[Updated] McCain suspends campaign to work on economy

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2008-09-25 04:10pm

UPDATE: McCain still won't commit to the debate. After reading the quotes from McCain's camp in this article, I'm starting to agree with RedImperator. I think this is just him jerking everyone around to get some publicity. He'll be at the debates tomorrow.

AP News wrote: WASHINGTON - John McCain's campaign expressed cautious optimism Thursday as congressional Republicans and Democrats agreed in principle on a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry hours before the two presidential candidates were to meet with President Bush on the crisis.
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Even so, the action didn't appear to be strong enough to convince McCain to attend Friday's scheduled presidential debate. His campaign has said he wouldn't participate unless there was consensus between Congress and the administration, and a spokesman said the afternoon developments had not changed his plans.

"There's no deal until there's a deal. We're optimistic but we want to get this thing done," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said.

Obama still wants the face-off to go on, and is slated to travel to the debate site in Mississippi on Friday.

The debate over the debate is the latest campaign twist as McCain and Obama try to navigate the uncharted politics of the financial meltdown and show leadership at a time of national angst.

"With so much on the line, for America and the world, the debate that matters most right now is taking place in the United States Capitol — and I intend to join it," McCain said after addressing former President Clinton's Global Initiative in New York on Thursday before heading to Washington.

Obama argued the debate should proceed because a president needs to be able to handle more than one issue at a time.

"Our election is in 40 days. Our economy is in crisis, and our nation is fighting two wars abroad. The American people deserve to hear directly from myself and Sen. McCain about how we intend to lead our country. The times are too serious to put our campaign on hold, or to ignore the full range of issues that the next president will face."

In Oxford, Miss., debate organizers continued to prepare.

At a news conference, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, said he expected the presidential debate to go ahead, though he said he had no inside information. "This is going to be a great debate tomorrow night. We're excited about it," Barbour said.

Television networks, too, were moving forward. "We're proceeding as if it's on and will until someone tells us that it's not," ABC spokeswoman Cathie Levine said.

The two candidates spoke to the Clinton Global Initiative — McCain in person, Obama via satellite — before the meeting in Washington with Bush and House and Senate leaders from both parties. One of them is certain to inherit the economic mess, including the aftermath of the unprecedented plan to rescue the financial sector.

Presidential politics was running smack into the delicate negotiations over how to stop further weakening the sagging economy without putting an enormous new burden on taxpayers or rewarding corporations or their executives who share the blame for the woes.

On Capitol Hill, Democratic and Republican negotiators emerged from a closed-door meeting to report an agreement in principle. They said they would present it to the Bush administration in hopes of a vote within days.

Rogers said McCain didn't participate in that meeting, but was in talks with Republican leaders afterward. Conservative Republicans were among the holdouts, and there were indications they were waiting for McCain to make a move before they did.

As Thursday began, McCain said he didn't believe the administration's plan had the votes to pass without changes. "We are running out of time," McCain said. However, he said he still was confident a bipartisan compromise could be reached before markets open on Monday, one that would stabilize the markets, protect taxpayers and homeowners and "earn the confidence of the American people."

He again portrayed his announced halt to campaign events, fundraising and advertising as an example of putting the country ahead of politics. But in doing so he also hoped to get political credit for a decisive step on a national crisis as polls show him trailing Obama on the economy and slipping in the presidential race.

Despite McCain's stated campaigning hiatus, his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, paid a highly visible visit to memorials in lower Manhattan to those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Democrats derided McCain's claim to have halted his campaign as a political stunt, though Obama himself didn't go that far.

For his part, Obama urged a swift resolution that would get the legislation passed, saying "action must be taken to restore confidence in our economy ... Now is a time to come together — Democrats and Republicans — in a spirit of cooperation on behalf of the American people."

Obama also rolled out a new 60-second TV ad to run in "key targeted states" in which he cited economic policies endorsed by Bush and McCain as essentially to blame for the troubles.

"For eight years we've been told that the way to a stronger economy was to give huge tax breaks to corporations and the wealthiest. Cut oversight on Wall Street. And somehow all Americans would benefit," Obama says in the ad. "Well now we know the truth. Instead of prosperity tricking down, the pain has trickled up. We need to change direction. Now."

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2008-09-25 08:58pm

From the same file as 'I attack Obama because he didn't do what I said!'

GIBSON: Do we have a debate tomorrow night?

MCCAIN: Well I'm hopeful, very hopeful that we can. I believe that it's very possible that we can get an agreement so that --- in time for me to fly to Mississippi. I understand that there is a lot of attention on this but I also wish Senator Obama had agreed to ten or more town hall meetings that I had asked him to attend with me. Wouldn't be quite that much urgency if he agreed to do that, instead he refused to do it.

Link to full transcript

About the best I can say is that it sounds less like an abusive husband's 'I beat you because I love you'...

Superman · Post by **Superman** » 2008-09-25 09:06pm

What are the chances that McCaine is trying to postpone it so that they won't have time for the VIP debate? If he could get Ellie Mae out of that one, it would be a whole lot better than Biden destroying her.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2008-09-25 09:07pm

Superman wrote:What are the chances that McCaine is trying to postpone it so that they won't have time for the VIP debate? If he could get Ellie Mae out of that one, it would be a whole lot better than Biden destroying her.

I've brought that up, as he's openly said he thinks it should be moved to the VP debate's slot.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2008-09-25 09:29pm

Illuminatus Primus wrote:Give me a break. The candidates owe it to the people to make sure they have the best candidate running things in a couple months. Its that person who will have to deal with whatever bill is passed, and their participation on the floor is non-essential.

Obviously the campaign is important too but both have gotten in on this and it hasn't slowed the campaigning down a bit. I'm bothered more by the fact that they need to turn their job into a campaign issue than just doing it because they should. Campaigning and acting as a Senator on occasions like this are not mutually exclusive. I much prefer Obama's approach to McCain's obvious stunt.

Illuminatus Primus wrote:Furthermore, do you think your donations to McCain aren't still be processed as normal?

You clearly have no fucking clue what you're talking about here so why not shut the hell up.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2008-09-25 09:33pm

Superman wrote:What are the chances that McCaine is trying to postpone it so that they won't have time for the VIP debate? If he could get Ellie Mae out of that one, it would be a whole lot better than Biden destroying her.

Odds are pretty good. I'd say there's also a good chance he's just looking to duck any of the debates as well. Neither he nor Palin have looked very good when not being lobbed softballs. On the other hand, Obama is a very good public speaker and Biden is certainly more than passable.

I think he's found a great pretext to duck a potential embarrassment while attempting to make it look good via absurd propaganda.

Anguirus · Post by **Anguirus** » 2008-09-26 12:20am

Things may not be so settled after all...

Sounds like a real clusterfuck up there.

And on a side note, I think the media's long honeymoon with McCain may be done and for good. His attempt to "rise above politics" doesn't seem to be swallowed by anyone. Notice in particular the phrase "McCain hoped voters would believe that he rose above politics to wade into nitty-gritty and ultimately successful dealmaking at a time of urgent crisis, but he risked being seen instead as either overly impulsive or politically craven, or both."[/url]

Tribun · Post by **Tribun** » 2008-09-26 05:05am

Now, this will be interesting.
-If McCain appears to debate Obama, he has broken the word he has given in public.
-If he doesn't appear, he gives Obama a prime time slot to explain his ideas to the people.

I guess that's what is called a win-win situation. Guess McCain thought the matter would be done by now.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2008-09-26 05:35am

McCain probably had a few hopes of what he'd accomplish with this little stunt.

Duck a debate he didn't prepare adequately for in a format that he regrets agreeing to. Each question will feature a 5-minute back-and-forth period where the candidates can, as I understand it, talk any sort of trash they want to each other. This is a prime opportunity for McCain's infamous temper to rear its ugly head on national television. Also a prime opportunity for McCain to have a senior moment.
Appear to be "above politics", get his "maverick" cred back and show everyone that he can cross party lines.
Set himself up to take the credit in a deal that he can pass off as more regulatory and shed his history of pushing for almost complete deregulation.
Force Obama to follow his lead on an important issue.
Potentially dream up a pretext to cancel the VP debates. "Oh we had to postpone the debate, so let's just bump the VP debate, do it on that day and 'reschedule'."

Obama called his bluff and sprinkled in a little jab by saying "A president has to be able to deal with more than one thing at a time", basically saying, "Hey John, I can walk and chew gum at the same time. How about you?"

So McCain's accomplished none of these things. He's reinforced the perception that he's impulsive and doesn't think things through. The press has been so pissed off at him lately that no one outside of Fox News call him a "maverick". Congressional leaders came out and said the candidates' presence would do more harm than good before they got there and then said that McCain sat there totally silent for most of the meetings when he was there. And Palin's going to have to face Biden. If he shows up tomorrow, there's no way in hell he can pull this "postpone the debates" shit again, and certainly not with his VP candidate.

McCain's put himself in a shitty position, and he's given Obama a tailor-made zinger at the debates to open with. "First of all, glad you could make it, John."

Tribun · Post by **Tribun** » 2008-09-26 10:58am

I'm looking now at the first numbers that were gathered during the time of this stunt. Looks like the only one gaining from this tactic is Obama.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2008-09-26 11:27am

The breaking headline on CNN seems to confirm that McSame will, infact, attend the debate. No link just yet.

CaptJodan · Post by **CaptJodan** » 2008-09-26 11:32am

MSNBC reports the same.

CaptJodan · Post by **CaptJodan** » 2008-09-26 11:37am

It seems to me that McCain just saw which way the wind was blowing. I doubt this'll hurt him that much. It looks really, really stupid, but it probably would have been a lot better for Obama if he had stuck to his guns and stayed home.

Tribun · Post by **Tribun** » 2008-09-26 11:45am

While we are at it check this:
He already has won?

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2008-09-26 11:49am

I'm still looking forward to Obama artfully goading McSame into a McTemperTantrum involving lots of four-letter words and punctuated by a career-ending utterance of the N Word. Instant internet meme clear through November!

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2008-09-26 12:21pm

Tribun wrote:While we are at it check this:
He already has won?

I don't know if somebody screwed up and released an ad that was supposed to be held until tonight, or they've just decided to start the spin 12 hours ahead of time. I mean, you'd have to be a moron* to fall for it, but the McSame campaign has already demonstrated they think the entire electorate is composed of morons.

*Please, please, please spare me the post where someone explains, "The sad thing is, the majority of Americans are morons and will fall for it". I don't necessarily disagree with the sentiment, but I'm tired of reading it on every single page of every single election thread this year.

irishmick79 · Post by **irishmick79** » 2008-09-26 12:47pm

Rasmussen is showing Obama +5 in Virginia. He's only down by 1 point in Ohio and Florida, and he's +2 in North Carolina.

This election has moved significantly towards Barack Obama in the past week. He is now a clear favorite to win.

Azazal · Post by **Azazal** » 2008-09-26 12:53pm

And he's back in

Flip flop time

Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain will participate in Friday night's debate with his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, McCain campaign staff said.

McCain said earlier this week he would not attend the debate if an agreement had not been reached on a $700 billion bailout plan for U.S. financial institutions.

The outcome was up in the air Friday as lawmakers scrambled to agree on a plan.

But by midday, McCain's campaign said the Republican presidential nominee believed enough progress had been made for him to travel to Mississippi to participate in the debate, set for 9 p.m. ET at the University of Mississippi campus.

"He is optimistic that there has been significant progress toward a bipartisan agreement now that there is a framework for all parties to be represented in negotiations, including Rep. [Roy] Blunt as a designated negotiator for House Republicans," the campaign said in a statement.

"The McCain campaign is resuming all activities and the senator will travel to the debate this afternoon."

More in the article, wonder if Obama will hit him for flipping

Tribun · Post by **Tribun** » 2008-09-26 01:21pm

irishmick79 wrote:Rasmussen is showing Obama +5 in Virginia. He's only down by 1 point in Ohio and Florida, and he's +2 in North Carolina.

This election has moved significantly towards Barack Obama in the past week. He is now a clear favorite to win.

It's not only that. I got more numbers.
The whole thing in general seemed to have hurt him. Actually it's ironical. Just when Obama loses a little momentum, McCain's next cooked up idea gives the momentum back to Obama.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2008-09-26 01:49pm

irishmick79 wrote:Rasmussen is showing Obama +5 in Virginia. He's only down by 1 point in Ohio and Florida, and he's +2 in North Carolina.

This election has moved significantly towards Barack Obama in the past week. He is now a clear favorite to win.

No, he's not. Show me these same numbers on 3 November, and then I'll say he's a clear favorite. He's ahead with more than a month to go. That's better than being behind, but he's been further ahead before.

Jesus, didn't we learn anything from two weeks ago? After the RNC, there was a run on razorblades, and now there's a run on party hats.

Nathaniel · Post by **Nathaniel** » 2008-09-26 01:54pm

Is there any way to watch the debate online? (Live or otherwise)

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2008-09-26 02:14pm

Nathaniel wrote:Is there any way to watch the debate online? (Live or otherwise)

CSPAN.org should either have a live feed or the debate archived almost as soon as it's over.

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2008-09-26 05:52pm

Azazal wrote:And he's back in

Flip flop time

Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain will participate in Friday night's debate with his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, McCain campaign staff said.

McCain said earlier this week he would not attend the debate if an agreement had not been reached on a $700 billion bailout plan for U.S. financial institutions.

The outcome was up in the air Friday as lawmakers scrambled to agree on a plan.

But by midday, McCain's campaign said the Republican presidential nominee believed enough progress had been made for him to travel to Mississippi to participate in the debate, set for 9 p.m. ET at the University of Mississippi campus.

"He is optimistic that there has been significant progress toward a bipartisan agreement now that there is a framework for all parties to be represented in negotiations, including Rep. [Roy] Blunt as a designated negotiator for House Republicans," the campaign said in a statement.

"The McCain campaign is resuming all activities and the senator will travel to the debate this afternoon."
More in the article, wonder if Obama will hit him for flipping

I think that McCain's going into the debate with an inherent disadvantage. In American politics, the one think worse than doing something stupid is reneging on said stupid thing. If he had skipped the debate and stayed in Washington, he might be able to say "oh, I was trying to fix things while Obama was grandstanding on national TV", but now he just looks like an impulsive hothead that can't make up his mind. Also, Obama spent all week preparing, while McCain's being rushed in from Washington.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2008-09-26 05:58pm

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi wrote: I think that McCain's going into the debate with an inherent disadvantage. In American politics, the one think worse than doing something stupid is reneging on said stupid thing. If he had skipped the debate and stayed in Washington, he might be able to say "oh, I was trying to fix things while Obama was grandstanding on national TV", but now he just looks like an impulsive hothead that can't make up his mind. Also, Obama spent all week preparing, while McCain's being rushed in from Washington.

McSame didn't really have a choice about skipping it anyway. If he did, it would have given Obama unopposed access to 10 million viewers, which really could have been even more disastrous.

Tribun · Post by **Tribun** » 2008-09-26 06:14pm

Yeah, he now clearly has an air of "I didn't really want to be here but I have no choice".

That's of course a big disadvantage. But how do you think he will act in the debate itself?