John McCain 'undermining' bail-out to lift campaign

• Bipartisan talks at White House unable to seal deal
• Democrats say Republican ploy damages consensus

Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
The Guardian, Friday September 26 2008

John McCain was accused last night of sabotaging the Wall Street bail-out with theatrics that reduced America's credit crisis to a showcase for his presidential leadership capabilities.

The furious words for the Republican candidate came after a contentious meeting at the White House between George Bush and congressional leaders scuppered an early deal on a $700bn rescue package. Both McCain and Barack Obama attended the meeting.

The extraordinary session had been called after McCain's stunning announcement on Wednesday that he would suspend his campaign and would seek a delay in tonight's presidential debate to try to personally help steer through a deal on the bail-out. By midday yesterday, congressional leaders said they had reached the outlines of a deal.

But that optimism appeared to have dissipated after the White House meeting.

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