My guess is that he's got the cold/flu thingie that's going around and doesn't want to admit it, so he's blaming the fiscal crisis rather than his physical problems. But who knows...
Upon reading the linked article, McCain's move strikes me quite differently.
I does strike me as an act of statesmanship -- and as well, as a bit to show an act of statesmanship.
If is afterall a very short term postponement, for the duration of the week or however long it takes for Congress to approve a financial system bailout package rather than just leaving town to begin campaigning.
Or maybe it's like being tied in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded for the other team and zero outs. Your pitcher cannot find the strike zone. You point to distant rain clouds and suggest suspending the game and calling it a tie.
In any event, the idea is foolish. We held elections in the middle of the Civil War, the Great Depression, and World War II. Surely this does not rank as a crisis so great that we need to suspend campaigns. Besides, I want to hear what these guys have to say about how they'll solve this mess.
I would guess this is a strategic move by MaCain, not a cold.
The economy is the top issue going into the debate. McCain is weak on this subject. This buys him more time to prep and avoid saying something stupid.
This makes him look in-charge and like an above-the-fray statesman. Obama looks like (a) a weak follower if he agrees or (b) a petty politican putting his campaign above a national emergency if he refuses.
I've been unimpressed with McCain's campaign, but this was the second good chess move McCain has made (Palin being the other). Obama has been a good technical campaigner but lacking any brilliance like these two moves.
"Fuel up the Straight Talk Express,guys.This old boy's got some campaignin' to do!" "Not so fast... Senator." "Huh? Izzat you Sarah?" "Yep. Theres been a little change of plans,Johnny. You're going to Washington,to 'work on the big bailout..snicker." "What in tarnation---" (McCain reaches inside his suit jacket) "Levi!" (Levi enters room with a loaded shotgun pointed right at McCain.) "I wouldnt try nothin' 'f I was you.Now take that popgun out nice and slow like,and set 'er down on the table. Good boy." "Whats all this about Sarah,you #@$%%$ bitch?!" ( Levi approaches McCain menacingly. ) "Its OK Levi,its just his well known temper. Dont hurt him. We'll need him.Now to answer your question,Johnny,its simple. I'm in charge. This is now MY camapaign.You'll do what I say-or you'll answer to Levi here." "But why? If I cant campaign,we'll lose,and Obama wins! You wouldnt want..." (Sarah smiles,a chilling smile both menacing and alluring. McCain feels a stirring in his groin.)"Wouldnt I? Johnny when you "vetted" me,did you find out I was...adopted? Yep. They hid that real fine. (Levi giggles)You know anything 'bout Barracks mom,Stanley Dunham?" "Yeah,she liked the dark meat...what the hell,I cant judge her,the times I had in Nam...Whats the *#$%**$ point?!" "Well Johnny,Its been said that the only use Barrack Obamas mother had for the white man,is to tell her where the black men was." (Levi frowns.)"Ah dont like that kinda talk,Sarah..." "Settle down,boy.Well it aint quite true. It were the spring of 1963. Stanley left Hawaii after a bitter fight with her folks. She and a 2 year old Barrack landed in Alaska, she was thinkin bout startin'a new life. One day,a bear attacked her and Barrack. She woulds been killed. Only one man was man enough to wrestle that bear off'n her and break his God-dang neck,'scuse my language. He killed that bear,sir,yes he did. But he was beat to hell. Lost a lot o' blood. Stanley patched him best as she could. But she knew he'd never make it. She dragged him into her bed,she fed him soup...' (Sarah begins sobbing) (McCain's eyes widen in a growing awareness, a sickening fear rising in him,like the times back in Nam when they'd come for him...) "Yes Sarah,and then...?" "Stanley told him,'I love you',she kissed him. he said,"Stanley,I-' She hushed him,shhhh,baby,its all gonna be all right." McCain could only listen in numb shock at was to come. "So..she took off her clothes,she got on top of him,and he...he...he moved...within her. She buried him,ans the wordl forgot he ever lived.The only remains of his life was the baby she carried within her..." "Oh no Sarah,no..." "Yes.That man was Zeke McCaw,and he was my FATHER!!" "That means Barrack..." "yes,Johnny"wiping a tear away from her ruddy cheek,now not so much a bold frontier woman--as a lonely little girl,"Barrack is my brother! And he will be the 1st black Negro President of the USA,just as momma always wanted. And I'll be the Good Loser,just like JFK,I'll win by losing. And 8 years from now...Heh heh he ya gotta admit,Johnny,momma was smart. real smart." McCain could only stare in disbelief at what was unfolding. he thought back to the days of the Hanoi Hilton,when he needed every bit of strength he could muster just to survive,just to hold on. 'Charlie didnt break me" he thought," I wont be broken now..." In washington D.C. Joe Lieberman opened the latch on his black leather Kenneth Cole briefcase,and gently removed the Heckler & Koch double action P2000that sat in within. "Whats wrong,Joey?" "I dont know,Hadassah,but something about that Sarah Palin...just aint kosher..."
"I does strike me as an act of statesmanship -- and as well, as a bit to show an act of statesmanship."
That's what it seems like. He wants everyboody to go "there's McCain again, PUTTING COUNTRY FIRST. Just like Vietnam, and when he disagreed with Bush"
I say its too transparent an attempt to look statesmanly and he ends up looking stupid. I think people expect their politicians to be able to go about their normal activities regardless of the news cycle, barring a September 11th type event. Is he gonna call for the election to be canceled if something even worse happens in early November?
Obama just rejected it; he looks like the grownup.
Isn't it obvious? He's running against a Mr. "Votes Present" who has a pretense of bipartisan leadership and keeps saying McCain is Bush. This is a three fer. He's trumped Obama on at least acting like a senator still drawing a paycheck.
"I does strike me as an act of statesmanship -- and as well, as a bit to show an act of statesmanship."
It's a stunt by a drama queen prima donna and it looks as if dummies like dougjnn are falling for it. McCain hasn't said a damn thing that's useful about the plan. He won't have anything to do with ironing out a deal, but he will do as much as he can to make it look as if White Knight John rode in on his steed (with Lady Sarah?) and saved the day.
Sickening. Doug, you are a dumbass. Idiocracy on the way.
I disagree, its a smart play. It reminds people why they liked McCain, he was the Republican willing to cross party lines for what he perceived to be the greater good(whether it was campaign finance reform or voting against Bush's tax cuts).
And it makes Obama's refusal to go back to the Capitol look petty by comparison. He is a US Senator, is it such an imposition to ask him to go to work?
Obama ends up looking like he wants to fight and has the facts on his side. I actually thought that McCain might be using this to low ball expectations. If he does well I'm sure you will be hearing from his inner circle that they are pleased but really wanted to postpone the debate. If he does poorly, the election is probably over. I have some idea what Obamanation(3 days in Florida) is doing to prepare for the debate but I have no idea what McCain is doing. The Rick Warren "debate" may have been a blessing in disguise for Barack. He will be hungry to improve and probably is bright enough to do just that.
We held elections in the middle of the Civil War, the Great Depression, and World War II.
What does a one week postponement of his own campaigning, and of the first scheduled debate, have to do with calling off the Presidential election? Your comparison is ludicrous.
Further, this is a critical week. Congress was slated to recess for months at it's end, to go off campaigning thrugh the fall. Congress loves to avoid or putt off difficult decisions, particularly on the eve of an election.
It's beyond evident that most of the media reaction to this as everything else in this campaign is heavily left liberal elite 'Bama lovin'.
In actual fact I don't much like McCain. But yeah I think O'Bama given his voting record, allegiances and other things is likely to turn out to be way to the left with a very democratic and left Congress. The prospect of the combo does indeed worry me.
"this was the second good chess move McCain has made (Palin being the other). Obama has been a good technical campaigner but lacking any brilliance like these two moves."
OK. Hiring the mayor of a town with less people than my High School to be prospective VP, then suspending his campaign a month before the election. Let's just call him Juan Pablo Kasparaov.
If you guys can't see that there's something seriously wrong here, start building those internment camps!
If the three senators return to Washington, that leaves only Palin campaigning. He's a cunning old fox, that McCain.
No, it leaves three senators in Washington waxing philosophical and looking so serious about the matter - what everybody will be paying attention to, and two of them are Obama/Biden. No one will be paying attention to Palin
It's a chance to look serious and to delay the debate until the bailout is ancient history (i.e., after one college football gameday and two episodes of "Dancing with the Stars").
And funny story Josh, but I could never believe that this could be the mother/grandmother of these.
No mention is that McCain's real problem is that he's now a full 9 points down in the polls, whereas before he was tied or even up 2 points, though this poll may be a fluke.
1) The bailout talk is hurting Republicans hard. One very good reason to go the CRA angle, if it's legit.
2) Palin fatigue may be setting in. Has she altered her routine yet even a bit?
3) Immigration maybe a little. Those McCain Spanish-language "I'm amnestier than Obama!" ads are getting emailed to some nervous fence-sitters.
Sooooo:
1) If McCain's at all visible in any hearings, he needs to get in some really good lines - but something useful, not just self-righteous indignation, which will only remind of his temper. Obama's really trying to financially help his base on this, so lotsa wiggle room for McCain there.
2) Sincere or not, delaying the campaign rhetoric against him a few days ain't a bad idea given the mess we're in that's hurting Republicans.
3) He really needs to present something useful, original on this, and come out sounding above the fray.
4) A good excuse to backtrack on amnesty, if he has any sense whatsoever. "Before I thought we needed all those brown people to do jobs Americans don't want. With today's unemployment rates the situation has changed. And besides that, I've learned that apparently Mexicans aren't God's children. They were, until they started listening to Ranchero music."
That's my campaign advice. Worth every penny you paid for it.
My my my. The man has completely lost his mind! (Or, he thinks that the American public has!)
First 'Palin,' and now...chivalry? The man is unstable!!
Oh? pardon me Mr. President...you're in the way so, MOVE OVER! I'LL take over from here! Economic armageddon requires the McCain effect! Only I can fix it!
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! No! It's a plane! No! It's a prefabricated LAME DUCK!!
Either that, or he's having second thoughts: who wants to be president of a bankrupt country that's soon to disintegrate? "I have seen the future, and I quit."
"As an emergency physician, if I were taking care of a 72-year-old man with a history of melanoma who was having episodes of confusion I would be extremely concerned. High on my priority list would be to get a brain MRI to look for metastatic melanoma. When melanoma metastasizes it commonly goes to the brain. I do not think the American people should decide whether or not to vote for Senator McCain until he has had a brain MRI and we know the results."
I learned on the radio this a.m. that President-elect McCain also cancelled his Letterman appearance and opted for a softball session w/ Katie Couric. Anybody see that? How'd the old boy look?
Upon reading the linked article, McCain's move strikes me quite differently.
ReplyDeleteI does strike me as an act of statesmanship -- and as well, as a bit to show an act of statesmanship.
If is afterall a very short term postponement, for the duration of the week or however long it takes for Congress to approve a financial system bailout package rather than just leaving town to begin campaigning.
Or maybe it's like being tied in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded for the other team and zero outs. Your pitcher cannot find the strike zone. You point to distant rain clouds and suggest suspending the game and calling it a tie.
ReplyDeleteIn any event, the idea is foolish. We held elections in the middle of the Civil War, the Great Depression, and World War II. Surely this does not rank as a crisis so great that we need to suspend campaigns. Besides, I want to hear what these guys have to say about how they'll solve this mess.
I've already got your headline written, Steve-o:
ReplyDeleteMCCAIN SUSPENDS CAMPAIGN: Tells reporters, "I just need to lay down for a bit"
--Senor Doug
I would guess this is a strategic move by MaCain, not a cold.
ReplyDeleteThe economy is the top issue going into the debate. McCain is weak on this subject. This buys him more time to prep and avoid saying something stupid.
This makes him look in-charge and like an above-the-fray statesman. Obama looks like (a) a weak follower if he agrees or (b) a petty politican putting his campaign above a national emergency if he refuses.
I've been unimpressed with McCain's campaign, but this was the second good chess move McCain has made (Palin being the other). Obama has been a good technical campaigner but lacking any brilliance like these two moves.
His left eye is drooping noticeably.
ReplyDeleteThis is one sick ole man....
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/24/mccain-suspends-campaign-to-help-with-bailout/
"Fuel up the Straight Talk Express,guys.This old boy's got some campaignin' to do!" "Not so fast... Senator." "Huh? Izzat you Sarah?" "Yep. Theres been a little change of plans,Johnny. You're going to Washington,to 'work on the big bailout..snicker." "What in tarnation---" (McCain reaches inside his suit jacket) "Levi!" (Levi enters room with a loaded shotgun pointed right at McCain.) "I wouldnt try nothin' 'f I was you.Now take that popgun out nice and slow like,and set 'er down on the table. Good boy." "Whats all this about Sarah,you #@$%%$ bitch?!" ( Levi approaches McCain menacingly. ) "Its OK Levi,its just his well known temper. Dont hurt him. We'll need him.Now to answer your question,Johnny,its simple. I'm in charge. This is now MY camapaign.You'll do what I say-or you'll answer to Levi here." "But why? If I cant campaign,we'll lose,and Obama wins! You wouldnt want..." (Sarah smiles,a chilling smile both menacing and alluring. McCain feels a stirring in his groin.)"Wouldnt I? Johnny when you "vetted" me,did you find out I was...adopted? Yep. They hid that real fine. (Levi giggles)You know anything 'bout Barracks mom,Stanley Dunham?" "Yeah,she liked the dark meat...what the hell,I cant judge her,the times I had in Nam...Whats the *#$%**$ point?!" "Well Johnny,Its been said that the only use Barrack Obamas mother had for the white man,is to tell her where the black men was." (Levi frowns.)"Ah dont like that kinda talk,Sarah..." "Settle down,boy.Well it aint quite true. It were the spring of 1963. Stanley left Hawaii after a bitter fight with her folks. She and a 2 year old Barrack landed in Alaska, she was thinkin bout startin'a new life. One day,a bear attacked her and Barrack. She woulds been killed. Only one man was man enough to wrestle that bear off'n her and break his God-dang neck,'scuse my language. He killed that bear,sir,yes he did. But he was beat to hell. Lost a lot o' blood. Stanley patched him best as she could. But she knew he'd never make it. She dragged him into her bed,she fed him soup...' (Sarah begins sobbing) (McCain's eyes widen in a growing awareness, a sickening fear rising in him,like the times back in Nam when they'd come for him...) "Yes Sarah,and then...?" "Stanley told him,'I love you',she kissed him. he said,"Stanley,I-' She hushed him,shhhh,baby,its all gonna be all right." McCain could only listen in numb shock at was to come. "So..she took off her clothes,she got on top of him,and he...he...he moved...within her. She buried him,ans the wordl forgot he ever lived.The only remains of his life was the baby she carried within her..." "Oh no Sarah,no..." "Yes.That man was Zeke McCaw,and he was my FATHER!!" "That means Barrack..." "yes,Johnny"wiping a tear away from her ruddy cheek,now not so much a bold frontier woman--as a lonely little girl,"Barrack is my brother! And he will be the 1st black Negro President of the USA,just as momma always wanted. And I'll be the Good Loser,just like JFK,I'll win by losing. And 8 years from now...Heh heh he ya gotta admit,Johnny,momma was smart. real smart." McCain could only stare in disbelief at what was unfolding. he thought back to the days of the Hanoi Hilton,when he needed every bit of strength he could muster just to survive,just to hold on. 'Charlie didnt break me" he thought," I wont be broken now..." In washington D.C. Joe Lieberman opened the latch on his black leather Kenneth Cole briefcase,and gently removed the Heckler & Koch double action P2000that sat in within. "Whats wrong,Joey?" "I dont know,Hadassah,but something about that Sarah Palin...just aint kosher..."
ReplyDelete"I does strike me as an act of statesmanship -- and as well, as a bit to show an act of statesmanship."
ReplyDeleteThat's what it seems like. He wants everyboody to go "there's McCain again, PUTTING COUNTRY FIRST. Just like Vietnam, and when he disagreed with Bush"
I say its too transparent an attempt to look statesmanly and he ends up looking stupid. I think people expect their politicians to be able to go about their normal activities regardless of the news cycle, barring a September 11th type event. Is he gonna call for the election to be canceled if something even worse happens in early November?
Obama just rejected it; he looks like the grownup.
i bet this is so it can be postponed, so there is no room for the palin/biden debate.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it obvious? He's running against a Mr. "Votes Present" who has a pretense of bipartisan leadership and keeps saying McCain is Bush. This is a three fer. He's trumped Obama on at least acting like a senator still drawing a paycheck.
ReplyDelete"I does strike me as an act of statesmanship -- and as well, as a bit to show an act of statesmanship."
ReplyDeleteIt's a stunt by a drama queen prima donna and it looks as if dummies like dougjnn are falling for it. McCain hasn't said a damn thing that's useful about the plan. He won't have anything to do with ironing out a deal, but he will do as much as he can to make it look as if White Knight John rode in on his steed (with Lady Sarah?) and saved the day.
Sickening. Doug, you are a dumbass. Idiocracy on the way.
If the three senators return to Washington, that leaves only Palin campaigning. He's a cunning old fox, that McCain.
ReplyDeleteMcCain has struck a populist note -- wanting caps on exec compensation. Smart move, but no one will ever hear of it since the media will bury it.
ReplyDeleteI just want to add that not even the Republican hacks at The Corner are taking McCain seriously on this. What are the odds that the MSM will?
ReplyDeleteMcCain really, really looks stupid.
I disagree, its a smart play. It reminds people why they liked McCain, he was the Republican willing to cross party lines for what he perceived to be the greater good(whether it was campaign finance reform or voting against Bush's tax cuts).
ReplyDeleteAnd it makes Obama's refusal to go back to the Capitol look petty by comparison. He is a US Senator, is it such an imposition to ask him to go to work?
Transparent,
ReplyDeleteObama ends up looking like he wants to fight and has the facts on his side. I actually thought that McCain might be using this to low ball expectations. If he does well I'm sure you will be hearing from his inner circle that they are pleased but really wanted to postpone the debate. If he does poorly, the election is probably over. I have some idea what Obamanation(3 days in Florida) is doing to prepare for the debate but I have no idea what McCain is doing. The Rick Warren "debate" may have been a blessing in disguise for Barack. He will be hungry to improve and probably is bright enough to do just that.
KingM--
ReplyDeleteWe held elections in the middle of the Civil War, the Great Depression, and World War II.
What does a one week postponement of his own campaigning, and of the first scheduled debate, have to do with calling off the Presidential election? Your comparison is ludicrous.
Further, this is a critical week. Congress was slated to recess for months at it's end, to go off campaigning thrugh the fall. Congress loves to avoid or putt off difficult decisions, particularly on the eve of an election.
It's beyond evident that most of the media reaction to this as everything else in this campaign is heavily left liberal elite 'Bama lovin'.
In actual fact I don't much like McCain. But yeah I think O'Bama given his voting record, allegiances and other things is likely to turn out to be way to the left with a very democratic and left Congress. The prospect of the combo does indeed worry me.
"this was the second good chess move McCain has made (Palin being the other). Obama has been a good technical campaigner but lacking any brilliance like these two moves."
ReplyDeleteOK. Hiring the mayor of a town with less people than my High School to be prospective VP, then suspending his campaign a month before the election. Let's just call him Juan Pablo Kasparaov.
If you guys can't see that there's something seriously wrong here, start building those internment camps!
If the three senators return to Washington, that leaves only Palin campaigning. He's a cunning old fox, that McCain.
ReplyDeleteNo, it leaves three senators in Washington waxing philosophical and looking so serious about the matter - what everybody will be paying attention to, and two of them are Obama/Biden. No one will be paying attention to Palin
It's a chance to look serious and to delay the debate until the bailout is ancient history (i.e., after one college football gameday and two episodes of "Dancing with the Stars").
And funny story Josh, but I could never believe that this could be the mother/grandmother of these.
No mention is that McCain's real problem is that he's now a full 9 points down in the polls, whereas before he was tied or even up 2 points, though this poll may be a fluke.
ReplyDelete1) The bailout talk is hurting Republicans hard. One very good reason to go the CRA angle, if it's legit.
2) Palin fatigue may be setting in. Has she altered her routine yet even a bit?
3) Immigration maybe a little. Those McCain Spanish-language "I'm amnestier than Obama!" ads are getting emailed to some nervous fence-sitters.
Sooooo:
1) If McCain's at all visible in any hearings, he needs to get in some really good lines - but something useful, not just self-righteous indignation, which will only remind of his temper. Obama's really trying to financially help his base on this, so lotsa wiggle room for McCain there.
2) Sincere or not, delaying the campaign rhetoric against him a few days ain't a bad idea given the mess we're in that's hurting Republicans.
3) He really needs to present something useful, original on this, and come out sounding above the fray.
4) A good excuse to backtrack on amnesty, if he has any sense whatsoever. "Before I thought we needed all those brown people to do jobs Americans don't want. With today's unemployment rates the situation has changed. And besides that, I've learned that apparently Mexicans aren't God's children. They were, until they started listening to Ranchero music."
That's my campaign advice. Worth every penny you paid for it.
My my my. The man has completely lost his mind! (Or, he thinks that the American public has!)
ReplyDeleteFirst 'Palin,' and now...chivalry? The man is unstable!!
Oh? pardon me Mr. President...you're in the way so, MOVE OVER! I'LL take over from here! Economic armageddon requires the McCain effect! Only I can fix it!
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! No! It's a plane! No! It's a prefabricated LAME DUCK!!
Whatever.
Perot redux.
ReplyDeleteEither that, or he's having second thoughts: who wants to be president of a bankrupt country that's soon to disintegrate? "I have seen the future, and I quit."
concerned: His left eye is drooping noticeably.
ReplyDeleteThis is one sick ole man....
Yeah, I'm starting to be concerned about his health, too:
Reader Mail about McCain's health
"As an emergency physician, if I were taking care of a 72-year-old man with a history of melanoma who was having episodes of confusion I would be extremely concerned. High on my priority list would be to get a brain MRI to look for metastatic melanoma. When melanoma metastasizes it commonly goes to the brain. I do not think the American people should decide whether or not to vote for Senator McCain until he has had a brain MRI and we know the results."
So? Obama is said to be knocking on the door of 2 packs/day. With that wife of his, I'd be making 'em 12 packs...
ReplyDeleteconcerned: His left eye is drooping noticeably.
ReplyDeleteI guess this is the new meme to justify Hillary replace Biden on the Dem ticket because Biden's right eye is drooping.
I learned on the radio this a.m. that President-elect McCain also cancelled his Letterman appearance and opted for a softball session w/ Katie Couric. Anybody see that? How'd the old boy look?
ReplyDelete--Senor Doug
Isn't the best thing about this crisis that it will take minds off bombing Iran until the window of opportunity closes?
ReplyDeleteor am I being too naive, and the neocons are making their final plans for World War IV under the radar of an MSM fixated on financial news?