequently says:  Bad news for the country is good news for Democrats.

There is nothing they won't do.

Talk about change!

Okay.  (Deep breath.)  Republicans, once again, are chewed out by the Democrats because they actually tried to do SOMETHING to counter a phenomenal crisis.  Democrats, on the other hand, merely disagree with everything that Republicans enact and fail to offer realistic solutions.  So WHAT if one plan doesn't work out--let's try another plan instead of wasting time arguing about how Republicans were so stupid to try their particular plan.  At least they TRIED to help out, instead of just reclining in their Lazy Boys in anticipation for an opportunity to slam "the other side" when their effort proves itself unsuccessful.  

Ironically, the Democratic party exults herself as THE proponent of "change" and "tolerance."  Interesting, eh?  What sort of "change" and "tolerance" are they talking about?  I'd like to consult whichever dictionary they used; that truly would be an intriguing topic to explore.

Anywho, we need solutions, not this political bantering that the Democrats (and, at times, Republicans) continually initiate.  The American people don't care as much about WHICH side wins, but they do care about whether or not stuff gets done and if it is done well.

Remind you of anything?

Kinda sounds like their participation during the energy crisis dont it. We are still waiting for them to give us some relief

"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg