McCain of the suspended campaign "didn't see the need to speak on the bill."

[Youphemism]

Yeah, it's an economic meltdown, a financial Pearl Harbor worthy of dropping everything to address. But there are other people willing to speak on the Senate floor, like Senator Obama, and that building is so drafty.

Lotsa happy, good stuff in this Politico article, but here's the section on the candidates' role in the Senate vote... I just don't understand why McCain ducked such an obvious chance to help pass important legislation and get some microphone time. What were they thinking?

Here's the part I was talking about, from the following article:

http://dyn.politico.com/printplaybook.cfm?uuid=BD9DB9E0-18FE-70B2-A810E6C8C18F37F6

OBAMA SPOKE McCAIN DIDN’T -- AP’s Laurie Kellman and Liz Sidoti: “Obama used the opportunity before his colleagues and TV cameras to lay out his rationale and explain his economic vision. ‘This will not solve all our problems,’ Obama said on the Senate floor, as his Democratic colleagues streamed in to listen. ‘This is what we need to do right now, to prevent the possibility of a crisis turning into a catastrophe.’ McCain did not speak about the measure from the chamber. Before the roll was called, the Arizona senator dined in Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell's office with other GOP senators. ‘He was working hard with his colleagues to ensure that this package moved forward,’ said Mark Buse, McCain's Senate chief of staff. ‘He didn't see the need to speak on the bill.’”