BREAKING NEWS: John McCain to suspend campaign, wants debate postponed

[Real]

John McCain asked the Presidential Debate Commission on Wednesday to postpone Friday’s scheduled debate with Barack Obama so that he can work on the financial crisis bailout plan now on Capitol Hill.

The Arizona Republican senator said he will suspend his presidential campaign on Thursday to return to Washington to help with bailout negotiations. He urged Obama to do the same.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/24/mccain-suspends-campaign-to-help-with-bailout/

 

[cpawfan]

The rules of the game have now changed. Great play by the Republican strategists.

Can't wait to see how this is spun for the

 

[MikeDC]

It's always nice to see the rare occasions when the smart thing politically is also the right thing to do.

Funnily enough yesterday, I read a post from one of my old professors, Russ Roberts, who wrote:

From the AP (HT: Drudge):

Congress is poised to vote on the biggest government intervention in the financial markets since the Great Depression, but it’s unlikely that any of the three senators vying for the White House will be there – even though all three have talked of little else for over a week.

Sen. John McCain (R- Ariz.) has no plans to return to Washington this week, even though on Monday he expressed discomfort with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s trillion-dollar bailout plan and has offered his own rescue proposal.

“Sen. McCain is monitoring the situation closely,” said campaign co-manager Steve Schmidt on a conference call Monday. “We will see how this unfolds this week.”

McCain “retains his rights to evaluate it as it goes along and make a final decision,” said co-manager Rick Davis.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) also looks like a no-show.

Senior Obama strategist Robert Gibbs said the campaign would be monitoring the process as it unfolds this week, but as of Monday, the campaign would not commit to Obama making the trip back to Washington – even though the bailout proposal has taken a central role in Obama’s stump speeches.

“It’s safe to say people will know where we are,” Gibbs said.

Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), Obama’s vice presidential running mate, is also “monitoring” the bailout situation, said spokesman David Wade, calling the rescue legislation “a critical issue.”

If they're not going to fulfill their obligations, they should resign from office and refuse to accept their pay.

 

[porky88]

I thought this said it best

http://www.electoral-vote.com/

John McCain suspended his campaign, stopped running ads, and said he would not participate in the first debate scheduled for tomorrow at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS. He said that the nation is on the brink of a serious recession and this is no time for politics. McCain has been in the Senate 25 years. He knows precisely what will happen if he barges into the office of Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), chairman of the Senate banking committee and announces: "OK, Outta here, I'm taking over now. Dodd's reaction would not be printable on a family Website like this one and McCain would be instantly and unceremoniously shown the door. There are two people responsible for writing banking bills: Dodd and his House counterpart Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA). If Dodd wants input from the Republicans on this, he will ask the ranking member on his committee, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL). McCain and Obama play no role and McCain knows that very well.

So why did McCain propose cancelling the debate? In a word: politics. By flying into D.C. as the savior he might appear as a man of action to people who don't know how the Senate works. The reality of course, is that Obama and McCain's appearance in Dodd's office would instantly turn the entire event into a political circus. If left alone, Dodd can come up with a bill a lot faster than with McCain, Obama, and the entire national press corps in the room "helping." A second point is that by pulling all his TV ads, he saves money, something Obama has more of. McCain may need that money at the end of October, so a penny not spent now is a penny available in October.

McCain is throwing another up another jump ball. I would argue he's 2 for 2 so far. I tend to think this might work too. Mostly because I don't think the dems have the "stones" to call him out on it.

 

[soul driver]

I'd love to be a Senator running for president. I get paid for "doing my job" as senator when I'm not even there and campaigning, and then use it as an excuse to get out of things, such as debates.