Gee, perhaps he could send Sarah Palin to act as his surrogate and fill-in for him at the debate…

Is there anything we are going to learn in the next 60 days of campaign stops that we don’t already know about either candidate?

Seems an utterly transparent attempt to call time-out on the attacks against him that are obviously proving effective for as long as the subject line of the campaign has turned to one of his weaker policy areas. Just think if we’d have had a national birth control crisis! He’d have to go into hiding.

So what happens when one candidate refuses to participate in a debate? Does Obama get a free hour of national TV time or is (more likely) the whole thing canceled and replaced with CSI re-runs?

Of course mccain is running and hiding.  He still thinks it’s his election to lose so why bother taking any chance that he could come out on the wrong end of this?  Better to be seen as the dealmaker and mavrick he pretends to be.

I hate to disagree with you Jesse but I’m not so sure that this is stupid.  mccain doesn’t have much to gain by being out these campaigning whereas there’s a chance he could turn his strategy into a positive for himself.  As with most of these republican, “we shit the bed now you clean it up” issues, the Dems stand to lose more than they could gain.

And by the way, there’s only one answer to this fake crisis that makes any real sense to anyone not in the investment banking business, do nothing.  Anything we do is a loss for the taxpayers and a gain for the financial industry.  The taxpayers lose as homes stay at artificially inflated values.  Banks, once again, play the when we lose we win and when we win we win game.  The taxpayers get screwed.

There’s no “winning solution” here.  The only good idea is to do nothing and let irresponsible people go broke and then, and only then, try to clean up for the little folks getting crushed, the burned 401Ks and pension plans.

Um, this is just a joke and I don’t get it, right?

Yeah, Dr. T. Let’s hold the election tomorrow. I’ll agree to that. I bet Obama would too. Oh and p.s. you’re off by about, um, 20 days.

There will be NO BAILOUT BILL PASSED IN THE NEXT WEEK.

What’s the point of backing out on Friday?

If he had any sack at all he’s change the subject of the debate to the financial crisis instead of Foreign Policy.

No less than Newt Gingrich just called McCain’s withdrawl “stupid.”

Maybe someone could clue McCain in to the fact that this country has conducted presidential campaigns during major wars? And geez, it’s not like the presidential campaign is making him any more AWOL from the Senate than he is most of the time.

Obama should show up at the debate anyway, say something like, “Seems Senator McCain had other things to do besides run for President, now, here’s my economic plan…” and spend the time talking with the crowd about their concerns and how he’s going to address them.

So are they pretty much forcing Obama to also suspend?  Can they turn it around to make him look bad if he doesn’t?  I’m seriously confused by this move.  What can be fixed in a few days that suspending the campaign would actually make any difference?

I can hear it now:

“Looks like Senator Obama would rather win an election than help fix the economy.”

The response Obama should make is simple.

Offer to hold the debate in Washington, D.C., in the rotunda of the Capitol Friday night and change the subject to the economy.

Apparently the Obama camp has already announced that the debate is on: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/mccain-not-comm.html

Ok, I swallowed some water like half a millisecond before my browser opened this up and I saw that picture, and it’s a good thing, too, otherwise you’d owe me a new keyboard.

Ms Kate,

I think I missed you on the other thread.

Do you live in San Diego? Can I buy you a drink some time?

Oh, have some compassion for the poor man. He’s in a no-win situation. Either he opposes the bailout (or insists on conditions) and implicitly acknowledges that his party’s sitting president is an idiot, or he goes along with it and alienates anyone who doesn’t want to turn his/her tax dollars over to a bunch of financial thugs.

Seeing him trying to “suspend” his campaign reminded me of an episode of Celebrity Boxing where Paula Jones—-yes, that Paula Jones, Bill Clinton’s alleged victim—-was pitted against Tonya Harding. Tonya, being five times more athletic and about 20 times meaner, was waling the shit out of Paula, and poor Paula was trying to make a time-out signal with her gloves, apparently unaware that there’s no such thing as a timeout in boxing.

Damn, I just can’t get past that picture…“John McCain responds to the revelation of his Deadite state w/, “I"ll swallow your soooouuuulll!” “

It’s unconscionably anti-democratic to suggest cancelling a presidential debate. Let the other 98 senators carry on the discussions for the 8 or 12 hours it takes to fly to St. Louis, hold the debate, and fly back to D.C.

Wait a minute…

The same guy who said that he “didn’t know as much as he should about the economy” three months ago, and TEN DAYS AGO said that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong,” is suspending his campaign to solve our economic crisis?

The cretin doesn’t even realize we have a problem…

Ok, I might get a lot of shit for this, especially since I don’t comment that often here. But, I was actually wondering yesterday why 3 of our senators (Obama, McCain, Biden), who are all trying really hard to look leadership-y, were not sitting through and participating in the most important Congressional debate and vote in the last few years.  It all seemed so very McCain to miss important Senate votes.  And it’s McCain of all people who’s calling for this? I mean, I think that the senators who are important enough to their respective parties to be nominated for the White House should probably take some responsibility here—especially since one of them will soon be inheriting all this bullshit very, very soon.

I like the idea from a commenter above to move the debate to DC, and switch the subject to the economy.

Beast beat me to it. If he was suspending because were about to vote on going to war with Iran or pulling out of Iraq, I’d cut the guy some slack. But by his own admission, he knows nothing about the economy. The idea that his presence is critical to solving this is pretty ridiculous.

Beast beat me to it.

chingona on 09/24 at 04:45 PM
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(I stole it from David Schuster on MSNBC.  Shhhhhhh…)

Ah, Senator Frank:

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) blasted McCain’s move. “It’s the longest ‘Hail Mary’ in the history of either football or Marys,” Frank, chairman of the Financial Services Committee, said during a break in today’s critical hearing on the bailout.

Despite McCain’s denunciation that the current proposal has “no consensus” and cannot pass, Frank said he would keep working with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

“I’m not particularly focused on Senator McCain. I really don’t care,” he said. “I guess if I wanted expertise there [from the GOP ticket], I’d ask Sarah Palin.”

BUT HE IS A POW!!! HOW CAN YOU QUESTION HIM!!>???!?!?!??!?!?! PAINLIN MCSAME 08

I dont want a dictatorship, but it is funny to see guys being criticized for doing the job they have now (and are being paid for, and are representing Arizonans in financial hardship).  We know what there is to know about both of these guys.  Let’s see the leaders of their parties - annointed so at their conventions - step in and work across the aisle - like they both keep claiming they can - to bring Change to Washington politics right now.  30 day job interview on 1 topic in front of the country.  Best leader wins - Go!  Instead of a bunch of ridiculous, staged debates where no matter what the question is each will work it around to their talking points on any subject they want to discuss.  Debates don’t prove who would be a better President.

Let’s see the leaders of their parties - annointed so at their conventions - step in and work across the aisle - like they both keep claiming they can - to bring Change to Washington politics right now.

Hm, like Obama tried to do this morning?

Is there anything we are going to learn in the next 60 days of campaign stops

Actually…. 41 days.  Yeah, it’s that close to finally being over (thankfully).

Auguste, what does that have to do with anything?  Debates might influence voters but the best talker in a room doesn’t mean jack as far as problem solving and working through issues is concerned.  They both ostensibly have cabinets of advisors in place right now.  Propose competing bills, try and sell your vision to the Congress and the Treasury.  Make friends and influence people.  Stop talking about making friends and influencing people.

Barack Obama response:

“This is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who in 40 days will become responsible for this mess. It will be part of the president’s job to deal with more than one thing at once.”

BINGO.

Auguste, what does that have to do with anything?

Attention span of a fruit fly or desperation of knowing their candidate just blew the election?  You make the call!

Well then, Beast, I win, because I thought of it all on my own.

As for your point, Dr. T, if neither of them had won the nomination, neither would have a really big role in these negotiations. There are people in both parties who have sat on these particular committees for years and actually know a lot of the ins and outs on this, and neither of them are named McCain or Obama. Harry Reid asked BOTH of them to stay away and let the process proceed without presidential politics injected into it.

One more thought. I was listening to NPR this morning and they had Barney Frank on and they thanked him for making time and he said he thought it was very important that the public hear from the people involved in trying to solve this. If Barney Frank, who is the top House Democrat working on this, has time to talk to the American people in the middle of this, then John McCain, who by his own word knows nothing about economics and thus has nothing to really contribute, has time to participate in the debate.

And by the way, I think Obama could crush McCain here by proposing a plan that looked something like what was proposed during the farm crisis of the 80’s when land values declined and farm mortgages foreclosure wend wild the key being to give bankruptcy courts the power to restructure home mortgages as they do in Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code for farmers.  The court can impose new payments with a present value equal to the current fair market value of the house.  The homeowner gets payments similar to what a new buyer would get and the bank gets the same payments it would get if it could unload the house to a new buyer but saves the costs of foreclosing.  That would greatly reduce the number of foreclosures and how large a bailout would be needed.

It’s unconscionably anti-democratic to suggest cancelling a presidential debate. Let the other 98 senators carry on the discussions for the 8 or 12 hours it takes to fly to St. Louis, hold the debate, and fly back to D.C.

Agreed.

But it’s actually Oxford, Mississippi… the VP Debate is in St. Louis, next Thursday.

I was actually wondering yesterday why 3 of our senators (Obama, McCain, Biden), who are all trying really hard to look leadership-y, were not sitting through and participating in the most important Congressional debate and vote in the last few years.

Partly because none of them are on the relevant Banking Committees where this proposal is being negotiated.  They could be there, but all they would be doing is sitting in the gallery as observers.  Not much point to that.

McCain has SuperSarah and the Mooseburgers.

I think my favorite term for her is still “Mooselini”.  I can’t take credit for it, I’m afraid.

Well then, Beast, I win, because I thought of it all on my own. 

chingona on 09/24 at 05:26 PM
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You are a smartie!  Seriously!

...Now go out and repeat McCain’s quotes to anyone who will listen, and post them on every possible venue.  The freaks on FreeRepublic have decided that McCain is a sly chessmaster (Yes, they actually used the expressin “chessmaster”) and that this has been the most clever gesture since Lloyd Bentsen’s unforgettable “You are no Jack Kennedy” retort.

I, on the other hand, think McCain’s a yawning pussy, and that this tactic was actually launched to keep Palin from flapping her jaws next week without benefit of a staffer’s hand up her ass.

Dude, did you just use “pussy” as a pejorative on a feminist blog? Wow. I mean, I agree with your sentiment, but damn.

McCain’s a yawning pussy

So are you saying McCain is warm, wet, soft and a source of life and pleasure, or McCain is a cuddly, furry animal who protects households from mice and warms people’s laps and feet?

‘Cause those are descriptions of the two things *I* know are called pussies.

I’m sure someone else has mentioned this already, but Obama just has to hammer McCain on this. He’s sending the message that he can’t multitask well enough to handle a debate while also working towards a solution to the financial crisis. How the hell can we expect him to be able to handle the rigors of the presidency?

Hilarious.  Seriously, I mean this is gut busting funny.  What kind of sackless inverebrate can’t make a 120 minute televised debate?  mcthuselah has his own farking jet.  He can’t stopover for a little bit to debate and thence, onward to save the rest of us schmoes by taking command in DC?

Obviously not.  Yet another reason why huggy bear should not be president.  We’ve had eight years of dennis the menace in office the last thing we need is another one potato, two potato simpleton trying to run things.

The really cynical thing about st.BBQ’s ploy is that it plays to his strengths limiting the time to spend his gubmint funded campaign and kneecapping Obama’s more efficient fund raising.

One again and always, the right response to not play the republican game.  I hope we see Obama on the podium Friday night remarking how funny it is mcsame has the time to meet British aristocracy but not the time to explain to the American public why he should be president.  Like the chimperor, I’m sure he feels he just deserves it.  So why bother working for it?

Dude, did you just use “pussy” as a pejorative on a feminist blog? Wow. I mean, I agree with your sentiment, but damn.

grolby on 09/24 at 06:59 PM
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1) I’m female, and…
2) The expression has come into such common parlance that I heard it used on network TV last week.

(It’s kind of like Jesse and the “N-word.”  Sometimes the word changes meaning depending on who’s hurling it.  Yes, it’s an ugly expression, but sometimes - like the “C-word” - no other expression will do.)

This AP article has some interesting analysis of what the strategy might be, but even the reporter seems a little puzzled.

I take back every bad thing I ever said about John McCain

By dropping out of the presidential race and reaching across the aisle to soon to be president Obama in this time of crisis he really is putting the country first

Of course, if he tries to run for president between now and November, then that proves that he really was the dishonorable lying flip-flopper that I always said he was

“Debates might influence voters but the best talker in a room doesn’t mean jack as far as problem solving and working through issues is concerned.”

I would say that being a good talker and convincing people to follow your leadership is exactly what is needed to “work through issues” in a political context.

the key being to give bankruptcy courts the power to restructure home mortgages as they do in Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code for farmers. 

Dr.T, that’s already been a key part of the Democrats’ proposal since Monday.  Last I heard, the Republicans had already agreed to it, and that the sticking point as of this afternoon was what to do about executive compensation at the banks that seek federal aid.

Do try to keep up.

Partly because none of them are on the relevant Banking Committees where this proposal is being negotiated.  They could be there, but all they would be doing is sitting in the gallery as observers.  Not much point to that.  —-DTG in STL

Well, they would also be scurrying around making deals/promises/threats/etc with the people who are on the committees and, of course, conferring with the lobbyists to see what they want.  Which brings us back to…

Either that or he simply can’t pay his <strike>lobbyists</strike> campaign staff enough to stay with him when there is a CRISIS requiring every lobbying effort possible and known to human kind.

And once again, Ms. Kate nails it.  THAT’S why he’s doing this.  The people around him are probably threatening to leave him all by himself so they can get back there for their own pound of flesh.  There’s blood in the water, money to be made but only if they act fast and in person, and no damned candidate is gonna prevent them from grabbing a slice for themselves and their other clients.

That he’s also probably not terribly confident in his ability to debate Obama and wants another week to prepare, which coincidentally would also cause an indefinite delay to the VP debate they must be dreading, is just the clincher. 

Never forget: these are Republicans.  It’s always about the money.

IIRC, hasn’t a huge part of the mortgage crisis been that because everyone’s mortgage was bundled up and resold, there’s no one to negotiate a new schedule with if you can’t handle your payments?