Washington Post - McCain Speaks at Clinton Initiative

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Washington Post - McCain Speaks at Clinton Initiative

By Michael D. Shear

The morning after he declared he would suspend his presidential campaigning and return to Washington to deal with the U.S. economic crisis, Sen. John McCain made one last campaign stop, speaking at a conference on global issues organized by former president Bill Clinton.

Addressing his dramatic call for a pause in the intense presidential campaign, McCain said he intends to "join" the debate in Washington over how to address the meltdown in the country's financial institutions.

"I cannot carry on a campaign as though this dangerous situation had not occurred, or as though a solution were at hand, which it clearly is not," McCain said. "With so much on the line, for America and the world, the debate that matters most right now is taking place in the United States Capitol -- and I intend to join it. Senator Obama is doing the same. America should be proud of the bipartisanship we are seeing."

His comments came even as there were indications that lawmakers may already be closer to a deal on legislation to address the crisis. But McCain offered a pessimistic assessment of immediate success.

"It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the Administration's proposal to meet the crisis," he said. "I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time."

Following McCain's visit to the conference, called the Clinton Global Initiative, the Republican nominee is scheduled to return to Washington and his Senate office to begin discussions about the economic rescue package.

Later in the afternoon, McCain and his rival, Sen. Barack Obama, are scheduled to meet at the White House with President Bush and congressional leaders.

"This kind of cooperation has made all the difference at crucial turns in our history," McCain said. "It has given us hope in difficult times. It has moved America forward, through all adversity. And now, in this crisis, we must work together again and put our country first."

Aides had promised a non-partisan speech from McCain this morning, and he largely delivered, praising the Clinton organization for "the good work you have done to relieve suffering across the earth, and to spread hope."

The Global Initiative was started by Clinton to help address some of the world's most intractable problems. It has sought to address malaria in African countries, support women farmers in Pakistan, improve worldwide education and build solar power in Ethiopia.

McCain declared his support for efforts to combat global warming, dropping his stump speech demands to "drill here, drill now" in favor of more "green" rhetoric that would appeal to the crowd at the conference.

"To make the great turn away from carbon-emitting fuels, we will need all the inventive genius of which America is capable," he said. "We will need as well an economy strong enough to support our nation's great shift toward clean energy."

He pledged support for the organization's efforts to combat malaria, saying that "should I be elected, I will build on these and other initiatives to ensure that malaria kills no more."

McCain promised that as president he will work to improve world health and combat AIDS, in part by promoting free trade and ending unfair subsidies for medicine and other goods.

"I thank you for the even greater works that you seek to accomplish in the years to come, under the leadership of the man from Hope," he said. "And I thank you all for your kind attention here today."

Clinton introduced McCain by saying that he "could never have known the circumstances that would be present today, with an American financial system teetering and under assault."

But he praised McCain and Obama for making an unprecedented decision to issue a joint statement and say that "we're just going to figure out what to do and do the right thing."

And Clinton gave McCain credit for being willing to examine the issue of global warming when many in his party did not believe that it was a danger to the future.

"When most people in his party were thinking that global warming was overstated and maybe even a myth ... he decided to look into it," Clinton said.

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