MCCAIN SHOWS REAL LEADERSHIP IN TIME OF CRISIS

26, 2008

COMMENTARY

STEVE HUNTLEY:: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

Well, it was nice of Barack Obama to take a break from his debate prep to fly to Washington to help address what he calls the biggest economic crisis facing the nation since the Depression. Of course, it did take a presidential invitation to jolt him into action. In contrast, John McCain, on his own initiative, suspended his campaign to offer aid in achieving bipartisan consensus on economic rescue legislation.

What we are talking about here is leadership in a time of crisis. Maybe there was a political calculation in the McCain campaign as the Republican presidential nominee, whose poll numbers have sagged, made his decision. But wasn't his surprise announcement completely in character for the maverick senator? Be it campaign finance regulation, immigration reform or climate change, he has never hesitated to take a leadership position on an issue he sees as critical to the country.

With George W. Bush being a lame duck president whose influence is declining among Republican lawmakers, McCain is the head of the GOP. By the same token, Obama has replaced former President Bill Clinton as the leader of the Democrats. In what everyone believes is a critical governing moment for the country, both men -- who are, after all, members of the Senate -- should be at the center of decision-making. It's a simple matter of all officers on deck in the heat of battle.

As it turns out, McCain was encouraged by forces outside his campaign. The Wall Street Journal reported that in a Wednesday meeting with some of the "financial titans" of Wall Street, he was told of the pressing need to pass the rescue package soon. "We urged John to get all over it, that this is a national security issue," one executive told the Journal.

Also, it was apparent that GOP lawmakers were looking to him for guidance, especially since many of their constituents harbor doubts about the rescue bill. No less a figure than Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said McCain's support was necessary to pass the bill. But once McCain's announcement came, Reid switched signals and claimed he wasn't needed in Washington. Talk about cynical politics. Reid recognized McCain was exercising leadership that the Democratic nominee wasn't, and he tried to demean it.

Obama was no less dismissive. Calling for the campaign to continue, he said, "It's going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once." That's certainly glib. But it ignores the obvious fact that we are in a time of extraordinary challenge that requires concentrated focus by our nation's leaders to meet it.

Obama finally relented and left his preparations for the debate (scheduled for tonight but in doubt because McCain has suspended his campaign) after Bush invited him to join McCain and congressional leaders for a meeting Thursday. The idea of a presidential session to work toward a bipartisan solution was suggested to the White House by McCain. That's a pretty clear picture of the veteran senator trying to play a helpful role.

There was some heated rhetoric about presidential politics being injected into the economic rescue deliberations. As if politics is ever far from anything in Washington. Political risks exist for both sides. McCain could end up with little to show for his intervention and Obama could be branded as reluctant to act in a time of national crisis. Whatever the political fallout, the voters will learn something about both candidates as they ponder the decision they must make Nov. 4.