Text of the joint statement
The American people are facing a moment of economic crisis. No matter how this began, we all have a responsibility to work through it and restore confidence in our economy. The jobs, savings, and prosperity of the American people are at stake.
"Now is a time to come together - Democrats and Republicans - in a spirit of cooperation for the sake of the American people. The plan that has been submitted to Congress by the Bush Administration is flawed, but the effort to protect the American economy must not fail.
"This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country. We cannot risk an economic catastrophe. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country."
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5 commentsReplies
H55 said, (537 days ago)
No way McCain was going to sign on to that statement as-presented. That is basically the Obama platform. Endorse the Enemy? Never!
flyingfishstick said, (537 days ago)
As Obama said, treat the taxpayers like investors. We put the money in, we should get it back out again.
Dirtmouth said, (505 days ago)
The bailout is a farce; a perverted socialism in which public funds finance private debt. All of this talk of Obama and McCain--it's funny. While I have a crush on Obama, it's clear from his support of the bailout plan that he, to a degree, supports public financing of private enterprise. He just doesn't want to call a spade a spade. We can talk all we want about returning the taxpayers' investment, but anyone who thinks that's going to happen has not been paying attention for the last 150 years. Obama: what a disappointment. Pro nukes, pro death penalty in certain cases. And unlike Bill Ayers, he never once blew up any government buildings.
Oh yeah, Dirtmouth loves all yall.
Meaningless. Here are the points which McCain cut from the joint statement, though:
First, there must be oversight. We should not hand over a blank check to the discretion of one man. We support an independent, bipartisan board to ensure accountability and complete transparency.
Second, we need to protect taxpayers. There should be a path for taxpayers to recover their money, and to turn a profit if Wall Street prospers.
Third, no Wall Street executive should profit from taxpayer dollars. This plan cannot be a welfare program for CEOs whose greed and irresponsibility has contributed to this crisis.
Fourth, we must help families who are struggling to stay in their homes. We cannot bail out Wall Street without helping millions of families facing foreclosure on Main Street.
Fifth, we both agree that this financial rescue package should move on its own without any earmarks or other measures. We have different views about the need for other action, but this must be a clean bill.