Watching Dodd getting interviewed on CNN and basically said that the meeting with the President was a bust, and that many of the issues that they thought were resolved were suddenly brought up again by the House GOP, apparently with the support of John McCain, with some hints that Secretary Paulson may be interested in their plan.
Dodd was obviously not happy with this, basically insinuating that if they wanted to bring up an alternative plan, they should have done so at the start of the week, not after everyone has spent a week on this one deal.
Dodd also now doesn't think a deal will be done by tomorrow, and if the House GOP plan picks up steam, then it may not be until at least the end of next week until anything gets out.
My own thought on this is this: John McCain knew that the House GOP was reluctant to support the bailout bill, just because they tend to be ideologically opposed to government spending (in theory).
As a result, McCain took this opportunity to come in and show the House GOP a plan he thought they would like, and then came and crashed Bush's party by basically using the House GOP as the messenger to bring his new plan to the table.
In other words, he is literally trying to undue an almost done deal with seemingly everyone agreed on just so that he can come in and "save the day" by trying to force his own bill into the picture.
Of course, this also has other implications as well, including the fact that there is almost no way a deal will be reached by tomorrow night's debate, and there is a possibility that no deal may be reached even by next Thursday's Vice Presidential debate, giving them an excuse to skip out.
If I were Obama and the Democrats, this is what I would do:
Continue working on the current framework, but if it appears by the end of the day tomorrow that you just aren't going to get the House GOP votes you need to give yourself cover, then dump the plan and start working on your own from scratch.
Then next week we can have a battle - in Congress - between Obama's plan and McCain's plan and they can duke it out there.
Update
Commenters are now reporting that Senator Corker (god I still can't believe he won) also said that they had a deal going in, and that it was blown up afterwards. He, of course, tried to do it while being nicer to McCain, but that was the jist of it.
Update 2
Obama on CNN: Deal was done before he and McCain arrived and then "something happened." Obama also notes that the negotiations may be getting bogged down due to the introduction of Presidential politics.
Update 3
McCain on Nightly News: Country First! Town Hall Debates!
That's about it. Obama's tape blew up so they'll try to show his interview later.
Update 4
I should note, since people are asking, that Dodd said that "he had no idea" what McCain and the House GOP was talking about when they brought up their plan.
Update 5
This appears to be basically the proposal that McCain and the House GOP laid out. The basic points are:
- Government should "insure" currently uninsured mortgage backed securities, but make the companies pay for the premiums
- Remove regulations and taxes on capital
- Establish a "blue ribbon panel" to study the issue
Update 6
Here are some videos (thanks Tirge Caps)
Dodd on CNN
Dodd on MSNBC
Casey on MSNBC
Update 7
New Survey USA snap poll:
Should debate he held?
Held as scheduled - 43%
Held, but focus on economy - 31%
Postponed - 23%
What should campaigns do?
Refocus - 53%
Continue as normal - 25%
Suspend - 16%
Do you have confidence that McCain can lead in an economic crisis
No Confidence - 50%
Confidence - 41%
Do you have confidence that Obama can lead in an economic crisis
Confidence - 46%
No Confidence - 43%
Also:
51% are very or somewhat concerned that their bank will fail.
Update 8
Rahm on Countdown says that Paulson told McCain and House GOP that their plan was a "non-starter"
Interesting. Rahm also says that Gallup will have a poll tomorrow that says that 80% support some sort of bailout (I'll be interested in seeing that one and what the exact wording on it is)
Update 9
In more fun: J.P. Morgan buys Washington Mutual in a government brokered deal.
Thanks BDA in VA.
Update 10
If any of your are curious, Dow Jones After Hours trading shows the Dow down 110 124 142 160 176 points right now.
Update 11
Here is that USA Today/Gallup poll that was mentioned before:
As you may know, the Bush administration has proposed a plan that would allow the Treasury Department to buy and re-sell up to $700 billion of distressed assets from financial companies. What would you like to see Congress do -- [ROTATED: pass a plan similar to what the Bush administration has proposed, take action but pass something different from what the Bush administration has proposed, (or) not take any action on this matter]?
Pass Bush Plan - 22%
Pass Different Plan - 56%
Take No Action - 11%
Suppose Congress takes no action on this issue. Over the next few years, do you think the U.S. economy would -- [ROTATED: get better, not be affected much, (or) get worse]?
Get Better - 12%
No Effect - 8%
Get Worse - 74%
So, 78% support "some plan." The ambiguous thing about this poll is whether the bailout compromise is considered to be "different" from the Bush bailout or not. What is "different"? Does it mean different from the original giveaway with no oversight plan, or does it mean "something other than a bailout." If one went based off of just the question, one would probably have to answer the latter.
However, USA Today sells it as thus:
Nearly eight out of 10 Americans — 78% — say Congress should approve an historic bailout of the nation's financial markets, but most want lawmakers to significantly modify the Bush administration's $700 billion plan, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Wednesday night.
However, it's clear that people want something done.
Star Trek Update 12
Get a load of this:
Kevin Smith, a spokesman for House Republican Leader John Boehner, said the speed with which Dodd's plan was put together was designed "to deny Senator McCain a role in trying to craft a bipartisan solution."
So now they are complaining that the work on the plan was too fast, and intentionally so, for the purpose of denying McCain the chance to come in and save the day.
And in truth, he's probably right, but it's still dumb to act like it's McCain's raison d'être to save Congress from themselves.
h/t to Dittoz
Update 13
Barney Frank on MSNBC just said that the House GOP walked out of the bailout negotiations tonight on Capital Hill, and that there will be no vote unless the House GOP is on board with the bill.
He also notes that rising objections from Senator Graham may also suggest more obstruction by McCain.
Update 14
CNN reporting that McCain still hasn't told anyone not only his position on the bailout, but what things he would want to see in the bailout, for fears that his ideas may or may not be included because he suggests them.
Also say that negotiations will resume at 11:30 am tomorrow.