McCain says Obama & Democrats need to work on bipartisanship, "hopes they've learned a lesson"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

McCain says Obama needs to work on bipartisanship

http://uk.reuters.com/article/usPoliticsNews/idUKTRE51C65H20090213

Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:05pm GMT

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator John McCain said on Friday that President Barack Obama should include Republicans in his plans sooner if he really wants their support after the bitter debate over the $787 billion economic stimulus bill.

McCain, who lost the 2008 presidential election to Obama, and other Republicans complained they had been left out of negotiations on the legislation by Democrats who hold majorities in both houses of Congress.

McCain said the bill was filled with non-emergency spending paid for with borrowed money that future generations will have to pay back.

"I think that the majority of people understand that this was generational theft," McCain told Reuters.

The Arizona senator said many other issues coming up will require a bipartisan effort that he said has been lacking so far from Obama and the Democrats. "I hope they've learned a lesson," he said. "I hope that they will reverse course, and sit down, negotiate from the beginning, so you're in on the takeoff, so you can be in on the landing."