The decision by John McCain to suspend his campaign is giving panicky GOP lawmakers political cover and appeared to inject new life into negotiations on a proposed $700 billion bailout of the financial markets.

At press time, Senate Democrats emerged from a meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and reported a conceptual deal they hoped could receive a vote before markets open on Monday.

Ideally, Durbin said the Senate would finish the bill before Monday.

Republicans have emerged as the chief obstacle to swift passage of President Bush’s bailout proposal, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) held a summit Wednesday with Paulson to try to calm the revolt among lawmakers.

The administration has pulled out all the stops to win support for the package.

President Bush was to address the nation about the bailout on Wednesday night, and lobbying groups with deep ties to Republicans earlier in the day circulated letters urging their allies to support the president’s plan.

Paulson also indicated that the administration was dropping its resistance to limiting the multi-million dollar severance packages offered to executives of firms that take advantage of the bailout.

“The American people are angry about executive compensation,” Paulson said. “We must find a way to address this in the legislation, but we must do so without undermining the program.”

Yet Rep. Tom Cole (Okla.), the chairman of the House Republican campaign committee, declared the only way to save the bailout would be for McCain and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to take the lead, and for the Senate to vote before the House.

“These guys are more influential than their votes at this particular time,” Cole said.

He said McCain and Obama were the voices that would matter most to lawmakers wrestling with a difficult vote just weeks before presidential and congressional elections.

“I think they should deal with it first,” Cole said of the Senate. “They have both of the presidential candidates, and it’s hard to see anyone voting for a package if the nominee of their party doesn’t.”

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee who has participated in talks on the bailout, said Republican senators discussed the need for the upper chamber to take the lead during a private meeting Wednesday afternoon.

“Maybe it would be best at this point for the Senate to take the lead,” said Corker, who said this sentiment is “growing” among his colleagues.

Paulson squeezed the meeting with Pelosi and Boehner between two appearances before congressional committees, at which many Republicans expressed opposition to the rescue plan, while Democrats seemed more accepting, but interested in making changes.

Wall Street markets did not plunge for a third straight day, although the Dow Jones industrial dipped by 29 points. The NASDAQ, the largest U.S. electronic stock market, was up for the day.

Republicans are the key to passing the bailout because Pelosi has told members of her caucus she won’t bring the package to the floor unless there is substantial Republican support. But conservative Republicans have rallied against the plan, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said earlier this week that Republicans should vote against the it.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said his staff was working with the staff of Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) Banking Committee to reach agreement on a single bill, rather than separate House and Senate versions.

Frank added that he believes Pelosi has a minimum threshold of Republican votes necessary to bring the bill forward, but he said he did not know what that number was.

“They’re not even close to having enough votes,” said Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.), a freshman facing a tough reelection. “This has to be bipartisan.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) pleaded for Republicans to support the package, which conservatives have roundly criticized as too expensive and an overreach of federal power.

Reid said Tuesday that only one Republican on the Banking panel could be counted on to support the proposal first floated by Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.