mccain begs off

McCain Suspending Campaign. This Is "Country First"?

As you may have heard, John McCain just announced he's suspending his campaign--and asking to postpone Friday's debate--so that he can return to Washington and help negotiate a solution to the nation's financial crisis. He also says he's asked Barack Obama to join him.

While I am willing believe that McCain's interest in bipartisan reform is sincere, it's hard not to see at least some gamesmanship at work here. The McCain campaign has been reeling for the last few days and it's fast becoming apparent voters simply don't trust him on the economy as much as they trust Obama. The only break in the economic news has been the revelations about McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, and his lobbying ties to Fannie Mae. Anything that disrupts the present political cycle is, by definition, good for McCain.

Then again, gamesmanship is always at work in politics. Obama's campaign says they were the ones who contacted McCain this morning, in order to develop some joint principles on a financial bailout package. As with McCain, I'm sure the desire for bipartisan reform is sincere--and that political calculation went into that move, as well.

So let's look at the merits of the argument here. Is the country better served by having the two presidential candidates suspend their campaigns--and engage directly in the negotiations, as McCain just urged? I'm not so sure. I, for one, think Congress has been handling this pretty well so far. The Bush Administration came to them with an obviously flawed package. They responded with appropriate skepticism and are busy coming up with what look like sensible alternatives.

Implicit in McCain's appeal is that the presidential campaign was politicizing this issue, in ways that have made crafting a response more difficult. It's not clear to me that's actually been happening--or that politicizing the issue is such a bad thing. Coming up with the right response requires making choices about political values. Is it important to help homeowners? Is it ok for the government to own part of the investment business?

What does seem apparent, though, is that putting the two candidates in the negotiating room is far more likely to distract--and derail--negotiations than having them out on the hustings. Besides, it's not as if McCain has any great expertise he can bring to this subject. Or does he plan to bring Senator Phill Gramm, Mr. Deregulator himself, along?

One other concern: McCain just made it clear he expects a negotiated solution by Monday. In other words, he's just set a deadline. But, like many commentators and experts, I'm increasingly convinced that haste is bad idea here. If it takes a few extra days--or even a few extra weeks--to craft legislation, that might not be such a bad idea, as long as Congress makes clear that it will, eventually, do something.

So, no, I don't think this is such a great idea. In fact, it feels to me a bit like McCain is trying to use this crisis as a way to prop up his political fortunes. Nothing unusual about that, I suppose, except perhaps for a politican whose campaign slogan is "Country First."

--Jonathan Cohn

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/09/24/mccain-suspending-campaign-this-is-quot-country-first-quot.aspx

Quote:

What does seem apparent, though, is that putting the two candidates in the negotiating room is far more likely to distract--and derail--negotiations than having them out on the hustings. Besides, it's not as if McCain has any great expertise he can bring to this subject. Or does he plan to bring Senator Phill Gramm, Mr. Deregulator himself, along?

One other concern: McCain just made it clear he expects a negotiated solution by Monday. In other words, he's just set a deadline. But, like many commentators and experts, I'm increasingly convinced that haste is bad idea here. If it takes a few extra days--or even a few extra weeks--to craft legislation, that might not be such a bad idea, as long as Congress makes clear that it will, eventually, do something.

Both good points. (1 -- will having Obama and McCain in the room really improve the situation in any real way? 2 -- deadlines -- especially such short notice -- are not necessarily the way to go, here.)

works with the current ad

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/keeping_quiet.html

McCain: Scrap Friday Debate for Bailout; Obama Camp: 'The Debate is On'
September 24, 2008 3:04 PM

ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos and Rick Klein report: Sen. John McCain on Wednesday said he would “suspend” his presidential campaign to come to Washington to help negotiate a financial bailout bill, a dramatic move designed to seize a powerful issue.

However a senior Obama campaign official said Obama "intends to debate."

"The debate is on," a senior Obama campaign official told ABC News.

McCain said he called on the Commission on Presidential Debates to postpone the debate scheduled for Friday in Mississippi, to ensure quick congressional action.

“I have spoken to Senator Obama and informed him of my decision and have asked him to join me,” McCain planned to say in New York City, according to advance excerpts released by his campaign. “I am calling on the president to convene a meeting with the leadership from both houses of Congress, including Senator Obama and myself. It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem.”

Obama supporter and chief debate negotiator Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., told MSNBC that "we can handle both," when asked about his reaction to McCain's call to postpone the first debate because of the administration's bailout plan.

University of Mississippi statement
Posted: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 4:09 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: 2008, Obama, Michigan

From NBC/NJ's Matthew Berger
From the Chancellor's Office, University of Mississippi:

"The University of Mississippi is going forward with the preparation for the debate. We are ready to host the debate, and we expect the debate to occur as planned.

"At present, the University has received no notification of any change in the timing or venue of the debate.

"We have been notified by the Commission on Presidential Debates that we are proceeding as scheduled.

"We will keep you posted as information becomes available."

Barney Frank on McCain, Hail Marys
Posted: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 4:26 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: Congress, Democrats, 2008, McCain

From NBC's Mike Viqueira
For what it's worth, the man who is leading congressional Democrats in negotiating the bailout deal with the administration isn't impressed with Sen. McCain's announcement.

Rep. Barney Frank told a group of reporters outside the House chamber:

"It's the longest Hail Mary pass in the history of either football or Marys.

Debate Strategy [Mark R. Levin]

Ok, let's say the debate is suspended by both camps. Then what? Bush is pushing hard for some kind of massive bailout deal, and will do so in his speech tonight. The conservatives in Congress are resisting all of this - and good for them. McCain says we have to get something done and work together, which means some kind of massive deal that is unlikely to satisfy conservatives. I hope McCain and his advisors have thought this through beyond today and tomorrow, gimmick or no gimmick.

09/24 04:34 PM

Re: Debate Strategy [Jonah Goldberg]

Mark makes a good point. If McCain does go to Congress and helps rally reluctant Republicans (and they really are reluctant). It will in effect become the McCain bailout, at least as far as conservatives are concerned.

09/24 04:29 PM

Apparently, as McCain sees it, 10 days after the Wall Street crisis began, now he wants to head back to Capitol Hill to do some work. Of course, lawmakers and administration officials have been working quite a bit, but McCain, who has played no direct role in the negotiations thus far, wants to swoop in and tell everyone what they need to do. This from a man who hasn't shown up for work at all in literally months.

What's more, after whining incessantly for months about the need for one-on-one debates, McCain has decided, just 48 hours before the first official debate, that everything should be postponed. And Barack Obama should go along with all of this, because McCain says so.

I've never even heard of a presidential candidate acting in such a reckless, compulsive, and ultimately haphazard fashion. McCain just decided to "suspend" campaign activities? This rivals picking Sarah Palin for the ticket on the list of desperation moves.

McCain spoke at some length yesterday about the nature of the economic crisis, and what he'd like to see happen. But at the time, it apparently never occurred to him to get actually get involved in the process. That is, until today.

The Republican nomination has apparently gone to some kind of man-child who believes stunts and gimmicks are the way to the White House. It is nothing short of breathtaking to see someone so manifestly unserious seek the highest office in the land.

The moment the winds shifted and Obama had a growing lead in the polls, it's time to suspend the campaign. Good lord, McCain really does think voters are idiots.

As we talked about earlier, McCain said yesterday he's looking for a variety of things in the bailout package before he makes up his mind, including "greater accountability," a "path for taxpayers to recover the money," "complete transparency," and a mechanism to prevent Wall Street executives from profiting from taxpayer money. Obama had expressed his own ideas on measures that the bailout package should include, 48 hours earlier, and the lists were nearly identical.

So, this morning, Obama called McCain with a straightforward idea: if both candidates supported similar provisions, the two sides could endorse a joint set of principles. McCain, this afternoon, agreed. Obama did this quietly, away from the media spotlight, and without leaking anything to the media. Just one candidate looking for a bipartisan solution with a rival candidate. Everyone was happy.

And almost immediately after an agreement was reached, McCain, in the middle of debate prep, decides it's time for a stunt. How very sad that McCain's desperation has become this transparent.

Obama is attempting to wrap his brain around what just happened.
He wants to take credit for whatever good happens, but he's not sure what to say or do.