With the momentum of the campaign swinging decisively against him, John McCain has rolled the dice once again, hoping to alter the dynamics of a race where events over the last 10 days were playing directly into his opponent’s strengths while blunting his own post convention surge.
The suspension of his campaign is a gimmick, of course – a stylized Kabuki play where Obama was to meekly acquiesce, following the older man’s lead by going to Washington and help bring Congress together on a bailout package. But Obama didn’t want to come out and play. He is calling McCain’s bluff and will show up at the debate in Mississippi on Friday night even if McCain eschews participation. He also declined McCain’s gracious invitation to play second fiddle in Congressional negotiations on the package.
Is this smart? More than smart, it was necessary. McCain is the one gambling here, not Obama. There is very little risk for Obama continuing the campaign and going through with the debate. In fact, if McCain’s gambit is seen as playing politics with the crisis – a perception Obama surrogates are already trying to push – it may be very difficult for McCain to recover from that kind of damage before the election.
Nothing screams “President!” quite like “crisis leadership” and the McCain camp may have believed they had Obama trapped. If he had acceded to McCain’s wishes and gone back to Washington, the Republican would have had a triumph. I don’t think the McCain campaign ever saw that happening, though. More likely, they believed the contrast drawn between the two candidates – one selflessly suspending his campaign while the other cynically taking advantage of the crisis as well as his opponent’s “putting the country first” – would work in their favor.
In this, I believe they have miscalculated. This really is too gimmicky to work that well. McCain may not lose as much as he probably should (he may get some credit for the gambit) but all he has succeeded in doing is dominating one or two news cycles.
On the other hand, I don’t see this as a desperation move by McCain – a “hail Mary” as some commenters are dubbing it. It’s way too early for that kind of panic. And I also disagree that some of these polls that appeared yesterday had much to do at all with this move. They wouldn’t suspend their campaign based on the kind of polling done by WaPo or any other media outlet. They spend millions on their own polling thank you – polling that is much more accurate with regards to what people are feeling about the candidates and the race.
What they saw in their internal polling was no doubt some bad trends toward Obama. The Democrat is almost certainly not 9 points ahead nationally – not with both Gallup and Rasmussen showing it much closer. Nor do the state polls reflect that big of an Obama lead. My friend Rich Baehr at The American Thinker – a very savvy and incisive poll reader – gives Obama a 4 point lead based on his reading of the state polls with momentum clearly swinging his way the last 72 hours. This almost certainly reflects the voter’s skepticism that any bailout will be achieved hence McCain’s belief that he might tap into that worry by demonstrating crisis leadership and declaring his willingness to work toward a bi-partisan solution. The media isn’t buying it nor, if overnight flash polls can be believed, is the public.
So where does that leave McCain? I believe that the GOP will close ranks today and agree to join the Democrats in voting for the bailout package. McCain will suddenly discover the crisis is over and show up in Mississippi for the debate on Friday night. Yet to be seen is what effect, if any, the Gambit will have on people’s perceptions of the campaign and of McCain in particular. One flash poll taken minutes after McCain’s announcement is meaningless in this regard. It will take 48 hours or so for perceptions to harden as the news is filtered through the regular channels of cable news, the internet, and the MSM. I would expect that any polls taken just prior to the debate will reveal if McCain’s gamble had any effect on the race at all.
If it does nothing more than slow Obama’s momentum, it could be seen as a partial success. But frankly, I think both candidates are at the mercy of events with McCain at a decisive disadvantage. By 2-1 the public – rightly or wrongly – places the blame for the Wall Street meltdown on Republicans. And Obama is not going to let people forget that.
9:53 am
Uhbama actually said that he’s available if he can help. So, this economy urgency must be above his pay grade, unless someone with a higher pay grade calls and asks him to contribute. Gee, if the leader of the party and would-be President doesn’t think he can deliver his party to put the country first, maybe we should consider him the shouldn’t-be President. Can’t you just see him praying that he can vote “present” on this one?
Rick’s too smug – McCain is McBrilliant on this.
9:58 am
A few Thursday links…
Vanderleun made up this Get Out Of Racism Free Card as a public service for the benefit of the 50% of presumably racist Dems who voted against Obama in the primaries. Also useful for those who prefer MCain or doubt whether Obama is up to the job.The Pa…
10:05 am
Great analysis, Rick. I agree 100% Now how about that?
No, Mark. That’s not the way this is playing out at all. Nice try, though.
This is yet another impulsive gamble and gimmick by Sen. McCain. The first one was picking Sarah Palin. That one is already wearing thin with the public. She’s not ready to lead anything and was a terrible choice.
This debate gamble is seen as panicky and opportunistic. So far McCain is showing himself as a really bad leader. Two swings and a miss so far. His swing is getting more wild each time. He could tone down his wild reactions to events and run his campaign more steadily but I believe it is too late. He’s lost this election already.
Actually, all recent polls show the Palin choice a net plus for McCain with independents – only 18% believe her to be unqualified while she has helped McCain to scoot out to a 11 point lead among indies.
And as I said above, this is far from a panicky move by McCain. It was a calaculated risk. There isn’t as big a downside to the play as you might think because SOME people are going to give him credit for it.
ed.
10:17 am
The short view .. Leadership by Invitation
OBAMA: Well, I was going to get to that.
KROFT: Go ahead.
OBAMA: You know, I’m a, I’m a practical person. One of the things I’m good at is getting people in a room with a bunch of different ideas who sometimes violently disagree with each other and finding common ground and a sense of common direction. And that’s the kind of approach that I think prevents you from making some of the enormous mistakes that we’ve seen over the last eight years.
Isn’t his what McCain is doing ?
So it now takes an invitation from the President to get Obama to join in the discussions
or the long view .. What a scam
The federal government creates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac who procede to produce securities of questionable value (but they are assumed to be backed by the federal government). Then when the securities are determined to be of questionable value, the federal government sets up a program to buy them back, on the cheap, while possibly making up to $1 trillion by reselling them when their value is cleared up.
Brings a whole new meaning to “Windfall Profits Tax” .. LOL
Tom Sawyer couldn’t think this big. Samuel Clemens must be laughing in his grave.
There must be a sucker born everyday.
10:21 am
The first one was picking Sarah Palin. That one is already wearing thin with the public. She’s not ready to lead anything and was a terrible choice.
Spoken like a true lefty. She’s was the smartest move he has made in this campaign, though I suspect he did it for all the wrong reasons. She rocks, she’s been elevated to the national stage, and ain’t going anywhere, even if McCain ends up self-destructing. She’s the main reason, now, I’ll be pulling the lever for McCain in November, even as McCain tries to demonstrate the number one reason long-time senators don’t make good presidential campaigners: politics in presidential races don’t work like political posturing in the senate.
This particular stunt is so bone-headed, I’m not convinced McCain wants to win. Hopefully he will be given some excuse to say “crisis solved” and show up at the debate. Letting Obama go the debate alone is idiocy. I’m sure Axelrod is cranking out inspirational mini-speeches as we type. And McCain not showing up for the debate will mean Obama gets to speechify for an hour or so, and it’s all upside for Obama.
And, it looks like McCain wanted to avoid the debate! Frackin’ brilliant, wrinkly old white dude. Or like he can’t debate ideas critical to the looming and un-delayable election while there is bad economic news dominating the news cycle. Opponents will hammer home the “presidents cannot call a time-out” meme. It’s just crazy. Why doesn’t he stump for his pro-puppy torture policies while he’s at it?
Still, I’ll be voting for Palin in Novemeber. And the crazy old white guy running with her apparently is part of the deal.
10:21 am
John McCain’s campaign theme is “America First” and had he not suspended the campaign and headed back to D.C. to do his job, he would not have been true to his principles. And that is something upon which you can always rely – whether or not you like him, John McCain is a pretty consistent guy, especially when it comes to his principles.
The fact that BHO had to be shamed into actually DOING the job for which he is paid (Senator) is an appalling revelation of the kind of President he would be – voting present more often than not. And his dithering was another VERY bad sign. He keeps swaying with the prevailing winds, he’s gonna give himself whiplash!
And apparently his grasp of civics is still pretty shakey. No Senator Obama, we do not have 57 states. And NO Senator, we will not have a new president in 40 days. That’s only the election. Inauguration is several months distant!
10:26 am
You know, I’m a, I’m a practical person. One of the things I’m good at is getting people in a room with a bunch of different ideas who sometimes violently disagree with each other and finding common ground and a sense of common direction. And that’s the kind of approach that I think prevents you from making some of the enormous mistakes that we’ve seen over the last eight years.
Ironically, Obama just described George W. Bush’s governing strategy. If he’s remotely seriously, he needs to check out Bush’s approval numbers. This stuff can work at a certain level, like in the state senate or in a campaign—it worked for Bush as governor of Texas—but it just doesn’t function in Washington. And especially not for the president. Just ask W. how much cred he got for Medicare Part D or letting Ted Kennedy write the education bill or rolling over on McCain-Feingold or any number of his “across the aisle” compromises that have pissed off the base (a big part of the low approval numbers, lefties, don’t kid yourself: conservatives aren’t angry at Bush for tax cuts) and got very little from the Democrats or the MSM.
I think Obama is serious. I think it will hamstring him as president, when he gets elected after John McCain finishes imploding, doing us the favor of (I hope) a Palin ticket in 2012.
11:14 am
“Actually, all recent polls show the Palin choice a net plus for McCain with independents – only 18% believe her to be unqualified while she has helped McCain to scoot out to a 11 point lead among indies.”
I agree that she was a wise choice politically. But when I watch her during her interviews, I get the exact same feeling I do when watching GWB. It’s like this uneasy embarrassed feeling. It’s like watching a cute second grade teacher trying to do a college lecture.
11:54 am
It’s not that you’re always right—you’re not. Or that you’re always above partisanship—you’re quite partisan. It’s that you’re incapable of the complete betrayal of your own intellect and the complete abandonment of consistency and honesty. You actually have a certain integrity. You actually care what the capital “T” truth is.
That’s why you’re never going to get Sean Hannity’s job. You’re just not enough of a tool, Rick.
It’s why I read you every day, for whatever that’s worth.
11:56 am
“MY FRIENDS, THIS IS A TRANSPARENT DODGE BY A FLOUNDERING GEEZER… UH… I MEAN, IT’S TIME TO MOVE BEYOND PARTISANSHIP AND WORK TOGETHER TO SOLVE THE REGRETTABLE WALL STREET MELTDOWN…” (somebody find that s.o.b Rick Davis, dammit, have you seen the expletive polls??)... “MY FRIENDS, POLITICS HAS NO PLACE IN A CRISIS SITUATION…” (and make sure Palin doesn’t talk to anybody or we are in the expletive ground)... “MY FRIENDS, I CALL ON MY COLLEAGUE AND FRIEND SENATOR HUSSEIN… UH… I MEAN, SENATOR OBAMA TO SET ASIDE CAMPAIGN RHETORIC AND VOTE FOR ME… UH… I MEAN, FOR THE BAILOUT…” (where’s that expletive Pfotenhauer broad? Get her on Fox with Hannity, willya?) “MY FRIENDS…” (*expletive* on a bicycle, do I have to do expletive everything around here??)
A
11:57 am
I disagree with all the people who are calling this a political ploy. To me, campaigning is useless, stupid work. Why would Obama say, “Hey, spending seventy-two hours in a hotel room preparing to talk to you on a stage is FAR more important than participating in solving national financial crisis.” Do you guys really believe that putting these two men on a stage is more important than putting them to work? The suggestion that they have to practice is ludicrously opposed to the point to a debate anyway. Don’t these guys KNOW the answers to the questions they’re going to be asked? This is just another example of politicians being stupid. OF COURSE they should cancel the debate. There is work to be done.
12:08 pm
Why would Obama say, “Hey, spending seventy-two hours in a hotel room preparing to talk to you on a stage is FAR more important than participating in solving national financial crisis.” Do you guys really believe that putting these two men on a stage is more important than putting them to work?”
No it’s not, which is why in the end this was NOT a campaign ploy. McCain has campaign upsides and downsides from doing this, but he looked in the mirror and said “What am I running for?” He’s running to call the shots when a crisis occurs.
So all McCain is doing is what a leader does: He’s marching towards the sound of gunfire.
We could and should reschedule the debate. Now if McCain doesnt want to appear and Obama does, McCain can and should send Palin.
12:45 pm
“Actually, all recent polls show the Palin choice a net plus for McCain with independents – only 18% believe her to be unqualified while she has helped McCain to scoot out to a 11 point lead among indies.”
Yeah but isn’t that effect on the wane? With every day and every interview, she looks worse. She’s been stumped twice by reporter questions. The lack of access to her is getting the press a bit worked up. And having the McCain campaign intercede in the trooper investigation just looks terrible. Look for her numbers to go way down. A net plus is exactly that. Those bumps don’t last an entire month
Your other point, Rick:
“...this is far from a panicky move by McCain. It was a calaculated risk. There isn’t as big a downside to the play as you might think because SOME people are going to give him credit for it.”
It was a calculated risk that was easily rebuffed and answered. Not a good sign of McCain’s risk taking. Those SOME people are already in the can for McCain. MOST people are eager to see these two debate. And which is it? A calculated risk or actually doing something instrumental for the bailout that requires him to suspend his campaign? Sen. McCain doesn’t have much experience in this area as a life-long fundamental de-regulator. He also doesn’t know much about the economy according to him.
Also, McCain really didn’t think about the $5.5Million loss that Ole Miss will incur if he cancels his appearance at the debate. The senator didn’t even communicate with the debate organizers before making his announcement on TV. That’s terribly irresponsible.
Barack Obama says a president needs to be able to handle a few things at once. I like that attitude. The country needs more exposure to these candidates, not less.
1:05 pm
Now that it is almost done, I can hear John McCain “ok lets debate now” Obama will freak out. I just heard Rush say McCain should say lets debate about the economy too.
1:21 pm
tim please quit talking with your heart… talk with facts, please… i, i, i, feel, i think. the bill will be passed, mccain will show up, and palin will be his vp choice. life goes on… no need to be vicious, and hopefully they will talk about the economy. no uproar, no waste of money, maybe some politik’n but the show won’t be stopped.
1:22 pm
Freedoms truths is obviously out of touch with this process in that neither Obama nor McCain is on the committees that are shaping this bailout plan. There are other representatives and senators in Washington to take care of this! Trust me if either one of them has an idea on the subject I believe congress will take their call. I think this just goes to the fact that McCain cannot do more than one thing at a time and is not willing to debate Obama in the face of the tanking of the economy. He has been running on a platform of de-regulation and is thinking that it may have had something to with our current banking situation and cannot figure out how to flip on the issue so that it appears that he has always been against it.
Here is an idea, how about spending the day in washington, flying to the debate, and then when it is over rushing back to washington ( I think someone might still be up at that time of night)!
1:35 pm
vioce of reason, errr…whatever. McCain has been BEGGING to get Obama on the stage for months, doubt he’s worried about it. When he gets him there, he’ll soundly kick his fanny because Obama can only do well if no one challenges him (and frankly, no one has, with the possible exception of O’Reilly). We had a party planned for the event, too, so you know I’m not overjoyed, but facts are facts: Obama doesn’t think this pesky little economy thing is any big deal. Just like the pesky little terrorism thing: no big, other people can handle it. Reid called for McCain to come back and help settle the issue, but said he didn’t need Obama to come help: EVEN THE DEMOCRATS KNOW HE’S USELESS. Being in two places at the same time isn’t multi-tasking, it’s omnipresence: do you guys have a lock on that now? I don’t think you do. I think you just like talk better than reality.
2:26 pm
Earlier this week I was dissapointed that the folks running for President were going to be able to vote ‘present’ on an issue that smart people (on the MSM curve) think to be the most important issue facing the country. Great work if you can get it: hired to make tough decisions, applying for a job to make even more significant decisions, and the first ‘test’ vote? Present.
I’d like to see Obama-McCain-Bush-Democratic Congressional Leadership holding hands at the end. The country deserves what they decide, right or wrong. That’s why we vote.
2:31 pm
“The lack of access to her is getting the press a bit worked up”
That explains why the MSM floated Trig Trutherism two days after being selected (of course they didn’t report it, they reported that “people” were “concerned”). The press saw her as the enemy from day one. Bill Clinton knows that they’re playing with fire. The MSM might want to listen up.
2:50 pm
This will be a gimmick if McCain just “goes along with the tide”. Boehner has indicated there is no deal. Shelby (a true believer) was replaced by Bennett on the GOP side of the negotiations. I’ve got a suspicion that McCain, Mcconnell, and Boehner are going to insist reduction/elimination of some of the federal “causes” of the crisis. If McCain shave one nickel off this MOAB, he’ll serve himself and the country well.
3:18 pm
“The lack of access to her is getting the press a bit worked up”
Oh, I wouldn’t say that’s confined to just the press. Try, the independent voters as well. I’d like to see her take some questions from the press at large. Stuff like that is part of how I form my opinions of the people I might vote for. I’m not the only one either.
I want to see her stand at a podium and take random questions from reporters. It is NOT partisan of me to want that.
3:56 pm
“By 2-1 the public – rightly or wrongly – places the blame for the Wall Street meltdown on Republicans.”
Where are you getting those numbers (the 2 to 1)? Let me state up front that I don’t have poll numbers to backup anything I present next- its all empirical. However, I think those numbers were the initial reaction of the public. More and more, people are realizing that the key ingredient to the finacial meltdown was Clinton, Frank, and Dodd pressuring F-Mae and F-Mac to provide loans to high credit risk borrowers. Fox has been pushing the story (twice), and several righty-blogs are carrying it too. For obvious reasons, the MSM won’t push the story, but fortunately, their monopolization of information distribution is over.
Here is a bold prediction: the financial collapse will be a net gain for McCain.
4:06 pm
“I agree that she was a wise choice politically. But when I watch her during her interviews, I get the exact same feeling I do when watching GWB. It’s like this uneasy embarrassed feeling. It’s like watching a cute second grade teacher trying to do a college lecture.”
Chuck, for once we agree (I used to post as Michael B.)- she’s terrible in an interview. But what doesn’t make sense to me is the ease and comfort she displayed in the gubernatorial debates (I watched several). I think she’s been over-coached, and if they ever let her just say what she feels, she’ll present much better.
But like you, right now I get that uneasy embarressed feeling when she interviews.
4:11 pm
Senator McCain’s slogan is “America First” and had he not behaved in precisely the manner that he has, he could easily (and properly) been described as a hypocrite. I have many issues with Senator John McCain but I do believe that, bottom line, he is a complete patriot and that his decision yesterday and his influence today may well have helped the situation a great deal. Senator Obama is just a trifling fool, a “second-rate Bill Clinton” if you will. I also don’t believe that Senator Obama actually intended or wanted to get the nomination this time. I think he was actually positioning himself to be Hillary’s running mate and events got away from him! Now he’s well and truly stuck because in the long run, he will not win the election and his chances to ever do so will be pretty much null and void. And thank God for that!
4:13 pm
And guys, I wouldn’t “misunderestimate” Gov. Palin. She’ll hit her stride and probably will decimate the Chia Pet on 10/2.
4:18 pm
Whether there’s some gimmick element to this or not, McCain realized that this deal being would have a huge impact on the next POTUS and he was quick enough to see that and use it to his advantage. The One was so focused on preping for his big debate on a topic that he’s an idiot on, that he didn’t even realize the implications to him as POTUS. Bush had to publicly ‘invite’ him to the talks as the credibility of the deal depends to a degree on the public acceptance of the next POTUS.
How it all works out politcally for who’s ultimate advantage for this campaign I haven’t a clue.
4:44 pm
Gayle Miller,
Chia Pet? The thing where you plant grass seeds on terracotta pots shaped like farm animals? I don’t get it. Please explain.
4:48 pm
they reached a deal and so the games are back on. We’ll see if this has any impact but I would certainly think the debate on Friday will. Gayle, I don’t know what you are smoking but I haven’t seen any interview by Palin that has impressed me. Not saying that Biden is much better. However, Palin is either overcoached or doesn’t have a clue. I mean I can put one platitude next to another.
5:04 pm
Chuck, “chia pet”... she’s talking about Biden’s hair plugs.
5:30 pm
A real man would fly to Washington to handle the crisis AND do the debate on Friday. Why is this beyond the ability of either candidate?
5:55 pm
I’m a conservative and I’d like to see more serious media interactions with Palin – she hasn’t done well (or horrible for that matter). But given how the media has treated her so far it makes sense that her exposure to them would limited by the McCain campaign. Obama hasn’t received any negative press to speak of – while McCain and Palin have to deal with falsehoods about them being reported as news on a regular basis – and he (Obama) is also closed off to the press more than they would like. The media just seem to squawk more about McCain/Palin.
And I’ll use a line often heard here in defense of Obama but I’ll turn it around:
It doesn’t matter what McCain does – you’d find fault with it anyway.
6:23 pm
I think many admire McCain’s leadership here. Instead of just talking about the problem, he went to go help. Of course it was somewhat of a political stunt – but sometimes that’s what leaders have to do, do something out of the ordinary to rally people behind him and inspire , them. I also think it is important for people to see that all Obama has done here is talk. Obama has nothing to lose here. If he doesn’t get his hands dirty with helping out, he can criticize the solution if it goes awry, or praise the Democrats if it goes well.
So the contrast with Obama (blubbering “If you need me, call me”) was clear, but I am not sure yet if not going to the debate will help McCain. I for one am envisioning Obama alone with liberal ABC reporters on Friday night… with no one to challenge Obama’s answers, think how this could go! It will be like a Hail to Obama ceremony, with him and the reporter congratulating themselves on their intelligent progressive ideologies. I hope McCain can go back to the debate in order to set a few things straight.
6:29 pm
6:34 pm
Bald Ninja,
as conservatives we are often cry-babies when it comes to the media. Margaret Thatcher faced a more than hostile media and public but she kicked butt. I just have that uneasy feeling that Palin just doesn’t have a clue about many important topics and you would not want a debate of Margaret in her prime against Palin (or Obama).
7:11 pm
funny man,
I agree that Palin is no Thatcher. Liberals make her out to be some sort of conservative Frankenstein monster – one part hick, one part retard, one part corrupt politician, one part fascist leader, etc – and too many conservatives are hailing her as ‘the One’ who’s going to transform the Republican party and lead us to victory. I like her. Is she a boost to McCain’s campaign? Yes. Is she perfect? No. Is she amazing? Probably not but only time will tell.
Also, I think there is a difference between being a cry-baby about how the media treats ‘our side’ and pointing out the hostile environment they create and in which conservatives must operate. Limiting her exposure to the media is one tactic to take in combating it and probably not a bad one given how hysterical the media are towards her. She’s also not an amazing extemporaneous speaker (though arguably better than Obama) so any faults she shows in speaking will be magnified while Obama’s will go mostly ignored (another reason why limiting her media exposure may be a good idea).
7:38 pm
Surabaya Stew Said:
5:30 pm
A real man would fly to Washington to handle the crisis AND do the debate on Friday. Why is this beyond the ability of either candidate?
Because, sigh, once again, they cannot be in two places at the same time. If the negotiations on the deal take any time at all (cmon, we’re talking billions of dollars, shouldn’t they take a bit of time on this?), it could very well go into the weekend and into next week. This is a dem talking point, and Obama started it. He had his pal Reid call for McCain to come back to DC, then had him say, “No Barry, we don’t need you.” So Obama could say it was just a ploy for McCain to go back. He set him up with a no win. If McCain hadn’t gone back, Obama could have said, “Look, he doesn’t care about the crisis.” When he did go back, Obama said that he should be able to multi task, as he KNEW McCain couldn’t be in two places at once. I wish that would bite Obama in the fanny, but of course it won’t.
7:51 pm
I’ve been following Right Wing Nut House and other conservative blogs over the past few weeks as I know I’m likely one of those Northern California Liberals who sees only abundance from my perch in Silicon Valley. First, thank you for the mostly excellent writing, and for mostly balanced reporting. However (and there had to be one), I wonder how conservatives think about the growing evidence of erratic decisions coming from John McCain? I want a President who demonstrates their leadership abilities by thoughtful actions and not gimmicks. An ability to bring people together to work towards solutions is central to the skill set. I rarely see commentary about McCain’s contradictory statements (impolite commenting might label those as ‘flat out lies’) and there’s a feast of them to choose from.
With respect, what is it about John McCain that conservatives respect? What leadership and decision-making skills does he demonstrate that makes you believe he should be the President at this time in our history? And please don’t talk mention POW and 9/11 in the same sentences.
Thanks,
Birch
7:56 pm
Bald Ninja,
just heard the deal is off the table right now. In my opinion, this whole thing is more important than all the gaffes, associations etc put together. Both liberals and conservatives are at fault to allow this to happen if you are honest about it. My initial reaction would be to oppose this but then I’m also worried of what might happen later. However, I don’t really care if I’m right or wrong as long as our country doesn’t take a nosedive. Sorry I got sidetracked.
7:59 pm
*”Bald Ninja Said:
7:11 pm
funny man,
I agree that Palin is no Thatcher. Liberals make her out to be some sort of conservative Frankenstein monster – one part hick, one part retard, one part corrupt politician, one part fascist leader, etc – “*
You forgot, one part hot MILF.
8:06 pm
Birch,
I think the thing that most excites conservatives about John McCain is Barack Obama. Given the two candidates McCain is by far the lesser of two evils to a conservative.
For some actual selling points on McCain (as I see it):
1. He has about a good a record fighting corruption and trying to clean up Washington as anyone there does. I’m not a fan of McCain-Feingold but I believe McCain has a genuine interest in doing something to clean up Washington. Obama hasn’t done much except talk about fighting corruption. Palin has done more than Obama in this regard.
2. He is a man of principles. Some of them I don’t agree with. Some of them I do agree with. Buy he is a known quantity and he shares more conservative values with me than Obama does.
3. I trust his judgement over that of Obama’s. I think he has more relevant experience that will inform the decisions he makes. Of course in your post you accuse him of being rash. I don’t know how he can be painted as more rash than Obama who seems to change his position on many issues from day to day.
8:08 pm
Chuck,
Perhaps hot MILF is the only thing conservatives and liberals can agree upon in this election.
8:18 pm
Carolynp, the solution is to leave Washington at 5pm and fly down to Ole Miss for the 9pm debate. After it is over, fly back to Washington for an extended weekend of work. Why is this a problem or Obama or McCain? An 8 hour pause for an event that has been scheduled for months is impossible? Obama is just being lazy and McCain is being a real prick over this.
8:49 pm
Surabaya,
So McCain should say, “Hey guys, I know were all trying to hash out some sort of agreement and all but I got this gig in Mississippi – what do ya say we take a short 8 hour break?”. It would be selfish of McCain to expect all of the other Senators and Representatives to hold off while he leaves.
On the other hand not much may be going on for those 8 hours and he could slip away and return. I believe he’s left that option open. I believe all he’s said is that his priority is finding a resolution to the economic crisis.
9:58 pm
Gayle Miller:
You’re mindlessly parroting McCain’s “Country First” marketing slogan.Please give yourself more credit than that. Even our host, Rick Moran agrees this was a “gambit”. That’s what it is..,And please stop with the “barry” and the “BHO” and the “Hussein”. We all know what his middle name is and he’s doing quite well, thank you. Don’t cheapen your cause with silly name games. I refer to Sen John McCain by “Senator” which he is and deserves to be acknowledged. Why am I even saying this?? My bad..
Surabaya Stew….Actually tomorrow night’s debate has been planned for years. This production started in 2006.
Bald Ninja, On your McCain Selling points:
This is the way I felt about Sen. McCain in 2000. I hoped he would get the nomination in case Gore lost. He didn’t get nominated..we all lost. To all my conservative friends here…I admit it. McCain would have been a better pres than Pres. Bush. But McCain is different now. He’s blowing it…
Hey Rick… I happen to be a web designer. How about threaded comments? There’s a plugin that
could do this easily for you…
10:45 pm
Bald Ninja, this upcoming debate is not an event that has suffered for a lack of advertisement. (Thank you Tim for reminding us of the EARLY start the debate has had.) I’m sure all the Senators and Representatives will understand if McCain needs some time away. It’s all part of the job of running for President of the United States.
Frankly, nobody really expects Obama or McCain to take a leading role in the negations, since neither one of them chairs any relevant committees. Only a very few critical events (outbreak of war, major earthquake) justify shutting down a presidential debate. I simply don’t believe that this crisis measures up. If McCain had not proposed to cancel or postpone the debate, it’s hard to believe the average American or the MSN would criticize the candidates for holding the debate anyway.
11:03 pm
My GOD. I just watched some of the Couric interview with Palin.
Assembled Republicans, how do you react to something like this? I am without words.
11:28 pm
I’ll give you half credit on this statement.
“The suspension of his campaign is a gimmick, of course”
I do believe McCain is doing this half out of political commitment and half campaign gimmick. I do not doubt his love of his country, but the question no one has asked, as a sort of litmus test, is, “Would he have done it if he was ahead in the polls and pulling away?”
“If he had acceded to McCain’s wishes and gone back to Washington, the Republican would have had a triumph”
Aaah, but he did return to Washington, albeit at the President’s request, not John McCain’s. So, for the Republicans half victory as well as half victory for Obama. Guess you could call it a stalemate.
“So where does that leave McCain? I believe that the GOP will close ranks today and agree to join the Democrats in voting for the bailout package.”
Well the Repubs are revolting again and it is not over energy, it is over the bailout.
The point is not to correct you or say you were wrong, it is to say that this is an extremely volatile election cycle and it is hard to predict any outcomes on anything. The only things we know for sure are advantage Obama, GOP is blamed for financial crisis, and we have a financial crisis. Whether McCain’s gambit paid off or not will not really be known until Monday. So far there is a bump according to Gallup and BattleGround, but Rasmussen shows an Obama lead of +3. Yesterday on Ras, they were tied. Hate to do it, but I believe Ras to be the most accurate, that is why I give Obama the advantage as far as the polls are concerned.
Reality of all of this is, there are no variables that you can predict in this election, things are out of whack. The data from everything has alot of people confused, that is the only thing I know for sure.
12:30 am
Washington Mutual just went under and Japanese Banks are on a shopping spree of what’s left of Wall Street. I just have that sinking feeling we are debating the wrong topics while the world as we know it vanishes in front of our very eyes. I quote CT here: things are out of whack (probably including me).
1:56 am
Amen, Funny!
2:15 am
Rick,
I believe events are proving John McCain prescient.
McCain knew he had to get to Washington. He also knew that the debate, as all debates do, was going to require him to disappear for much oof two days to hone his debate points and message.
Then McCain is dealing with calls from Paulson late Tuesday and Wednesday to publicly support “the bill”. What bill? It’s still being hashed out in private. Calls from slimy Harry Reid and Pelosi that if McCain did not support “the bill”, there could be no consensus. Calls from Republicans.
What in the world was he to do? Couldn’t you at least discuss the thorny position this puts him in? If he’s going to support “the bill”, he’d better be in Washington discussing it closely. And he’s no dummy: The Democrats want to hang it on his neck, and he knows it. Look at all the Democrat talking points today. McCain decided he wanted a hand in the resulting bill if he’s going to be under all this pressure to be a team player.
The campaign gimmick was only in suspending the campaign, not in taking a personal break from it. There was no way to properly do the debate and participate in creating the resulting bill. McCain made sure that the clarity of what he was doing was perfectly clear. He certainly didn’t have to go as far as he did. But he did. What’s so terrible about that?
And the debate was going to be about foreign policy. The moderators are surely nearly completely ready with their questions. The only meaningful debate would have switched the topic to economic affairs, making it a seat of the pants affair. What’s the sense in that?
And now the Democrats have blown up completely today, and McCain is in Washington, helping with a Senate bipartisan effort, in close discussions with conservative House members on interesting changes in the bill that would support conservative principles!
And everyone thinks it’s just a political stunt. I can’t understand why more conservatives aren’t being more considerate of McCain. You, and they, seem to hardly even be trying to put yourselves in his shoes, and attempt to defend what are obviously reasonable positions. Please don’t pull a George Will, a Charles Krauthammer.