WASHINGTON, DC — Sen. Barack Obama returned to Washington on Wednesday night to back the bailout package, both with his vote and his rhetoric, as the Democratic nominee took to the Senate floor asking his colleagues in both parties to pass the controversial measure.
Obama stepped out of his van on Capitol Hill at 4:22pm, talking on a cell phone, and ignored a journalist’s question about what he would do to recruit more votes for the bailout. “He waved at us and said nothing,” wrote the reporter on pool duty.
Soon Obama was on the Senate floor, offering a wonky reprisal of his economic stump speech. The well-timed address is not designed to move votes. Unlike the House, the Senate vote is expected to back the bill by a wide margin. That’s partly because unlike the House, the vast majority of Senators are not up for reelection next month. Thus constituents who oppose the bailout have less leverage on the Senate side. Of course, Obama is aiming for the largest constituency of all, and still bucking public opinion today.