Obama Humiliated McCain in Bailout Meeting

Adding to prior reports about the supposedly all-important bailout meeting in the White House convened after John McCain’s “campaign suspension” stunt, the Washington Post reports  that Barack Obama directly confronted McCain on the emptiness of his position on the government response to the financial crisis:

Boehner was blunt. The plan Paulson laid out would not win the support of the vast majority of House Republicans. It had been improved on the edges, with an oversight board and caps on the compensation of participating executives. But it had to be changed at the core. He did not mention the insurance alternative, but Democrats did. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, pressed Boehner hard, asking him if he really intended to scrap the deal and start again.

No, Boehner replied, he just wanted his members to have a voice. Obama then jumped in to turn the question on his rival: “What do you think of the [insurance] plan, John?” he asked repeatedly. McCain did not answer.

One Republican in the room said it was clear that the Democrats came into the meeting with a “game plan” aimed at forcing McCain to choose between the administration and House Republicans. “They had taken McCain’s request for a meeting and trumped it,” said this source.

Congressional aides from both parties were standing in the lobby of the West Wing, unaware of the discord inside the Cabinet room, when McCain emerged alone, shook the hands of the Marines at the door and left. The aides were baffled. The plan had been for a bipartisan appearance before the media, featuring McCain, Obama and at least a firm statement in favor of intervention. Now, one of the leading men was gone.

 It may have taken 48 hours, but this is major, major report finally illustrating what really happened in the meeting. Barack Obama is in fact leading his Party and is trying to lead the country out of the financial crisis, unlike Bush and McCain, who are contemptuously joking around while Rome burns. This also explains why Obama did not “got for the jugular” in the debate; he knows he has McCain outwitted and outmaneuvered in the ongoing fight for over the bailout plan, perhaps even checkmated. The last question is still whether McCain will attempt opposing the deal, which would be both self-contradictory and extremely risky.