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White House: McCain Campaign’s Attack On Congress ‘Isn’t That Smart’

On the McCain campaign plane today, top adviser Steve Schmidt slammed congressional leaders for adjourning for recess on Sept. 26 before attempting to legislate a fix for the recent Wall Street meltdown:

It is a disgrace, a disgrace that the Democratic Congress would say, ‘We’re going to leave Washington and we think this benefits us politically. … When the democratic leadership in the Congress says we’ll deal with this after the election, we’re going home now is a clear indication that they’re not interested in working, you know, in a bipartisan way, where everybody sits in a room and says we have a major problem here in this country.

The White House, however, thinks a rush to pass legislation isn’t prudent. In today’s briefing, Press Secretary Dana Perino said she didn’t know if the White House even had a legislative request for Congress to act on, and hesitated to push legislation during a “market correction”:

I don’t know if we will have specific actions that we would ask them to take. … But I think Democrats themselves, and maybe some Republicans, have questioned whether or not they will be able to get anything done in the next two weeks. And it probably isn’t that smart to try to finalize a legislation in the middle of a market correction as we’re trying to figure out what other possible necessary steps may or may not need to be taken as we move forward.

Perino said any call for a lame-duck session is “premature,” adding, “I think right now that the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve have things in hand.” Watch it:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) echoed this sentiment, saying that “lawmakers first would need a better understanding of how the problems developed,” before legislating any remedy, CQ reports. Congress “has to find out what happened, why it happened, who is responsible and how we ought to go forward in the future,” said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), rejecting calls for passing legislation immediately.

While Schmidt claimed Congress is “not interested in working” and is simply saying “we’re going home now,” Pelosi said that as of yet, “she had not been briefed on any legislative plan by Paulson,” CQ adds. It seems Schmidt was the one looking for a scapegoat to score political points.



21 Responses to “White House: McCain Campaign’s Attack On Congress ‘Isn’t That Smart’”

  1. EugeneDebs says:

    He’s a Republican smart really isnt in his vocabulary.


  2. jb says:

    Maybe we should all dump our sick wives and marry a rich rich rich young heiress. Hey it has worked well for some.


  3. tarazan says:

    But McCain Senate attendance record is not that great…


  4. T R L says:

    since john mcdiper doesnt speak for his camp and LiL tucker barrows is gettin his butt whooped every times he goes on tha tube I guess ur next in line for some of that good ole ass spankin damm it mush be great to be a mashochist they just love tha pain


  5. stateofthedivision says:

    Wow, now that’s a flip flop from McCain’s earlier position of establishing a 9-11 style commission.


  6. impeachcheneythenbush says:

    Perino calls what’s going on now a “market correction?” Since she obviously never says anything that isn’t fed to her, I then assume this is what the Bush administration is calling this economic disaster? How completely insane is all of this? And I swear, whether I watch CNN or MSNBC or even FOX, all I see are the campaign supporters on both sides. This is absolutely the worst time for a market/economic meltdown, in the middle of a Presidential campaign. I see absolutely no resolution to this disaster, except for the Fed and the Treasury Dept. to push ahead on the “New Program” for rescuing investment banks and now insurance companies. And not only are they making commitments to spending money that Congress has never allocated, but they are sticking the American taxpayers with the bill. And, in fact, I’m beginning to think there are only three ways the Feds can bail out these corporations. Borrow more from China or Japan, print money, or allow major investments by soveriegn (sp) funds. I fear we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg of the “global international market.” Capitalism on steroids, a free market that is only manipulated to control markets. And strangely enough, it all comes down to one very old saying: “The love of money is the root of all evil.” Wierd, huh?


  7. Zooey says:

    Like that really means anything — coming from this White House.


  8. jb says:

    What’s up TP? I read Zooey’s comment then typed my snippy snark and it appeared way up at #2???


  9. stateofthedivision says:

    Let’s see John is against the Republican White House and fighting the Congress of which he is a member. When will he pull out the knife and start stabbing himself. I can just picture McCon saying:

    “Bad Republican, horrible Congressman, must be stopped. Take that! This is for deregulating! And for regulating!”


  10. spencers mom says:

    White House, blah blah blah, who cares.

    But, have you seen the latest projections from 538? For anyone who follows polls, Obama has seen a 40 point jump in the last 48 hours:

    http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

    A must read! Now, I guess I’d better read the topic of the thread. Sorry!

    PEACE


  11. theswan says:

    Steve, mr schmidt, trying to steal mcsane’s thunder just shows where your intelligence is.


  12. pastcaring says:

    Once again, John McCain is wrong–his campaign is wrong, etc.,


  13. scootmandubious says:

    ‘Smart’ is not a word I would use to describe the McCain-Palin ticket.

    Or, is that the Palin-McCain ticket? Palin actually said it like that in her Cedar Rapids stop with McCain.

    He must be freaking.

    If you haven’t seen it, it’s short and sweet. I have the video up here:
    http://scootmandubious.blogspot.com/2008/09/palin-touts-palin-mccain-administration.html


  14. Wayne A. Schneider says:

    slammed congressional leaders for adjourning for recess on Sept. 26

    TP? Is this a post from the future?


  15. Wayne says:

    It seems Schmidt was the one looking for a scapegoat to score political points.

    Finding scapegoats and running away from their party’s own record and actions is what Republicans do best.


  16. pete says:

    Personally, I would be delighted if the House and Senate resolved to do nothing until after the inauguration. I think it’s been established that little, or nothing, good is likely to happen with the current personalities in power. And even if a good Bill were to get pushed through, Chimpy would either veto it, or gut it with a signing statement. Sometimes, the safest action is no action at all.


  17. Wayne says:

    Wayne A. Schneider Says:

    slammed congressional leaders for adjourning for recess on Sept. 26

    TP? Is this a post from the future?

    Schmidt is the one predicting the future. He probably borrowed Kristol’s balls.


  18. helenahandbasket says:

    Schmidt’s OK, his market portfolio is in Deustche Poste World Net.


  19. MapleStreet says:

    1) Is this an example of Bush’s “strong leadership” ?

    2) If the McChurian candidate hasn’t shown up for Congress in the last 6 months, what makes anyone think he’ll show up for this ? (Or maybe that’s why he wants a special session – whether Congress meets or not is irrelevant to his schedule ?)


  20. Doc Rock says:

    Republicans tearing into one another, but Bush is a uniter, not a divider, isn’t he?


  21. T R L says:

    Market correction…….. sounds alot like stay the corse



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