McCain camp not 'a CNBC news show'
Posted: Friday, October 10, 2008 1:49 PM by Carrie Dann
From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy and Carrie Dann
Asked on a just-ended conference call about his candidates' lack of daily campaign statements on the plummeting of global markets in recent days, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said that too much focus on the stock market could be redundant if repeated every day.
"I don't know if you really want to turn a campaign into a CNBC news show on the stock market," he said. "I mean it doesn't mean that we don't care and aren't trying to do something about it. It's just I'm not exactly sure what you say everyday."
"There’s very little a candidate for president, and frankly after watching today, very little even the president can say about what’s happening in the stock markets other than to hope that they correct themselves," he said, calling McCain's mortgage plan "the best elixir for doing that."
Earlier in Davis' answer to the question, he said: "Obviously I can't imagine a situation where on a daily basis a campaign would put out statements related to whatever the market was doing, and we hope the market gets better. We think we've got the economy policies that if John McCain's elected president will improve the market because they will actually add stability to the financial system that is in so much turmoil today. "
Also in his response, Davis expressed anxiety about the activity of the markets even during the time period immediately preceding the call. "Frankly, I've been on this phone for the last hour, I'm kind of worried to get out and see what it's done to my portfolio," he said.
