First Debate's Fate Unclear As Obama Resists McCain's Call to Postpone

Sen. Barack Obama, campaigning in Dunedin, Fla., said, "It is going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once." (By Jason Reed -- Reuters)

Other polls showed little change since the Republican National Convention, and the McCain campaign held a news conference yesterday morning to dispute the Post-ABC survey. But all public polls this week show a decided advantage for Obama on handling the economy.

In the Post-ABC poll, Obama had a 24-point edge on the question of which candidate better understands the economic problems Americans are now confronting. He also had a double-digit advantage on handling the economy, just as he did in new Wall Street Journal-NBC News and Los Angeles Times-Bloomberg polls.

Obama and his senior campaign aides were roiled by McCain's announcement, describing it as a stunning twist to what they had thought was unfolding as a quiet and deliberative effort to show bipartisan solidarity before Bush's speech last night.

In back-to-back news conferences on Tuesday, Obama and McCain outlined nearly identical priorities for what the bailout legislation should include, such as benefits for taxpayers, restrictions on executive pay, and bipartisan oversight.

Later that evening, Obama received a phone message from Sen. Tom Coburn, a conservative Oklahoma Republican with whom he has worked previously on legislation. According to Obama, Coburn suggested that a joint statement outlining these shared principles might be helpful.

At 8:30 a.m. yesterday, Obama called McCain to run the idea by him, but the two did not talk.

About 2:30 p.m., Obama was leaving a rally at a minor league baseball stadium in Dunedin, Fla., when McCain returned his call. In a conversation that lasted about five minutes, Obama said the two discussed the joint statement idea and exchanged contact information so their aides could follow up.

Obama said McCain also raised the idea of suspending his campaign and delaying the debate. Obama said he did not rule out either option, but told McCain he wanted to see how events unfolded and suggested the candidates first address the immediate priority of speaking with one voice before Bush's address. By the time Obama returned to his hotel about 20 minutes later, McCain had already made his announcement.

In the McCain camp's version of events, the senator from Arizona became convinced during consultations with Republican congressional leaders that a joint statement would not be enough.

"What is clear from all of these conversations is two things -- first this is a dire situation," said Steve Schmidt, the day-to-day manager of McCain's campaign. "The second thing that is clear is that the administration proposal had lost all momentum. It did not have enough support to pass."

Staff writers Michael D. Shear, Shailagh Murray, Anne E. Kornblut and Robert G. Kaiser and polling director Jon Cohen contributed to this report.