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Reid to Candidates: Stay Out of Washington

by Russell Berman
Wed, 24 Sep 2008 at 4:11 PM

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The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, is essentially warning the two presidential candidates to stay out of Washington this week. Mr. Reid just put out the following statement responding to Senator McCain's announcement that he was suspending his campaign to return to Capitol Hill and his call to postpone Friday night's debate in Mississippi.

In the statement, the majority says "it would not be helpful at this time" for either candidate to come back to Congress and join in the negotiations over a $700 billion government bailout of the financial markets.

Mr. Reid's full statement after the jump

Mr. Reid's full statement:

"This is a critical time for our country. While I appreciate that both candidates have signaled their willingness to help, Congress and the Administration have a process in place to reach a solution to this unprecedented financial crisis. I understand that the candidates are putting together a joint statement at Senator Obama's suggestion. But it would not be helpful at this time to have them come back during these negotiations and risk injecting presidential politics into this process or distract important talks about the future of our nation's economy. If that changes, we will call upon them. We need leadership; not a campaign photo op. If there were ever a time for both candidates to hold a debate before the American people about this serious challenge, it is now."

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