McCain and Obama Plan Ground Zero Appearance

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – In a moment of bipartisan unity, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama will come together at Ground Zero in New York City on Thursday to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The two campaigns issued a rare joint statement on Saturday announcing the plans of the Republican and Democratic rivals. They also will appear together at a forum later that day at Columbia University.

“All of us came together on 9/11 – not as Democrats or Republicans – but as Americans,” the candidates said in their statement. “In smoke-filled corridors and on the steps of the Capitol, at blood banks and at vigils – we were united as one American family.

“On Thursday, we will put aside politics and come together to renew that unity, to honor the memory of each and every American who died, and to grieve with the families and friends who lost loved ones,” they continued. “We will also give thanks for the firefighters, police, and emergency responders who set a heroic example of selfless service, and for the men and women who serve today in defense of the freedom and security that came under attack in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.”