Republican presidential nominee John McCain returns to the trail today after a dramatic but rocky four-day detour that upended his campaign, upset supporters and gave new ammunition to critics who question his judgment.
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After arriving in Mississippi, he decided to return to the capital immediately after the debate. His late-night flight landed at 3:15 a.m. Saturday. Later that day, he made 17 phone calls from his campaign office to White House and congressional leaders, but did not take part in the late-night negotiations that finally hammered out the proposed accord.
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McCain also defended his decision to become so personally involved in the bailout debate. “I did the best that I could,” he said. “I came back because I wasn’t going to phone it in.”

Continued McCain, “But as it turned out, the best I could do was literally to phone it in.”

Tags: politics, john mccain, bailout, economics, phoning it in