BUSTED: It was McCain who suggested WH stunt meeting to Bush

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

Presidential spokesperson Dana Perino on this afternoon's high-profile White House meeting among Bush, McCain and Obama: "Sen. McCain is the one who called for the meeting, and we thought it was a good idea."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/mccain-campai-2.html

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/219717.php

[FreakinDJ]

1. After tomorrow all of Wall St will hate McSame for that

he turned all the talks into a political stunt

[TankLV]

4. SURE they will -

only place I heard of this bit of TRUTH is here, NOW...

if you believe this will become common knowledge, then I have a bridge to nowhere to sell ya...

[berni_mccoy]

2. Get Thee To The Greatest! K&EFFING R!!!!

[pinto]

3. Yep. That would seem to be busted. Grandstanding. (TPM cites the quote here.)

[quantass]

5. k&r

[truthisfreedom]

6. Why did Dana Perino just throw McStunt under the bus?

What a weird thing to do. Does bush hate McScrewy?

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

11. She didn't think it was damaging

She thought it showed how McCain is involved and bipartisan. I'm sure she had no idea he was going to try to scuttle the president's plan.

(I think the comment was before the meeting)

[4_Legs_Good]

7. It's crazy. We're this close to a deal: || Then, he suggests this meeting

he shows up, doesn't say anything substantive and we all walk away without a deal.

WTF is going on here??!?!?!?!?!?!?

David

[TheKentuckian]

8. Perino stated that this morning before McHoover's photo op

It was in a press conference. I saw it on cable, CNN or MSNBC. Its no secret.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

12. Certainly not a secret, but not integrated into the narrative

It is still being described on TV as Bush's idea.

The craziness is so fast and furious no one can keep up.

[BrklynLiberal]

9. Pfffffft. What a grandstanding idiot ...actually Bush & McSame are both idiots.

[1corona4u]

10. We already knew that....

am I missing something? They said yesterday that mccrap called it, and shrub agreed.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

15. Sorry. I had only heard it presented on TV as a Bush operation.

[Fleshdancer]

13. am I missing something or did McCain screw over Bush?

Bush thought McCain would back his plan when he agreed to this farce.

[krkaufman]

23. That is a sweet irony. Let them cannibalize each other, now n/t

[ProgressiveEconomist]

14. LINK to even better source for yr quote: the WH itself:"McCain is the one who called for the meeting...

From http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/09/20080925-7.html :

"Press Briefing by Dana Perino September 15 2008

Q But this -- I mean, beyond a photo op, what do you get out of today -- here, this specific meeting here?

MS. PERINO: Well, I think that you -- if you look at some of the commentary that was coming out from people on background -- nobody was really willing to go on the record -- but they were all looking at each other. We're in the middle of an election campaign, there's no doubt about it. It's dominating our coverage and it was starting to seep into the debate. And even though people wanted to work in a bipartisan fashion, the thought was that bringing these two candidates together would actually help finalize the framework that we were closing in on, and we think that that's all for the better.

Q Is it a fair statement to say that actually this idea where everybody is sitting down -- bicameral, bipartisan, Obama, McCain -- that starts with Senator McCain?

MS. PERINO: Senator McCain is the one who called for the meeting and we thought that it was a good idea. And I think that everybody who is coming today thinks that it was -- it's a good idea. But certainly I would say that members from both sides of the aisle and both Houses of Congress and both of the candidates have recognized the urgency with which we need to move, and they've been trying to work together. So if this meeting can help bring it to conclusion, that will help us, too.

Q How could it? How could it help bring it to a conclusion?

MS. PERINO: Well, I think that having everybody on the same page and here, airing out the final issues that we have to deal with could help us finalize it and get it to a vote.

Q But you just said you don't know if you'll have a deal before the meeting or directly after, but it sounds like we're talking imminent here. MS. PERINO: I wouldn't say that. I think it's impossible to say. I wouldn't say that we could get one before or after; I just don't know. What I do know is that it is urgent that we get it done.

Q But, Dana, is that not happening on the Hill? You say it's important to get everyone in the room, everyone on the same page, air out the differences. Is that not happening in the meetings on the Hill?

MS. PERINO: No, I think it is, and that's why -- that's part of the legislative process. And the President now can bring everybody together after they've hashed through a lot of the issues and had their hearings and invited our -- members of the administration to come up, talk with them. We've been in the room, working with staff on details of the legislation, accepting some of their recommendations, pushing back on others. For example, on executive compensation, I think we all understand the sentiment that executives should not have a windfall based on something that was a failure. And so -- but Secretary Paulson knows how important it is to get those details exactly right, so he's trying to work on the language so it would be what we -- enough of what we need in order to get the legislation done, and in a way that will protect the taxpayers. So those are -- that's one of the things that we're working on.

So we can do that up on the Hill. But I think this meeting is a way to bring everybody together, bring all the pieces together, everyone in one room with the President of the United States, who gave an address to the nation last night to talk about how dire the situation is and how we need to move urgently. And he's really appreciative of the bipartisan cooperation that we've had so far.

Q Dana, this sounds like a negotiating meeting at 4:00 p.m. Is it?

MS. PERINO: I didn't describe it that way, and I think that we need to let the meeting take place, and then I'll describe it for you. I don't know exactly how the meeting is going to play out."

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

16. LOL: "I don't know exactly how the meeting is going to play out."

[BlueIdaho]

17. Any chance the MSM will report on this disasterous McCain stunt?

[SKKY]

18. So, I'm going to assume McCain somehow got very, very "Educated"...

...on the finer workings of our economic system, and has now developed a plan of his own?

[farmboxer]

19. White House meeting is a trick to help McCain appear as a maverick

White House meeting is a trick to help McCain appear as a maverick

who saves Tax payers from Wall Street. McCain campaign plans to blame Dems and Obama on problem, that Dems want to help Wall Street and McCain came to White House to save America from that problem, which is one reason a few Repubs, plus McCain put on this stunt. Dems should not fall on it, they will be blamed, watch out!

So, McCain comes to the rescue, saves taxpayers. CNN can't wait to claim that for their guy McCain.

[Born_A_Truman]

20. I heard it yesterday too...

I'm still confused as to what the meeting was supposed to be since all I have read is that McCain didn't really add to the discussion.

Anyone know any details about the so-called yelling session that was mentioned happened in the meeting? I haven't seen any specifics.

[krkaufman]

24. I expect it was mostly to provide cover for McCain, by forcing Obama to also fly back to DC ...

... per the request from the White House. The fact that McCain scuttled Bush's bailout plan is mildly ironic.

[amborin]

21. mccain will try to say he's solved the impasse....the whole thing was a rovian trick

[Imagevision]

22. McCain needs to get knocked on his ass (which he just did) from his dumb moves, he

can't face Obama in tomorrows debate because he totally at loss with himself!

[debbierlus]

25. McSame & McBush - Boy, they do make screeching, awful music together

[DangerousRhythm]

26. K&R

:dem:

[cyberpj]

27. good to have it made public. k&R