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This, from Political Wire, is rather interesting:
Congressional leaders tell George Stephanopoulos that if Sen. John McCain doesn't support the Bush administration's $700 billion bank bailout plan, the plan won't pass. Said one lawmaker: "If McCain doesn't come out for this, it's over.""A Democratic leadership source says that White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten has been told that Democratic votes will not be there if McCain votes no -- that there is no deal if McCain doesn't go along."Jake Tapper: "Senior Democrats on the Hill are worried that Sen. McCain will 'demagogue' the bill, continue to voice opposition to it, use it to run against both Wall Street and Congress, as well as to distance himself from the Bush White House. Democrats worry McCain will not only vote against the bill, he will provide cover for other Republicans to do so, leaving Democrats holding the bag for the Bush administration's deeply unpopular proposal."In other words: No McCain, no bill. The subtext here is that both McCain and Obama believe they may well wake up on November 5th as the president-elect and neither wants to govern amidst a disastrous credit contraction nor a wrecked and rusted economy. So it's in their interests for Congress to act responsibly here. But it's also in their interests to let Congress endure the backlash of the bailout vote while they publicly oppose not only the bill, but the Washington sellouts who approved it. In other words: The best outcome for McCain is to free-ride on congressional approval of the bailout bill. That way he receives the benefits of the economic stability it will theoretically ensure but also captures the political upside of opposition. What the Democrats in congress are telegraphing is that they're not going to act responsibly unless McCain does the same. There will be no presidential free-riding on this vote.
