When the mortgage deal was looking like it was dead in Congress, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson called the man who has a history of getting bi-partisan bills done. It wasn’t 3am on the clock, but it certainly was a critical time when a respected leader was needed to get things done. He called Senator John McCain:

BOB SCHIEFFER: I am told, Maggie, that the way McCain got involved in this in the first place, the Treasury Secretary was briefing Republicans in the House yesterday, the Republican conference, asked how many were ready to support the bailout plan. Only four of them held up their hands. Paulson then called, according to my sources, Senator Lindsey Graham, who is very close to John McCain, and told him: you’ve got to get the people in the McCain campaign, you’ve got to convince John McCain to give these Republicans some political cover. If you don’t do that, this whole bailout plan is going to fail. So that’s how, McCain, apparently, became involved.

Continued Schieffer:

SCHIEFFER: He has gotten what he wants, he’s going to have this meeting, kind of a summit today with the president and Barack Obama. I’m told that the leaders of both parties are getting close to having some kind of a bill. The question, though, is whether rank-and-file Republicans, especially, are going to vote for this.

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“Come on guys, I’ve answered like, eight questions,” - Barack Obama March 3, 2008.

That was response Barack Obama gave when he was tired of having to answer for what one of his economic advisers had said (Goolsbee’s assurance that Canada shouldn’t worry that we’re pulling out of NAFTA). A major incident in his campaign (you know, the reason he’s qualified for president) and he can’t be bothered for more than a few minutes.

It wasn’t a pretty sight, it was whining. It was also an insight into how Barack Obama does under pressure. God forbid he becomes president - I can just imagine him sitting across the table from Putin, “Come on Vlad, I gave you, like, half of Europe.”

Oh, and don’t interrupt him when he’s eating either. We know that presidents can always finish their meal before dealing with a crisis…. “Why can’t I just eat my waffle?” he said, when asked a foreign policy question by a reporter. It wasn’t even 3am, and he voted present.

He’s a guy who can’t take any criticism without running to mommy or playing the race card. I have lost track of how many times Barack has tried to play the race card.

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Yet another offspring of a Dem politician doing illegal things to interfere with an election. From the Tennessean

NASHVILLE – The son of state Rep. Mike Kernell has been contacted by authorities in connection with a probe into the hacking of personal e-mail of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Kernell told The Tennessean.

Kernell, a Memphis Democrat, said his 20-year-old son David had been contacted by authorities investigating the hacking of Palin’s personal e-mail account, the newspaper reported on its Web site this afternoon.

The FBI and the Secret Service started a formal investigation Wednesday into the hacking, according to the Associated Press.

David Kernell is a student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

More to come.

The new york times (sic) reports that in a New Hampshire townhall meeting today Joe Biden said that Hillary Clinton should have been the Veep pick:

Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee, said this afternoon that perhaps Senator Barack Obama should have chosen someone else as his running mate.

Responding to a question at a town hall-style meeting at Nashua Community College, Mr. Biden said, “Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. Quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me.”

He added, “She’s qualified to be president. I mean that sincerely, she’s first rate.”

I bet Obama’s thinking, “Shut UP Joe, it’s not like I can do anything about that now.”

Thomas Eagleton disagrees.

Update:

Joe Biden was asked about Governor Palin’s qualifications:

Biden said he doesn’t know (Gov) Palin but, “(everything) I know about her, there’s no reason not to respect her and believe she’s qualified to be the vice president.”

More Biden:

“If you get elected governor of a state, you’re qualified, and she’s apparently a very popular governor.” Biden said Tuesday night in an interview with the Herald-Tribune. “Qualified to run for vice president until proven otherwise.”

We all remember what Joe Biden has said about his own running mate, community organizer Barry Obama?