Update [2008-9-24 17:2:4 by Glic]: This was a very good statement. Obama that the American people need to know about the candidates and hear from them and that there are many situations where a President has to do more that one thing. He also very carefully, but graciously, made the point that he initiated the contact about the joint statement and McCain agreed to it. They did not agree to canceling the debates. Obama said McCain asked for that but Obama said they should just make their joint statement; by the time he got back to his hotel, McCain was on TV suspending his campaign and trying to pull out of the debate. "This is exactly the time the American people need to hear from the person who will be responsible for dealing with this mess."
Barack Obama is scheduled to begin speaking at about 4:45pm Eastern time. Obama is expected to say that the candidates should be able to both work on the financial situation as well as debate and that the only thing that has changed is McCain's position in the polls.
Obama is speaking: "This is a moment of great uncertainty..much blame to go around, but we're now here and every American has a stake in solving this crisis.