Beyond the Dome

So John McCain is heading off to the debates after all, now that his work here is done. What work, exactly? House Minority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri, the second-ranking GOP leader in that chamber, gave the clearest explanation yet today: McCain blocked a deal that House Republicans didn’t like.

In an interview with MSNBC, Blunt, who has now joined the talks on the financial bailout package on behalf of House Republicans, gave McCain credit for slowing down the train as other negotiators seemed close to a deal yesterday:

“Clearly, yesterday — his position on that discussion yesterday was one that stopped a deal from finalizing that no House Republican, in my view, would have been for, which means it wouldn’t have probably passed the House.

“Now, Democrats are in the majority. They can pass anything they want to without a single Republican vote. But they don’t seem to be willing to do that.

“I’m pleased we can have negotiations now that get us back toward things that we think can protect the taxpayers better, create more options, and, frankly, be better understood in the country than the plan — than the path we were on just a couple of days ago.”

Barack Obama’s campaign jumped on that statement as an admission that McCain never meant to help the talks at all.

“Congressman Blunt just confirmed what’s been clear since John McCain rode into Washington at the eleventh hour - Senator McCain’s political theatrics succeeded only in stopping a bipartisan deal,” campaign spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement. “During the most serious economic crisis of our time, we don’t need erratic posturing, we need steady leadership to protect American taxpayers and put our economy back on track.”

Stopping an unpopular deal, however, is not necessarily a bad thing on Capitol Hill. Many lawmakers, from both parties, say it’s part of their jobs to stop bad things from happening as well as trying to get good things done.

And it’s not as if House Republicans are the only ones who are up in arms about the prospect of a $700 billion, taxpayer-funded bailout. Outside the White House yesterday, a small crowd of demonstrators on the left protested the proposed deal. Many carrying “Nader-Gonzalez” signs, referring to independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader and running mate Matt Gonzalez, a ticket about as far from the views of your average House Republican as it’s possible to get.

But McCain never said he was coming to town to block a deal. He said he was returning to Washington to urge both parties to “work together again and put our country first.” And Blunt’s account is at odds with the description of McCain’s campaign, which worked hard yesterday to shoot down reports that McCain was trying to sink the emerging bailout deal.

“John McCain did not attack any proposal or endorse any plan,” the campaign said in a memo to reporters late last night. “John McCain simply urged that for any proposal to enjoy the confidence of the American people, stressing that all sides would have to cooperate and build a bipartisan consensus for a solution that protects taxpayers.”

The memo also insisted that “there never existed a ‘deal,’ but merely a proposal offered by a small, select group of Members of Congress.”

Sounds like it’s time for McCain and the House Republicans to get their stories straight.