After the White House meeting, disputes arose about what McCain had done there.
Several Democrats in the room said he did not indicate his position on the bailout proposal. "Sen. McCain was very unclear," said House Banking Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), one of the leading congressional negotiators. "We also couldn't find out whether Sen. McCain was actively supporting this or not."
But McCain's campaign spokesman, Brian Rogers, said the nominee had spoken forcefully during the White House meeting. "He made himself very clear that we need to come together to try to get a deal," Rogers said.
McCain said later in an interview with ABC News that he was hopeful a deal was reachable. "I have talked to many of my colleagues today," McCain said, downplaying the negotiations that had gone on among senior lawmakers earlier in the day. "There never was a deal," he said.
GOP opposition to the bailout plan appeared to intensify after McCain's arrival in Washington. A group of senior House Republicans, including one of McCain's closest allies, announced an alternative proposal.
Several Republicans, meanwhile, said they were unsure what their party's nominee was doing. "The rank and file hasn't heard or seen anything," said North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx.
Frank suggested Thursday that the GOP uprising in the House may be a ruse to benefit McCain. "I think there might have been a little deadlock creation so it didn't look like he came for nothing," Frank said.
The idea was swiftly denied by House Republican leaders, including McCain ally Eric Cantor of Virginia, the GOP's chief deputy whip. Cantor said their plan was "not a product of his campaign."
Elsewhere, there were other signs that the presidential campaign was very much in swing.
Trailed by camera crews and reporters, Palin visited the former World Trade Center site in Manhattan to tour a museum built as a tribute to the victims of the 9/11 attacks.
McCain's campaign website still allowed supporters to volunteer or contribute. His national headquarters in Arlington, Va., as well as local, state and regional field offices remained open. And on Capitol Hill, McCain was joined by his senior campaign team, including strategist Steve Schmidt, campaign manager Rick Davis, aide Mark Salter and policy advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin.
Meanwhile, prospects that tonight's scheduled presidential debate in Mississippi would go off as planned brightened Thursday.
When McCain said he was suspending his campaign, he suggested that the debate at the University of Mississippi, which was to focus on foreign policy issues, be postponed.
Obama disagreed, saying Americans deserved to hear from the candidates -- one of whom in four months would be in charge of dealing with the country's financial mess.
Thursday evening, McCain said he hoped to attend the debate after all.
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noam.levey@latimes.com
bob.drogin@latimes.com
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Times staff writers Nicole Gaouette, Richard Simon, Michael Finnegan and Peter Nicholas contributed to this report.
