McCain calls for time out

McCain suddenly wants to delay Friday's debate and "suspend" his campaign. Yeah... the last thing people want during an economic free fall is to have questions answered.

It's like when Bush and Cheney were too "worried" about the hurricanes to attend the Republican Convention. Timing is everything I guess.

I don't know... Maybe we better just postpone the whole election.

(PS, did anyone else hear that the McCain camp actually suggested it would be best to let them reschedule the Obama/McCain debate for *next week*...? which means it would need to take the place of the Biden/Palin one, which would then need to be pushed back too? Hmmm.)

I doubt this is an attempt to postpone McCain/Obama, which McCain will probably win (and the opposite, with Palin/Biden), but rather is an attempt to look "above Party". If the attempt were sincere, rather than politicking, McCain would have approached Obama in private and suggested a joint announcement.

#3 I agree with Doug, that this is an attempt at an assumed close, but I disagree with how the debate will go.

It's too easy to provoke McCain into a rage and I think it will cost him. And I think Biden is doomed. If he's aggressive, he looks like the girl pushing bully, if he's weak, he looks weak.

But isn't Obama too nice a guy to deliberately provoke his opponent? Don't disillusion me!

The best thing that can come out of these debates would be for McCain to lose it on camera. This is one aspect of McCain we need to see before we put him in the position he seeks.

If Biden looks like a bully to Palin, are we going to call a time out if Palin, God forbid, should have to deal with the Rooskies or the Chinese or the North Koreans or the Pakistanis or the Palestinian issue if things don't go her way? Come on. When I was six I learned it wasn't right for boys to hit girls, but if the girls were going to play they needed to be ready to be hit. If Palin is going to play with the big boys, she needs to be able to take the best the big boys can dish out, otherwise, she is weak.

Personally, if Palin succeeds to the Presidency, I think it will set women in politics back fifty or more years.

Either Palin can cut it or she can't. Let's find out.

What you want in a Chief Executive is someone who is actually cool and rational, but who appears scary to our enemies.

We were all frightened to death of shoe-banging Khruschev, but in fact he was a shrewd old peasant, not particularly bloodthirsty by the standards of his society (admittedly, these standards were not high), and his country was militarily much weaker, in fact, than he made it appear.

The real danger comes when a government appears weak and accommodating, but in fact is prepared to fight if its enemy crosses a certain line. this however not being effectively communicated to potential aggressors. See Britain under Chamberlain, and the US under Truman (when we declared Korea outside our defensive zone, thus inviting the Communists to grab the southern half).

#6 I'm not talking morality, Gene, I'm talking stage craft. Even when the role of fairy princess is being played by a middle aged woman, its tough to beat that and come out looking good.

Please. Is he going to suspend his presidency when has other things to think about? The president needs to be able to multi-task, and will often need to deal with many important decisions at one time. If he can't do so now why should we think he can handle it a year from now?

Either (A) McCain's "stepping above politics" is politics itself or (B) He panicked. I'm going to guess it's a little of both. He wants to redefine the way this is going because it hasn't helped his case, but the "this is beyond politics" is an insult to voters' intelligence.

And if you want to talk about another example of panicking, all you have to do is look at Bush's speech Wednesday night. If there's one thing Obama has shown us it's that he does-not-panic. When Hillary did the 3 am ads and Obama was losing ground he just waited it out. When Palin "changed everything" he just held firm. Does he have perfect answers? I don't know yet. But he doesn't lose his cool based on the latest "disaster".
He's not doing the 'chicken with his head cut off' thing trying to scare us into action.

And if McCain wants to prove that it's really about "country first" he should donate 6 of his 7 houses to charity.

I can't speak for how the majority of people see things--but for me it's just a whacky and desperate stunt. McCain may want people to think he has real input into how this 'economic crisis' works itself out. It is not however the reality. He is not part of the senate committee hashing this out nor is his party in control of legislation. His presence in Washington at this time is not especially needed. Neither is Obama's for that matter.

In any case his tendency in the past was to side with other republicans most notably Phil Gramm in their attempts whether successful or not to deregulate anything and everything. If anything his votes in the past have helped bring on the present calamity. I hesitate to say it (the public can be very fickle) but it appears to me his campaign is in disarray. He's falling once again in the polls. This crisis was very bad timing for him on that. His V-presidential running mate just blew another one of her rare interviews--this one with Katie Couric. McCain even blew off Letterman last night--begging off his scheduled appearance with his emergency trip to D. C.--however stopping along the way at the CBS studios to speak to Couric himself--apparently in the same time frame as his scheduled appearance on Letterman's show--which Letterman duly noted--pummeling McCain for a good ten minutes over that slight. To be honest is this some kind of a comedy? Because if it weren't for the seriousness of all these Wall St. a-holes needing this cash in the chips $700 billion dollar bailout I'd be laughing my ass off.

7> Or the elder Bush and Kuwait.

I just saw a brief statement by Sens. Dodd and Bennett and Reps. Barney Frank and Spencer Bachus to the effect that they have agreed on the basics of the bailout plan. In true bi-partisan fashion. Now it needs to be written into a bill and presented to the President. Will McCain get there in time to lead on this issue? Stay tuned.

After last night's speech (which I did not see, I can not stand to watch/hear him speak), Bush will look pretty silly if he vetoes this. Of course it has to be passed by Congress.

13
So the question is, did McCain know that the plan would be finished today, and make his big "bipartisan" gesture out of pure stagecraft?

I suspect that he did. Most "man in the street" comments that I have heard indicate that this little charade went over like a lead balloon. I don't believe it accomplished any more than make McCain and Co. look, at best, foolish.

At least he can now go back to "campaigning". What a farce.

At this point McCain is saying that he is not ready to say he will be at the debate. This deal is not sealed, said his spokesman.

Maverick? How about just weird.

What can McCain, or any Republican debate about that will not show the utter bankruptcy of the Republican ideology?

"This deal is not sealed, said his spokesman."

What do they have to do, sacrifice a virgin?

This is really just embarrassing. If Britney Spears were running for president, this is just the kind of crap you'd expect her to pull. Come to think of it, this might make a good commercial...

iriley>

I also saw Palin's interview with Katie Couric. I can see why McCain's team is bending over backwards to keep her away from the media.

By the way, if McCain's campaign is officially "suspended" does that mean Palin can respond to questions until McCain's restrictions return?

McCain is (successfully) directing attention to himself and the punditocracy is slavishly fixated on his decision. Will he? Won't he? The media is unable to recognize when it's being jerked around.

The short term strategic impact is that McCain has taken media attention away from Obama. The more general impression is that McCain's histrionics about the debate is another egocentric (generously termed 'maverick') move on his part. Refusal to go on with the debate would, however, be a disaster for McCain. It would leave a lasting image of the war hero hiding in his bunker, not leading but being led by the crisis. In other words, McCain First!

theoria>

It's part of that odd formula: 2 people work in an office. Person A calls the boss and says he may not come in Monday morning, that he doesn't feel well. Then, come Monday, both arrive for work as scheduled.

Question: Should person A get more credit for coming in IN SPITE of how he felt, or should person B get more credit for being low maintenance and reliable?

The odd thing I've seen, at least in the past, is that person A scores the points. Strange.

>22 jasonseidner:
that's a perfect analogy and it is strange.

Since there's no "deal" yet (Senator Shelby is waving email messages from neoliberal economists about how bad it is), McCain needs to decide how poorly he's feeling.

23>
He needs to decide which is greater: the value of keeping his word or the lost trust from people who think it's all a ploy.

A couple questions about exactly what McCain is up to.

1) How exactly suspended is his campaign when he continues to run ads and give speeches? Is it just a matter of semantics? Is is what he says is is just because he says it is?

2) As the respective chairmen of the banking committees in both the House (Frank) and Senate (Dodd) were busy doing their work McCain flies into town to save the day the apparent narrative being drawn believes him in support of that effort only in the meantime he is convening with House republicans behind the scenes to shoot the bill down unless certain conditions are met. Why all this subterfuge John? After all this extra effort on your part why doesn't he just come out and say just exactly what he wants?

Personally I'd rather revisit this whole issue of bailouts after the election. Even so I think McCain's actions in the past couple days smell pretty bad to me.

To me they seem to be over posturing weakness. I'm concerned that they will come out in the debates swinging. I guess the bailout has made me paranoid.

I hope I'm wrong. Dog! How I hope I'm wrong!

25>

I have an answer for question #1: I often ask college students questions like, "If something is blue but appears green, what color is it?" The answers can be funny. I've gotten "Well, if it's blue, then it's blue" and "If it appears green then it's green, even if it's blue." Occasionally I get "It can't be one color and appear to be another" but it rarely gets that deep. Strangely enough, almost everyone has an answer as to whether it's blue or green that to them makes perfect sense.

That's what McCain is hoping for--that people feel good about his "suspending" his campaign without actually suspending his campaign. To him, that would be the definition of progress.

25>

I have an answer for question #1: I often ask college students questions like, "If something is blue but appears green, what color is it?" The answers can be funny. I've gotten "Well, if it's blue, then it's blue" and "If it appears green then it's green, even if it's blue." Occasionally I get "It can't be one color and appear to be another" but it rarely gets that deep. Strangely enough, almost everyone has an answer as to whether it's blue or green that to them makes perfect sense.

That's what McCain is hoping for--that people feel good about his "suspending" his campaign without actually suspending his campaign. To him, that would be the definition of progress.

It looks like he suspended his campaign in order to hang Bush out to dry. Apparently McCain knew that House Republicans would not accept the amended Paulson plan before the 4pm meeting but didn't inform Bush.

"At 4 p.m., Mr. Bush convened his meeting at the White House; Mr. McCain had already met with House Republicans to hear their concerns. He later said on ABC that he had known going into the White House that “there never was a deal,” but he kept that sentiment to himself.

The meeting opened with Mr. Paulson, the chief architect of the bailout plan, “giving a status report on the condition of the market,” Tony Fratto, Mr. Bush’s deputy press secretary, said. Mr. Fratto said Mr. Paulson warned in particular of the tightening of credit markets overnight, adding, “that is something very much on his mind.”

Mr. McCain was at one end of the long conference table, Mr. Obama at the other, with the president and senior Congressional leaders between them. Participants said Mr. Obama peppered Mr. Paulson with questions, while Mr. McCain said little. Outside the West Wing, a huge crowd of reporters gathered in the driveway, anxiously awaiting an appearance by either presidential candidate, with expectations running high." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/business/26bailout.html?pagewanted=2&hp

One more thought:

If McCain really thought the economy was the first priority, wouldn't he have gone to Obama in private and said, "Hey... I don't care who gets credit for this idea, but let's go public together and announce that we're postponing the debate til say, next Friday." Then it really would be non-partisan because no one would have an upper hand. It would literally be like a cease fire.

By coming out and announcing how important this is, McCain basically gave Obama an ultimatum: agree that it's very important (and show everyone you're a follower) or disagree so that everyone can see that you care about your own career more than the fate of our nation's economy.

Clever? Sure... especially for a guy who's losing ground and doesn't want the media to wander off so quickly. But it's like the guy who screams "I refuse to argue with you!"... it contradicts itself so much that far more people were able to see thru it than McCain's team ever imagined.

It's like if a woman told her husband she wanted a divorce. Which would be the best way to tell the children:

A) Mom and I are thinking about getting a divorce.
B)Your mother has decided she wants a divorce.

If you care about the children most, you pick A. If you care about leverage most, you pick B.

In the end, I think it's clear what McCain cares about most.

#12: Yes, I had forgotten about that one. Our Ambassador to Iraq practically invited Saddam to grab it. If I were a conspiracy theorist, I would instantly generate the obvious explanation for her actions. But I am an incompetence, stupidity, and accident theorist.

McCain bluffed and now he's folded: he'll attend tonight's debate.

McCain has conducted himself quite selfishly over the last few days. He also hasn't exhibited the capacity to lead in a way that indicates he puts Country First!: his actions have been hysterical, entirely strategic, and ultimately unnecessary. Pathetic.

I'm glad the debate is on though - should be fun!

31
April Gillespie, or something like that.

33
Yeah, I can hardly wait to see McCain's excrement-eating grin after his exhibition of tomfoolery this week. He has certainly managed to evaporate any small trace of respect I ever had for him.

From politico:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13918.html

'Both McCain and his democratic rival, Barack Obama, would leave the White House without comment, and the meeting was described as among the wildest in memory. A beleaguered President Bush had to struggle to maintain order and reassert himself. And when the democrats left to caucus in the Roosevelt Room, Paulson pursued them, begging that they not 'blow up' the legislation.

The former Goldman Sachs CEO even went down on one knee as if genuflecting, to which Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is said to have joked, "I didn't know you were catholic."

-35, wow, you couldn't make that up, it sounds so melodramatic.

Interestingly, the forums on that site are all full of the protestation that Democrats are ruining the government by writing this blank check to Wall Street - did I miss the executive branch being taken over by the Democrats? Or maybe Paulson is a Democrat in disguise? Phenomenal that people can still blame Democrats for a problem they did not cause, and accuse them of perpetual overspending after 16 years of Republican deficit-building.

37: I have a possible explanation for McCain's otherwise inexplicable behavior. He knows that the bailout is extremely unpopular. He may or may not know that some form of intervention of this size is probably necessary to head off a deep recession or perhaps a depression -- but in any case, he wants to appear to be the man of the ordinary people, who stands with them as Obama and the Democrats give away their hard earned tax dollars to bankers.

In other words, McCain is either very ignorant or very cynical. I think that Boehner and the House Republicans are probably ignorant rather than cynical, believing, as their ideology would tell them in the face of all available facts and expert opinion, that they can fix the problem by eliminating yet more regulations and by abolishing the capital gains tax. (Yes, that really is their proposal.)

McCain should have skipped the debate. He's making things up on the fly, making no sense in other cases.