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Republican John McCain says he’s directing his staff to work with Barack Obama’s campaign and the debate commission to delay Friday’s debate because of the economic crisis.

In a statement, McCain says he will stop campaigning after addressing former President Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative session on Thursday and return to Washington to focus on the nation’s financial problems.

McCain also said he wants President Bush to convene a leadership meeting in Washington. Both he and Obama would attend the session.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain met Wednesday with a panel of business executives to seek their opinions on the Bush administration’s proposed 0 million bailout of U.S. financial markets.

McCain said he wanted to discuss “how we can make sure that the American people regain confidence on Main Street so that they can regain their confidence in Wall Street and in Washington.”

McCain renewed his insistence that the bailout deal have greater transparency, oversight and CEO accountability to make it acceptable to voters.

“Most Americans feel very strongly this isn’t their fault. It’s Wall Street and Washington and the cozy insider relationships that have caused a great part of the problems,” he said.

Flanking McCain were former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, his one-time rival for the GOP presidential nomination, and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. Others in the meeting were John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, and John Thain, the CEO of Merrill Lynch before it was acquired by Bank of America earlier this month for a much-reduced value.

A survey by The Associated Press found that Thain was the best-paid corporate executive in the U.S. in 2007, receiving approximately .1 million in salary and bonuses that year.

McCain has stated repeatedly that the bailout package should not allow large payouts, called “golden parachutes,” for executives at failing firms like Merrill Lynch. Asked whether he believed the panel of business titans agreed with him on that principle, McCain said, “I think this group of people are as knowledgeable on the financial status of America as any group of Americans that I can find.”

McCain planned to meet later Wednesday with foreign leaders in town for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. His running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, was set to join him in a meeting with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko.

McCain was also scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and with Bono, the lead singer of U2 and an activist on global poverty and AIDS. He was scheduled to tape an appearance on “Late Night with David Letterman.”

McCain scheduled a session with Lady Lynn de Rothschild, a former supporter and fundraiser for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential run who announced last week that she was supporting McCain.

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