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Bill Clinton: Don't 'Overly Parse' McCain Request to Delay Debate
September 25, 2008 8:26 AM
ABC News' Nitya Venkataraman Reports: Former President Bill Clinton defended Sen. John McCain's request to delay the first presidential debate, saying McCain did it in "good faith" and pushed organizers to reserve time for economy talk during the debate if the Friday plans move forward.
Appearing on Good Morning America Thursday, Clinton told ABC News' Chris Cuomo that McCain's push to postpone the debate would only be a good political move if both candidates agreed. McCain announced on Wednesday that he would "suspend" his presidential campaign to come to Washington to help negotiate a financial bailout bill
"We know he didn't do it because he's afraid because Sen. McCain wanted more debates," Clinton said, adding that he was "encouraged" by the joint statement from McCain and Sen. Barack Obama.
"You can put it off a few days the problem is it's hard to reschedule those things," Clinton said, "I presume he did that in good faith since I know he wanted -- I remember he asked for more debates to go all around the country and so I don't think we ought to overly parse that."
If the debate moves forward as planned for Friday night, Clinton says "they should be able to talk about this some of the debate because it is a security issue."
The former president thought Bush's address Wednesday night on the economic crisis had a "positive reaction".
"I thought it was the clearest statement of why we're in the fix we're in, at least what the nature of it is and why some national action is needed," Clinton said.
He said that both Democrats and Republicans "should move as quickly as they can" on the president's economic rescue plan but that both parties "want to know exactly how this $700 billion is going to be invested..to stabilize the system."
President Bush's bipartisan meeting on the economic crisis will take place at 4pm at the White House, both Obama and McCain will be in attendance.
September 25, 2008 in Clinton, Bill, McCain, John, Obama, Barack, Vote 2008: Democrats, Vote 2008: Republicans, Washington, White House | Permalink | User Comments (1387)
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You go Bill. payback is a beetch. little barry wants to call people racist.
Posted by: geevill | Sep 25, 2008 8:47:39 AM
John McCain is showing leadership while Obama follows. John McCain is right to return to Washington while Obama and the news media only think of what they need. Obama will probably flip again like a fish out of water. Yes, no, maybe, it is above my pay grade, go to Mississippi, go to Washington, no to debates, and yes to debates NOW. Obama will say anything to be President.
The only things the news media hounds have are the worthless polls. People look at the polls as something of value. The polls are nothing more than misaligned statistics that have no value. The news media claims a small error margin and that is a lie. In reality, there is a 55% or better error margin.
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics" - Benjamin Disraeli.
Satan delights equally in statistics and in quoting scripture - HG Wells
Wharton: The Use - and Misuse - of Statistics: How and Why Numbers Are So Easily Manipulated.
So much for Obama and the polls.
Posted by: Judge | Sep 25, 2008 8:48:07 AM
It's nice to see Clinton being non-partisan on this issue. I personally think we need all hands on deck in the Congress.
Posted by: Sara | Sep 25, 2008 8:48:08 AM
Hee hee hee! Clinton is loving this; now he's observing the Jewish holidays to avoiding shilling for Nobama. Hilarious.
Posted by: Paul | Sep 25, 2008 8:48:24 AM
Clinton wants Obama to lose, pure and simple.
Posted by: Reason | Sep 25, 2008 8:48:37 AM
Bill Clinton continues to show his statesman-like "bipartisianship" 40 days before an historic and very close election. The support of the Clintons has been tepid and perfuntory at best. It will be remembered.
Posted by: Donatella | Sep 25, 2008 8:48:43 AM
Come on Bill, just call Obama a big N word and get on with campaigning for McCain. If you think this won't be remembered in 2012 your an idiot.
Posted by: EMJ | Sep 25, 2008 8:48:58 AM
No way President Clinton. The is McCain playing games with the ultimate goal of moving the first presidential debate into the vp debate. He is trying to push the vp debate past the oct 15th date regarding main in votes because Palin's approval ratings are dropping, and he is trying to put a stop to this decrease in Palin's ratings from sinking faster in case she flops vs Biden. I hope that America can see through the latest scheme that McCain is rolling out.
Posted by: PA voter | Sep 25, 2008 8:48:58 AM
Where is Obama's race card playing surroge John Conyers now?
Posted by: geevill | Sep 25, 2008 8:50:09 AM
Hey Bill, you're still a Democrat right. So I see you're backing McCain so Barack will lose and Hill can run in 2012. Go crawl in a hole.
Posted by: D King | Sep 25, 2008 8:50:28 AM
Clinton…Confess that the economic mess is yours?
Democrat Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee is pushing the financial crisis on President Bush. Democrats blame the crisis largely on the failure of Bush to regulate the financial industry adequately. Where was Barney Frank during the developing financial crisis? He is chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. It is apparent that Frank does not know how to communicate with President Bush.
Face it Democrats, the Clinton administration was pushing Fannie and
her brother Freddie Mac to buy more mortgages from low-income
households. The Clinton-era corruption, combined with unprecedented catering to affordable housing lobbyists, resulted in today's nationalization of both Fannie and Freddie, a move that is could cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.
In addition, the worst is far from over…. By the time it is, we will all be paying for Clinton's social experiment, one that Obama hopes to trump with a completely new round of meddling in the housing and jobs markets. In fact, the social experiment Obama has planned could dwarf both the Great Society and New Deal in size and scope.
There is a political root cause to this mess that we ignore at our peril. If we blame the wrong culprits, we will learn the wrong lessons. In addition, taxpayers will be on the hook for even larger bailouts down the road.
However, the government-can-do-no-wrong crowd just does not get it. They will not acknowledge the law of unintended consequences from well- meaning, if misguided, acts.
Obama and Democrats on the Hill think even more regulation and more interference in the market will solve the problem their policies helped create. For now, unarmed by the historic record, conventional wisdom is buying into their blame-business-first rhetoric and bigger- government solutions.
While government arguably has a role in helping low-income folks buy a home, Clinton went overboard by strong-arming lenders with tougher and tougher regulations, which only led to lenders taking on hundreds of billions in sub prime bilge.
Market failure? Hardly. Once again, this crisis has government's fingerprints all over it.
So, blame anyone you want. The facts are in the public records for anyone to reference. Should the Democrats win, look forward to the beginning of a greatest economic depression of the United States of America.
Economic Depressions of the United States. 1807 - 1814. 1837 - 1844.
1873 - 1879.1893 - 1898. 1929 - 1941. 2010 - ?.
Posted by: Judge | Sep 25, 2008 8:50:40 AM
Bill Clinton has no credibility, and everyday he opens his smelly mouth, he makes himself look like a bigger fool. Everybody in America knows that John McCain is playing politics with this issue and the polls will reflect it next week. Everybody knows this. Bill Clinton, the most dishonest politician in America, cannot bail McCain on this idiot move.
Posted by: Kevin | Sep 25, 2008 8:51:14 AM
Bottom line: McCain is not on ONE single committee that decides the fate of the bailout. Nor do the committees meet at 8/9 pm on Friday night when the debates happen.
Posted by: Daniel | Sep 25, 2008 8:53:11 AM
it is clear to me that bill clinton sees obama for what he is, just a bunch of talk. regardless of party, bill clinton knows that mccain is made of substance and wants improvement. i was not a bill clinton supporter, but i have alot of respect for these recent comments regarding mccain. bill clinton obviously sees the need for congress to take action and is in full support of mccain's efforts.
Posted by: pete from florida | Sep 25, 2008 8:53:16 AM
Love ya Bill
People who remember the good economic times of the Clinton years would be well worth thinking that the Democratic party is hijacked by the move on, left wing, pelosi, reed, Obama, Axelrod crowd. They will only bring disaster to this country.
Posted by: Zig, | Sep 25, 2008 8:53:17 AM
John McCain is right. Fire Chairman Cox, head of the SEC.
I have bought and sold stocks since 1965. I shorted stocks from time to time, covered the stock and never were there any concerns with the market. Then, naked shorts and hedge funds came along and the market was for the big boys. The naked short selling destroyed some companies by driving the stock to essentially no value. A stock needs investors that trust the company and its stock. No one can trust a company when the stock drops and finally sells for 10 cent in the pink sheets.
There are companies that went bust and the naked shorts never did cover the stock. The hedge funds walked away with profits. Ex-hedge fund manager Jim Cramer of thestreet.com told the story of hedge funds. He never admitted to doing any wrong, but as he said, a hedge fund manger could drive a stock to nothing.
Chairman Cox knew of the naked shorts, but did not give much concern to the practice of selling a stock you did not own and did not cover. The big boys ignore the three-day rule. Chairmen Cox is a do nothing chairman that only has concerns for the hedge funds and the money he can earn.
Now, the hedge funds managers are crying fowl. How can we make money by trying to predict the market? Well, that is how it is ever since the beginning of Wall Street under a Buttonwood Tree.
John McCain had nothing to do with this financial crisis. Look to Chairman Cox, hedge fund managers and President Clinton‘s regulation for lenders. That is where you will find the root of the problem of today’s financial crisis.
Posted by: Judge | Sep 25, 2008 8:53:24 AM
Bill Clinton has no credibility? Well at least he won the "Bubba" vote twice. The votes Hillary won in the primaries. PUMA!
Posted by: geevill | Sep 25, 2008 8:54:17 AM
I voted for Bill Clinton twice and it sickens me to see his face on tv now. The republicans were dead on about him. He is an arrogant, egotistical, selfish, self destructive MANIAC!
We are watching Bill and this will never be forgotten. Your legacy is toast.
Posted by: tmill | Sep 25, 2008 8:54:20 AM
Why not just have the entire debate be about economics?
Of course, the debates probably won't matter much since about 80% of the electorate makes up their minds as soon as they see the little "R" or "D" on the ballot. Everybody starts with their preconceived notions of what's right and never budge off that position no matter what the evidence shows (because they never look for that evidence).
Posted by: Bill | Sep 25, 2008 8:55:06 AM
EVERY time I come to this site there is such an obvious slant by ABC showing they want Mccain, not Obama. Just scroll back uo and look at the story titles on the left of your screen. See the one that says Laura Bush said Palin is a quick study? Actually the more important statement Laura Bush made was that Palin does not have enough foriegn policy experience. That is what the real headline should be but ABC News, barely hidden in their support of McCain turns the story around. ABC News you are about as fair and balanced as Fox news.
Posted by: EMJ | Sep 25, 2008 8:55:06 AM
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