Obama and McCain in White House talks on Wall St crisis
US presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain have agreed to meet President Bush at the White House today to discuss the Wall Street crisis.
The men issued a joint statement today saying: "This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country."
The idea of a bipartisan response came from the Democrat Obama, although Republican John McCain tried to hijack the idea as his own.
After taking a call from Obama suggesting the truce, McCain rushed on to the airwaves to say he was suspending his campaign.
He also called for a debate with his rival, scheduled for tomorrow, to be scrapped.
Obama says it should go ahead. "What I'm planning to do now is debate on Friday," he said. "I think that it is going to be part of the President's job to deal with more than one thing at once."
Economics has become the central issue of the race with the meltdown apparently helping Obama.
McCain said he was going to Washington to help solve the crisis and would only attend the debate if a Congressional rescue deal was sealed.
"If the package is reached and the country is saved, there will be a debate," an aide said. "But if there's no deal, how can you get on a plane... for a debate?"
McCain has acknowledged in the past he knows little or nothing about economics and this week has flip-flopped in his responses to the crisis.
He attracted heavy flak for his assertion economic fundamentals were sound, and is trying to get his message back on track.
Obama has appeared much more sure-footed and has demanded that the rescue plan provide more than just handouts for Wall Street.
He says ordinary home owners should see some safety net for their loans, there should be limits to bankers' pay packages under the scheme and taxpayers should get some equity in the firms they save.
The fate of the debate remains unclear. The US Commission on Presidential Debates, which is organising it, said it would go ahead tomorrow as planned.
