In an Ohio campaign rally today, John McCain defended his decision to “suspend” his campaign last week and fly to Washington to help broker the financial bail-out deal. “I know that many of you have noticed,” McCain told the crowd, “but it’s not my style to simply ‘phone it in.'”

But what did McCain do when he got back to Washington? Well, on Saturday, he actually spent the day at his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia–on the phone.

Senior campaign adviser Mark Salter told CNN.com that McCain wasn’t going to Capital Hill because “he can effectively do what he needs to do by phone. He’s calling members on both sides, talking to people in the administration, helping out as he can.”

So, perhaps what McCain really meant was that it’s not his style to “phone it in using long-distance.'”

He must not have a very good calling plan.