A little selective editing

No politics going on here.

Even as both candidates espouse bipartisanship in the Wall Street bailout negotiations, their campaigns are furiously seeking advantage in every little utterance.

The latest case in point: Barack Obama's campaign tried to make a big deal out of Representative Roy Blunt, newly appointed today to represent House Republicans in the talks, saying today on MSNBC of John McCain's role, "Clearly, yesterday, his position on that discussion yesterday was one that stopped a deal from finalizing."

A-ha, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, proof that McCain killed a tentative deal: "Congressman Blunt just confirmed what’s been clear since John McCain rode into Washington at the eleventh hour – Senator McCain’s political theatrics succeeded only in stopping a bipartisan deal. During the most serious economic crisis of our time, we don’t need erratic posturing, we need steady leadership to protect American taxpayers and put our economy back on track,” Burton said in a statement.

He helpfully sent along a YouTube clip of Blunt.

An hour later this afternoon, however, Republicans sent a clip of the full interview, which is far more complimentary to McCain.

"All- Bill Burton is lying to you," Blair Latoff, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said in a statement.

Blunt's full quote was: "I do think that John McCain was very helpful in what he did. I saw him this morning, we’ve been talking with his staff. Clearly, yesterday, his position on that discussion yesterday was one that stopped a deal from finalizing that no House Republican, in my view, would have been for, which means it wouldn’t have probably passed the House. Now, Democrats are in the majority. They can pass anything they want to without a singe Republican vote, but they don’t seem to be willing to do that. I’m pleased we can have negotiations now that get us back towards things that we think can protect the taxpayers better, create more options, and frankly be better understood in the country than the plan -- the path we were on a couple of days ago."