Jenni Bergal, Senior Editor

Editor's Note: When presidential politics got entangled in the financial bailout plan this past week, NPR News Analyst Daniel Schorr had these thoughts, in an essay he wrote for Weekend Edition Sunday:

There comes a time when a presidential candidate should say to himself, "Don't just do something. Stand there."

A financial emergency represents a great temptation to get involved. But the candidates should consider that there is only one president at a time and that getting involved from the political sidelines may only confuse and complicate the crisis.

Why Senator John McCain chose suddenly to announce that he was suspending his campaign and backing out of a long scheduled debate only he can say. Eventually, he changed his mind and attended the debate. But it looked like a political ploy to stay connected with the big story.

The joint statement of Senators McCain and Obama contributed nothing. The so-called summit conference at the White House only distracted from the strenuous efforts that were being made to fashion a bill that the president and Congress could agree on.

And, let it not be forgotten, the two candidates are still members of the U.S. Senate who are responsible for voting on the bailout package.

"The Candidates Vote Present" was the headline on a Wall Street Journal editorial that expressed itself as mystified that the candidates would neglect their senatorial duties in order to pursue their political aspirations.

"Whatever the motives, this is not what the country expects from its presidential candidates," the Journal admonished the errant candidates.

Until recently, it has been rare for sitting members of Congress to run for president. Several of our presidents were no longer in office when they ran for the White House. Bob Dole resigned from the Senate during his bid for the presidency. Nixon, in his second bid, ran as an ex-vice president and won. And Jimmy Carter ran as a former governor of Georgia.

In the end, when Senators McCain and Obama got involved in the financial crisis this week, both the campaign and the bailout package suffered. What America needs probably least of all is the politicizing of a genuine crisis by the involvement of campaigning candidates.

8:01 - September 27, 2008

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