John McCain, Barack Obama line up together to back Bush’s rescue effort

Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, Johm McCain and Barack Obama, agreed Wednesday night, Sept. 24, that the financial crisis was close enough to catastrophe to set partisan considerations aside and help President George W. Bush push his $700 billion bailout package through Congress before the markets open Monday. The president addressing the nation later warned: “Our entire economy is in danger. America could slip into widespread financial panic.”
The markets are not functioning properly and there is a widespread loss of confidence, Bush said and warned against letting more banks fail and sending the US economy into recession.
In an unconventional step, McCain announced he was suspending his presidential campaign to focus on the crisis after conferring with his rival.
He asked to postpone Friday’s televised debate between them at Mississippi University. Instead, he proposed a leadership meeting at the White House between the president, Obama and himself, to hammer out a solution to the crisis. The Democratic candidate replied that the debate should take place.
Obama laid down conditions for throwing in his support behind the package compiled by the president, the treasury secretary and the head of the Federal Reserve:
1. The distribution of the bailout funds must be subject to oversight by a bipartisan committee every step of the way.
2. Every dollar spent to rescue financial institutions must be returned to the American taxpayer when the crisis was over.
3. There would be no golden parachutes for CEOs of failing financial institutions.
4. Help must also be extended to home-owners and ordinary Americans who have fallen victim to the crisis.
debkafile‘s political sources report that the treasury secretary and Fed director have encountered massive Democratic resistance in Congress to the proposed rescue package. If it does not go through quickly, the upheaval predicted for Wall Street and world markets is expected to far surpass the disruptions of the last ten days. There are also grave fears in Washington that the US dollar will slide further.
The President and the two candidates hope to push both their parties into supporting the emergency package.
Many economists in the West think the $700 billion bailout is not enough to save the day because the crisis is a lot deeper than US economic leaders are saying.