After announcing yesterday that he would be suspending his campaign to work on the ongoing economic crisis, many in the room at the morning plenary session of the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative on Thursday were surprised to hear Senator John McCain basically give a version of the stump speech he’s been giving over the last several months.

The event, which is being held at the Sheraton New York to coincide with the opening of the UN General Assembly, was already the site of impressive amounts of security – for Heads of State and foreign dignitaries – saw several additional steps taken in and around the Sheraton New York to protect Republican Senator McCain and his entourage. McCain’s entourage included Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, but not surprisingly, neither Senator McCain nor Governor Palin were made available to the press for questions.

McCain began his remarks by saying it was “Time to put politics aside,” and then launched into why he supported the $700 billion dollar economic bailout plan put forth by President Bush.

Throughout his remarks, it appeared as though McCain struggled with not being a candidate – as did his speechwriters. Liberally sprinkled throughout his talk were allusions to the many reasons why he belongs in the White House, including this gem:

“No Wall Street executives should profit from taxpayer dollars. Let me put it this way: I would rather build a bridge to nowhere — and put it square in the middle of Sedona, Ariz. — than take money from teachers and farmers and small business owners to line the pockets of the Wall Street crowd that got us here in the first place.”

So while McCain may have avoided directly commenting on his opponent (or his opponent’s policy), it would be hard to argue the speech was apolitical.

The most light-hearted moment of McCain’s appearance came before he had even spoken a word. After concluding his introduction of Sen. McCain, President Clinton accidentally swiped the Senator’s speech from the podium. McCain had to quickly track down the Clinton as he exited the stage. Upon returning to the mic, McCain quipped, “I almost gave one of the most extemporaneous speeches in my political career.”

Well, that would have been true, except for the fact that the McCain campaign had teleprompters installed on the stage before his remarks – the first time anyone over the last two days had used them.