Reid: Presidential Politics Have Hindered Bailout Negotiations

Presidential politics have slowed down high-level negotiations over a Wall Street bailout plan among lawmakers and the Bush administration, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said at a press conference on Capitol Hill this morning.

“It’s time for presidential politics to leave the table,” Reid said. “The insertion of presidential politics has not been helpful. It’s been harmful.”

Reid said that John McCain, specifically, had been an obstacle to progress.

“All he has done is stand in front of the cameras,” Reid said. “We still don’t know where he stands on the issues.”

Reid said he had called on McCain to lay out his own stances on the bailout. Blogger Marc Ambinder this morning reported that McCain did not offer a specific endorsement of GOP proposals in yesterday’s meeting at the White House between himself, Barack Obama, President Bush, and congressional leaders.

Reid did not say whether Barack Obama’s comments on the bailout negotiations, or his presence yesterday at the White House meeting, had been an obstacle to compromise on a final deal.

But neither of the two presidential candidates, Reid said, have the same level of financial expertise as other lawmakers, such as Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who has been a prominent player in Senate negotiations.

“They’re not members of the Banking Committee and never have been,” Reid said of Obama and McCain.