Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Presidential politics ran smack into the U.S. financial crisis yesterday. Or maybe it was the other way around.

Republican candidate John McCain, seeking to portray himself as a leader on an issue that polls show has been working against him, said he'll suspend his campaign and return to Washington to join talks over the Bush administration's proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. He also said he wouldn't take part in tomorrow's scheduled debate with Democrat Barack Obama unless the crisis is resolved.

Obama, saying that a president must be able to handle ``more than one thing at a time,'' said he would continue to campaign. He said the debate should go on as planned to provide Americans a forum to evaluate how each candidate would handle the calamity that has gripped Wall Street and Washington.

McCain's thrust and Obama's parry added to the uncertainty of the campaign and carried risk for both candidates.

``This is a fascinating gambit, in an already fascinating election,'' said Sidney Milkis, a University of Virginia political science professor. ``One could say that McCain's `putting country first' would be more impressive if he were ahead, instead of behind, as many recent polls suggest.''

President George W. Bush, who addressed the nation last night on the financial crisis, invited both Obama and McCain to a meeting at the White House today, along with congressional leaders, to try to accelerate plans to solve the crisis.

`Rise Above Politics'

The two candidates last night released a joint statement calling on members of Congress from both parties to work together. ``This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country,'' said the statement. ``We cannot risk an economic catastrophe.''

The two had talked earlier in the day about issuing the statement, though McCain got out ahead of that plan by suspending campaigning.

In an interview with CBS News last night, he said: ``It's clear to me that we've got to act before the weekend. We've got to show the world markets that we're serious about this. This is not just going to affect Wall Street, this will affect every family in America.''

Obama supporters said introducing the campaign to the negotiating table was ill-advised.

``Bringing in all the lights and cameras into Capitol Hill to bring the presidential campaign here is certainly not going to be the answer,'' said Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid agreed, saying, ``We are doing just fine.''

`Bull By the Horns'

McCain drew support from Republicans, with Senator Mel Martinez of Florida saying he ``took the bull by the horns and exercised leadership'' by calling for the campaign's suspension. Lawmakers know ``the financial crisis is huge, but can't come together,'' to complete legislation, he said.

Obama and McCain were to debate foreign policy tomorrow at the University of Mississippi. While McCain, 72, said the debate could wait, Obama, 46, said both candidates have campaign planes that could easily ferry them from Washington to Mississippi.

Obama rejected McCain's proposal to postpone the debate, saying it's ``more important than ever'' for the candidates to tell voters how they would deal with the crisis. He said they can address issues in Congress while campaigning. ``It is going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once,'' Obama said.

Caught by Surprise

The Illinois senator indicated that McCain's announcement caught him by surprise.

``I thought this was something he was mulling over; apparently this was something he was more decisive about in his own mind,'' Obama said in Clearwater, Florida.

McCain said ``we are running out of time'' and that the Bush administration's proposal to rescue struggling financial companies and unlock credit markets wouldn't pass Congress in its initial form.

He called Warren Buffett to discuss the crisis, a senior campaign official said. Buffett, chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and an adviser to Obama, warned in a CNBC interview the U.S. is facing ``an economic Pearl Harbor.''

McCain has been trailing Obama in recent polls and the gap has widened as the financial-markets crisis has unfolded. Obama opened a 4-point lead in a Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times national poll conducted Sept. 19-22.

Change of Heart

The Arizona senator's change of heart began to take shape Tuesday as both he and Obama were conferring separately with aides and members of Congress about how to respond to the crisis. McCain talked with Republican House and Senate leaders, and Obama received an unexpected phone call from Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, who urged him to work with McCain to issue a statement.

At 8:30 a.m. yesterday, Obama called McCain and left a message while McCain was meeting in New York with economic advisers. McCain and running mate Sarah Palin then met at about 11 a.m. with the presidents of Georgia and Ukraine, who were among leaders gathered in the city for the United Nations General Assembly. Before noon, McCain was scheduled for two hours of debate preparation, though that session was interrupted by phone calls, including a conversation with Senator Hillary Clinton.

At about 1:50 p.m., Obama began a rally in Dunedin, Florida, speaking for about 40 minutes.

McCain was changing his schedule, canceling a taping of David Letterman's show to return to his hotel at about 2 p.m. About 30 minutes later, he announced he would suspend his campaign and ask that the debate be postponed.

The Commission on Presidential Debates hasn't heard from McCain and doesn't have any information on possible changes, a spokeswoman said. The University of Mississippi in Oxford issued a statement saying it's going ahead with preparations.

Bush's spokeswoman said the president welcomed McCain's move.

``Bipartisan support from Senators McCain and Obama would be helpful in driving to a conclusion,'' press secretary Dana Perino said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Edwin Chen in New York at Echen32@bloomberg.net; Julianna Goldman in Clearwater, Florida, at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 25, 2008 00:01 EDT