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.
The joint appearance comes as the two senators have turned up the volume of their attacks on one another in the wake of their respective nominating conventions. In a telephone call this week, where Mr. Obama called Mr. McCain to congratulate him on his convention speech, advisers said, Mr. Obama asked his rival if he would like to appear together at Ground Zero. Mr. McCain immediately agreed, aides said, and both candidates approved the joint statement and directed their campaign managers to work out the details.
It will be the first of several joint appearances by Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama in the next two months, including the three sanctioned presidential debates that begin on Sept. 26.
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