1. Henry | 09.25.08

This Bush Bailout Plan will go down in history as the GREATEST BANK HEIST of all time. McCain is too stupid to understand that and is running into the fire hoping to save his failing campaign.

2. Lynn Hagin | 09.25.08

I think that in this time of crisis Sen. McCain’s choice to put the County’s needs first is to be applauded. If Bush had done that instead of putting big business and his own self interest first maybe we would not be in this mess. Also Obama has absolutely no legs to stand on in a mud slinging match over who is the bigger grandstander. Instead of him wanting to help out the people he wants to supposedly represent after Nov. he choses to play standard politics, and want to press his advantage over McCain when he thinks he has him on the ropes, and make him take time away from really important matters, and answer some silly made up questions, that some slanted journalist has already formulate in his favor. Let us all get real, the crisis is real, we need quick answers, not some made up statements during a debate that do not really solve any problems. I will not support Obama in Nov. and I am not a republican, I am an Independent voter. I think we need someone who is willing to risk losing the momentary political battle (McCain) to help us win the real war.

3. Peanuts | 09.25.08

More of the liberal rag trash talk. What does anyone expect from pundits such as the Washington Post summation of McCain’s move. If he loses, at least I won’t be guilty of ushering in the anti-Christ apocalypse.

4. CEB | 09.25.08

McCain is acting Presidential. He is showing leadership. Obama just wants to run his mouth, vote “present, and say, “Call me if you need me.”

Advantage McCain

5. Justin | 09.25.08

Thank you for some honest journalism, I wish more of the media could produce informative articles like these.

6. Dan | 09.25.08

The American public will see through this desperate move by McCain. It’s politics as usual for him. The Bush/McCain policy of deregulation over the past 8 years has caused this problem. Attempting to show a sudden sense of urgency now is shallow.

7. American101 | 09.25.08

McCain can run but he can’t hide. Sooner or later everyone will know that you are just not ready to take on the duties of a President. Palin is no better, when is she going to speak to the press so she can answer the numerous questions Americans have? Stop stalling McCain, even Bush was horrible at debates and he won two terms….so just come out and play!

8. mtobias | 09.25.08

McCain cancelled all of his campaign and then went to interview at CBs’s Couric.
Please, he is being so plitical that he will infect the delicate negotiations in D.C. with his sudden interference.

The debates must go on.
I agree that the economy must be stewarded, but McCain is just playing politics.

9. Steve | 09.25.08

see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgctSIL8Lhs&feature

10. cynthia | 09.25.08

And now the real truth comes out. McCain’s campaign suggested the debate be moved to Oct 2. Hmmmm

11. Dallas Mike | 09.25.08

“Suspending the campaign” means pulling millions of dollars of advertising out of the economy.
How does pulling millions of dollars out of the economy help the economy?

12. Mary, Indianapolis | 09.25.08

This sounds like the student who hasn’t done his homework and realizes at the 11th hour that there’s no way he can finish it in time. Graduating 894 out of 899, I’ll bet he’s very experienced in that respect.

Mind-boggling to think that he can’t take a few hours out of his time to talk about foreign affairs policy. It’s not the topic du-jour, but extremely important nonetheless.

If he chooses not to debate, I can’t wait to watch him do nothing productive during that time on C-SPAN.

13. Tina from Michigan | 09.25.08

Let me get this right:

A week ago, McCain said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong.

Today, McCain says that the economy is in such dire danger that the presidential campaign should stop and Oxford Mississippi’s $500 million investment in the debate should be scrapped?

Total gamesmanship. It’s a ploy to distract attention from his flailing drop in polls and give him more time to prepare for the debate. Shameless.

14. Mike | 09.25.08

What a load of malarkey. Honestly, the man admitted to not having a firm grasp on the economy. Has he now become the foremost expert on economical legislature? 894 out of 899, I think not. Even if his main goal was to garner support from the republicans, not many republicans stand by him in the senate. Finally, he has a jet. The flight from Mississippi to Washington is 2 hours, max. The debate will take a few hours. If the economy is in shambles so much so that we can’t live without McCain being in Washington for several hours, Lord help us. What a farce.

15. Blip | 09.25.08

If by Presidential, you mean “Bush-like” then, yeah, McCain is being real Presidential.

The way I see it… Republicans, particularly Republicans with a 26 year record of deregulation, have an obligation to defend their position if they think they are still right… or apologize if they realize they were wrong.

But, like Bush, McCain has the spine to do neither. So he is going to hide out and stonewall.

What a bunch of rubbish. He decries the idea of “playing politics” with this crisis, yet this is exactly what he is doing. He “suspended” his campaign, and then went immediately to campaign events (he’s even got some campaign dates today that he is keeping). People should have to pay a political price for talking out of both sides of their mouth.

16. J. Woode | 09.25.08

You can not have “constructive debate” when you selectively print reader feedback.What you have is biased presentation of main stream media talking at you rather than to you. Good day,

17. bluto | 09.25.08

This is a Hail Mary pass, but to the wrong end zone. If McCain leads like he campaigns we should all be very worried. It is one thing when some rich guy wants to roll the dice and gamble his own fortunes… it is another thing entirely when he wants to use us all as collateral for his gambling habit.

18. Angry about Bin Laden | 09.25.08

John McCain has about as much credibility as George Bush.
He didn’t suspend his campaign, he just made a statement.
he went on television and gave a lame interview to Katie Couric.
Bush helped McCain by inviting him and Obama to meet with him.
The candidates will go to Washington and meet with Bush and then they will have the debate at Ole Miss tomorrow as planned.

BTW, I am still pi$$3d off that Bin Laden is still out there.

19. Mike | 09.25.08

McCain is by far NOT acting very presidential. Just like over Vietnam and the 5 planes he destroyed, he bails out at the last second after doing some very stupid maneuvers.

Why is it that some people give this guy a break? I couldn’t go to work, have a hard day and at 4p say “That’s it, I am going to take a break until everything clears up.” Why would we allow a presidential nominee do the same.

20. John Samith | 09.25.08

John McChicken! Bawk Bawk Bawk

21. thoren58 | 09.25.08

A real Hail Mary by McCain would be to switch his V.P. pick to Romney.They would have campaigned with an emphasis of experience and fiscal responsibility, so McCain might have won if he had picked Romney. Given the current economic news, that choice might have been a winner. After only a couple of weeks, his choice of Palin makes McCain look stupid. She’s a loser. Most significantly, McCain reached out to the social conservative “base” with the Palin pick rather than the fiscal conservative “base” with a Romney pick. That was a mistake for McCain, the Republican Party, and our country. Even if McCain/Romney hadn’t won, they would have re-galvanized the role of the Republican Party as fiscally responsible. Our country needs that message and it would help everyone a lot more than the family values garbage, which people like Palin peddle but seem to inevitably fail to live up to even in their personal lives. McCain/Palin: The Bridge to Nowhere

22. Jason | 09.25.08

Blame the media? That is all you have Rushbots? How absolutely and totally pathetic.

23. Pam LaPier | 09.25.08

Let’s see the negotiations started last week. Senator McCain has not been involved at all. The crisis began a week ago Monday when Senator McCain was still declaring that the economy was sound. Why now Senator? Do I smell fear?

24. don c | 09.25.08

At a time of historic national crisis, two leaders were presented with a choice. One chose to push his current interests to the side and take a leadership role in solving the crisis. The other chose to remain in a distant hotel room and prepare to talk. Senator McCain chose to make a difference for his country. Senator Obama chose to make a difference for himself. America will ultimately decide, but this voter will choose leadership above self every time.

25. TDJ | 09.25.08

Harold Myerson, he may be a little liberal. Please…. wall street amok because of republicans. Thats a joke right! The economy was in pretty good shape in 2006. Thats about the same time the Dems took over congress. The president does not run the economy. He doesn’t make the rules that the markets operate within. That would be our congress. Currently, the democrats run that branch of governmemnt. Oops, did I just blame the democrats for a wall street crisis. How ironic that wall street hemorrage when the republicans are in charge. What a scam!

26. oh brother | 09.25.08

There are a small number of right wingers so fanatical that if McCain punched the Pope in the face; they would defend McCain saying “well, the pope deserved it.”

You sound like one of them.

27. scot stamsq | 09.25.08

He doesn’t have time to debate but he has time to do the Clinton event? Just like the Palin fiasco, voters outside of his hardcore base think this is another joke. He does not look presidential he looks reckless.

28. michael | 09.25.08

I’ll bet McCain wishes he had chosen Romney now instead of Palin.

29. john | 09.25.08

The press is passionately in love with Obama’s socialism.

30. nc Magnolia | 09.25.08

This is the same Keating Five Mc Cain who screwed us then and is doing the same now. Why would anyone want this retread in for another 4-8 yrs-if he lives then you can of course look forward to the Eskimo Pie taking over. The american people are stupid enough to vote for him and I believe like Reagan, Bush I & II we then will deserve the gov’t we get. You go republicans lead us to **** once again!

31. Chris | 09.25.08

McCain can duck and weave all he wants, in the end he will not be able to escape the inevitable. He is not the person this country needs or wants right now. He may be a war hero, and has certainly done more than his share for this country, but now is not his time. I would have been thrilled to vote for McCain in 2000 if I had the opportunity… but not now. Not in 2008, when America is on the decline on multiple fronts… our economy, our loss of international respect and goodwill, the misguided use of our military power, the increasing inadequacy of our educational system, and the tangled mess of our political system that appears to be unable or unwilling to stop the slide. I am not going to vote for Obama because he is a Democrat… I am going to vote for him because he claims mainly to be a pragmatist who will examine all options and will do what needs to be done and what will provide results. I know he does not have much experience, but what good is a lot of experience in a decidedly corrupt or defunct system? Just my two cents…

32. michael | 09.25.08

McCain used to say he would rather lose an election than lose a war. By choosing Palin over Romney he now says he would rather win an election than save a nation.

33. JB | 09.25.08

Hmmm Obama says that the president must be able to multi-task. McCain says the campaign is not as important as the economic crisis. Yes I want a leader who can multi-task but also one who knows what should be a priority. Maybe if more of our elected leaders would do their job instead of constantly campaigning we wouldn’t be in this mess.

Whether it was a campaign strategy or not I appauld McCain for taking an active leadership role instead of waiting for the call that he was “needed”.

Reminds me of the Hillary ad: When the emergency phone rings at 3 am do you want someone that will answer it or someone that will let it ring?

34. Political Junkie | 09.25.08

Obama will show up at the debate in mississippi. If McCain does not show, he will lose the election in a landslide!

35. Andrew | 09.25.08

You would have to be a moron of epic proportions to buy this. John McCain supports a party that has said a win for the democrats is a win for the terrorists. The radical right has said all democrats are cowards and traitors, no matter if we have served this great country or what we have done. This is an indictment on or education system. I feel sorry for our kids, they will come to say the hateful right loved themselves over the country and this is what we used to be but will never get a chance to see ourselves.

36. Tricia C | 09.25.08

More politics of distraction. There is such desperation and transparency here. McCain is by no means acting presidential. And as Letterman points out, if you’re busy, you send out your 2nd in command to do the other things that need doing. Where is Sarah Palin?? If this woman is so ready to be president, why isn’t she out running the campaign while McCain goes to Washington. Instead this feels like a ploy to make sure Palin doesn’t debate Biden.
Will America really fall for this?

37. Ramesh | 09.25.08

Honestly, one has to be a McCain’s fans to appreciate this latest antics. There are more less-showy and more contructive way to serve the county, too much of ‘country first’ trash

38. John Roman | 09.25.08

In a time of crisis, Lynn Hagin, you should not underestimate the power of intelligence to solve a crisis. Bush has none and it it now evident that nearly all of his choices have been truly idiotic. McCain, who graduated near the bottom of his military class and who can’t remember how many homes he owns and who just a week ago thought our economy was inherently “strong”, is not much better. Obama is Harvard Law and his wife too is highly educated. He is not rattled by adversity, he multi-tasks naturally and above all - he sees the larger picture. If swinging at your opponent when he’s down is the same as calling him on his record and his parties record on the economy and alerting the public to the mass of corporate lobbyists and former CEO’s that are hooked up with McCain/Bush/(Palin!!) same old machine…then I guess youre right. BTW, if you’re a rascist, just say it and don’t give me this drivvle about McCain and his country first ****. YOu gave me that when you elected Bush and look where that’s gotten us..

39. Peter Shane | 09.25.08

McCain chose Sarah Palin after a single meeting. He called for the firing of Chris Cox. Now he’s “suspending his campaign?” What we are seeing, between these ill-considered moves and the outright lying about Rick Davis, is a combination of rashness and dishonesty that should not be allowed anywhere near the Oval Office. There is only one person of genuinely presidential judgment and temperament running this year, and it is quite clearly Senator Obama.

40. Ginger Snap | 09.25.08

Peanuts, “the anti-Christ apocalypse” ?????

Luckily, and in spite of Republican efforts to load our courts with justices that have political agendas, all the states have laws against defamation of character . . . and laws against hate crimes.

To the moderator of this blog: Peanuts identity should be turned over to the Secret Service, who are tasked with protecting our candidates for President.

To the other bloggers on this site: When you run across people who are out of control, demand that they be reported. We are Americans, not thugs.

41. gaby | 09.25.08

I saw Mccain’s ad on TV late last night in Pittsburgh. he did not stop those ads.

42. Rob | 09.25.08

Peanuts said…”More of the liberal rag trash talk. What does anyone expect from pundits such as the Washington Post summation of McCain’s move. If he loses, at least I won’t be guilty of ushering in the anti-Christ apocalypse.”

If you voted for Bush, you need not worry…you already have.

43. SpoxLogic | 09.25.08

Please, give us a break. You used McCain’s fighter pilot anaology- but you forget, pilots need to adhere to certain rules or else they can lose the aircraft and/or their lives. Pulling stunts in a multi-million top of the line jet is a good way to lose your wings. This isn’t Top Gun the movie.
So, I have to disagree with you. These stunts by McCain ARE NOT to be lauded. Instead, we should wonder about a man who takes such chances.

44. Greg | 09.25.08

Both sides are playing political chess. Use your head, read the policies, and turn off your TV. Seriously, its important to see the difference between framing issues, spinning them, and straight up propaganda. Right now you should be on email, and the phone to your senators to resolve this problem and to read the fine print on this bailout package so we don’t get stuck holding the tab of irresponsible gambling on the part of our financial institutions.

45. Judi | 09.25.08

The bottom line is this: it’s fine if McCain wants to go to Washington to cast his vote on the bailout package, he should, and so should Obama. If the two candidates can lend a hand getting the bailout resolved, that’s good too.

But neither candidate will play a leadership role in the bailout; there’s a vast team working on it and ther bailout package is nearly complete.

McCain doesn’t need to “suspend his campaign” to go cast his vote. That part is pure grandstand, a “look at me the great leader” political ploy.

If McCain hadn’t made foolish and rash grandstand plays before this one, we might have bought it as a selfless act. But after his blustery, self-serving reaction to the Georgia/Russia conflict, and his reckless, self-serving choice of Palin, we see this “suspend the campaign” move as a political ploy.

McCain is politicizing the economy crisis for his own gain. Pretty obvious, and we aren’t fooled.

46. Kwal | 09.25.08

I believe this is a move from a person who knows he is in trouble (McCain). At this time bioth McCain & Obama are nothing more then Senators and until Nov 4th that is all they are, so while it may appear that McCain is putting the country first her is doing no more then the other Senators & Reps that are already in Washington.

Neither Obama or McCain has the power to go to Washington and say it has to be this way. They are still Senators and still have to vote with the rest of the senate. Sure they can suggest, propose and debate things in Washington or anywhere else just as any other senator.

I along with many others have been and still are looking towards the debates. Some of McCains latests antics have me leaning towards Obama now and saying that the debates which could help people make their decision should be called off if wrong. I admit the economy is in the trash at this time, but if they are going to bail out business then bail out my debts also!

47. Jon | 09.25.08

Lynn Hagin: “I think that in this time of crisis Sen. McCain’s choice to put the County’s needs first is to be applauded.”

I was going to vote for McCain, but this move has really confused me. I understand he wants to put politics aside for the moment and concentrate on “real business”, but he’s been campaigning for the last year and a half. Why have things suddenly changed? Also, why does he need to suspend his campaign? He has a “running mate”. Can’t she continue to campaign, while he writes the bill all by himself in a locked room? The debate -must happen-. This is a very important election. More important than this bail out in my opinion. It really just seems that McCain is trying to avoid something. I hope he comes around and says something to clear all of this up.

48. Alan J. Barnes | 09.25.08

John McCain has already stated that he knows very little about economics and he was against regulation of the financial sector many times before he was for it this week. So, in conclusion, he will have very little that is meaningful to offer to the discussion on how to save our country from the consequences of conservative nihilism and abdication of the constructive role that government can and should play in the United States.

49. Steve Lane | 09.25.08

Its grand standing nonsense by McCain.
He has already demonstrated that he knows less than nothing about economics
yet he has in the past demonstrated support for both deregulation and corrupt bankers. The only thing you can be sure of is that like Bush he will screw things up to be worse than before.

50. Rudy Fabresi | 09.25.08

Great piece. Hilarious. I actually used to like John McCain once. McCain: 894 out of a class of 899 vs. Obama: Magna Cumm Laude from Columbia University (Ivy League) + President of Harvard Law Review. A president needs to have intelligence and enough intellectual curiosity to be able to go deep into the matter to solve a problem. I would never expect someone who touts being 894 out of 899 to even be able to grasp Econ 101, let alone this $700bn, which unfortunately has to be spent. I am an expat, living outside the US and I can’t wait to send in my vote for Obama.

51. Curt Petersen | 09.25.08

Any one who takes the McCain/Palin ticket seriously should not be taken seriously!

52. yask | 09.25.08

what a joke mccain is…he’s just avoiding displaying how out of it he is and what excuse will he come up with to avoid the vp debate to keep palin from being revealed as a dummy ? where was all this concern when he was helping deregulate financial institutions– remember the s&l and his buddy keating!!

53. PJ | 09.25.08

It’s easy for Obama to monitor the situation in the Senate, read documents, provide input to the debate: he knows how to e-mail and use a computer. (He can probably handle this “crisis” by cell-phone.) THEN, in time for the crucial vote(s), he flies back to DC and to his seat in the Senate.

McCain: leadership for the 19th Century!

54. mavisdarling | 09.25.08

“Suspending” your campaign for ONE day, after most of the work has already been done on the bail-out plan, is NOT what I call being very patriotic. I would call that opportunistic grandstanding. McCain is not on the Senate Banking committee, he doesn’t understand economics and his presence in Washington is NOT needed. He wants to be there for the photo op’s, and nothing else. Like he alone is going to save the day? What a JOKE!

He didn’t RUSH back to Washington, either. Leaving for Washington ONE DAY before the debate is pretty shallow. If he was so very, very concerned he would have been there on Monday. It didn’t even occur to him to go until he fell in the polls.

OTHER presidential candidates throughout history have campaigned right through the thick of crises. NOBODY has ever canceled a debate. Debates are one of the most important aspects of presidential politics and he is running scared. If he can’t do both: deal with the bailout AND the debate, then he is hardly qualifed to be president. That’s why people have cell-phones and blackberrys these days, so they can keep in touch from a distance.

This is going to blow up in his face. It looks like he’s running scared. A sleazy old man running a sleazy campaign with lying, sleazy people. This debate has been planned for over a YEAR AND A HALF, and he pulls this stunt ONE DAY before it’s supposed to happen. What a man. NOT!!!

55. Sean | 09.25.08

Quick answers… are you kidding me. Should there be a quick answer here. The national economy in in serious trouble, people are losing jobs, institutions are collapsing, businesses that have survived generations are closing their doors. This isn’t a game a football. A hail mary isn’t going to solve the problem. These issues need to be thoughtout carefully over a long period of time by people far to smart and focused to simply be the face of the problem. All you republican’s care about is keeping your money out of other people’s pockets and your religion in everyone else’s life. McCain is an old man whose ship has long since sailed. Palin is a fool disguised as a politician.

Debating the issues on time on budget in front of the American public is an obligation not a choice.

56. Fred Bussa | 09.25.08

McBush cannot serve Three (3) terms.

57. FriedPork | 09.25.08

MaCain may want to postpone the election in nov. so he can concentrate on fixing the economy. Yes… He is that bloody Smart!!!! What a Political Stunt Pilot!!!!!!!!!!!

58. Dean | 09.25.08

This article is absurd. What McCain did was a cheap political ploy that will be forgotten by next week.

59. Don Hopkins | 09.25.08

“Peanuts” writes “If he loses, at least I won’t be guilty of ushering in the anti-Christ apocalypse.”

Peanuts, if you really believe in that clap-trap, then you should be aware that the apocalypse is SUPPOSED to happen because it’s God’s will, and there’s nothing you can do to prevent it. So why are you opposing GOD’S WILL?

If you really believe Obama is the Anti-Christ, and you are a servant of God, then you should most certainly vote for Obama, to usher in the anti-Christ apocalypse, since to vote for McCain is to oppose destiny.

You have nothing to worry about if you are a good Christian, because you will be joyously raptured to your reward in Heaven, while the rest of us will remain on earth to suffer our punishment that we deserve, under the reign of anti-Christ President Obama. I’m sure that makes you feel smug and rightious.

To the rest of the world: As you can see, it is really true that there are Americans who believe in the Apocolypse, and actually think Obama is the Anti-Christ. But obviously they are not very intelligent, and don’t think things through to their logical conclusions, otherwise they would be supporting Obama, to bring on the Rapture they profess to believe in.

People like “Peanuts” makes me embarrassed to be an American, but most Americans aren’t like that. It’s unfortunate and shameful that the desperate Republicans have chosen a religious fanatic like Sarah Palin to put her wagging finger on the button, who believes all that Armageddon fairy-tale garbage, but doesn’t believe in evolution, global warming or birth control.

60. Jack | 09.25.08

Good for McCain. Focus on the conditions of the bailout, and square that away first. Obama had the whole last month to debate McCain at town hall meetings as McCain suggested they do, but Obama declined. There’s plenty of time left for candidate debates.

61. Gail | 09.25.08

This is just another scam or excuse for McCain who is obviously not ready for this debate. If he was President, and had 2 situations to deal with could he just tell one to wait a minute I’m working on something else? I don’t think so. The only reason he doesn’t want to go is because he is not ready for this. And Palin is not ready for anything, she can’t even answer a question no matter what they ask her, she always fumbles it up. People wake up, she has a past we know nothing of; they are putting this case with her brother in law off till after the election; she is being brainwashed on what to say and has no idea why she’s saying it and cannot answer a question thrown at her unexpectedly. I wonder about this whole ‘new crisis’ we are dealing with now, but won’t comment on it yet. Let’s get these debates started so we can see who really knows what they are doing or will do. Enough of this publicity about Sarah and let’s hear her speak on what she can or will do. This election is turning into a joke of the century and the worst part is who will be the president? How much more will come out before we vote? I’m so tired of all this, just get to the point and do something.

62. Nick | 09.25.08

In response to 3.Peanuts. You offer a very logical and respectable view point and in no way sound like a loon. Of course your rationale should be voting for the person who is least likely to bring the apocalypse and not the person who is most likely to offer a favorable image to foreign countries whom we have neglected, a plan for fair taxes, universal health care, withdrawing our troops from a war that’s drained us billions and billions of dollars and thousands of lives and leadership we haven’t seen for the last 8 years. But yeah you are right Obama will probably bring the four horsemen and there will be darkness for thousands of years if elected. Also thank you for bringing some in depth insight to the debate. And in no way reflecting your ignorant ideologies. Peace be with you

63. Lawrence | 09.25.08

I am surprised that here we are 45 days before the election and the economy and the need for government regulation is now a pressing matter. There are those that would say that any government regulation is bad and big government is the problem. It’s not the wolves guarding the henhouse it’s no one. Nothing has changed in policy, deficits are out of control two wars are draining the economy and now this large government bailout. How long can you believe in no regulation is good for the country? The answer obviously is as long as it doesn’t affect me is the answer. McCain is running as a reformer. How is he going to change current Bush policy of less taxation and higher deficits?

Knight-Ridder/Tribune Wednesday, July 28, 2004. Federal budget deficit of $639 billion for 2004 is 5.6 percent of GDP, the highest since 1983, and second highest since World War II.

This knocks the wind out of another of President Bush’s recent economic boasts: that the tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 were a sound economic policy that ought to be continued. It is true that the tax cuts provided some modest stimulus to the economy, as opposed to doing nothing at all. But doing nothing was never the only practical alternative, and most economists would see these tax cuts as terribly irresponsible.

That’s because the tax cuts build a huge structural deficit into our federal budget, for years and even decades to come, until they are reversed. Another record: federal tax revenues are at their lowest in more than 50 years, as a percentage of our economy.

Jan. 18, 2008 - Reported by CBS News: Mr. Bush called passing a growth package “our most pressing economic priority.” He acknowledged Americans’ fears, while defending the economy’s fundamental strength and its continued growth - albeit slower. “We’re in the midst of a challenging period,” Mr. Bush said. “And I know that Americans are concerned … But our economy has seen challenging times before. It is resilient.”

Paulson said the markets are due for a needed correction, and that swift, temporary action by the government can help lessen the impact on individuals and the economy as a whole.

64. Andy2 | 09.25.08

Once again, the McCain supporters have little to say other than reiterate fabrications and try to use worn and failed attacks on Obama.

I applaud McCain’s guts on this one but it is, as is becoming typical of him, dishonest and yet he expects Americans to believe whatever he says.

Obama reached out to him, and the right thing to do, if he were really interested in bipartanship instead of politics, would have been to jointly announce with Obama. Instead, he saw his opening and took advantage, and tried to steal a march on his opponent. Saying that he is going to suspend politics and help pass legislation.

This from the senator who has missed more votes than anyone else during the past couple of years, even the senator from South Dakota who suffered a stroke. This from someone who is not remotely involved in the negotiations.

I expect the irony here will be that because the calls from the public are running overwhelmingly against the bailout that even if McCain succeeds at associating himself with the bailout, he will end up viewed as the very Washington insider he’s trying to portray himself as against. Very ironic that he is running back to Washington when he finds himself in trouble on the campaign trail.

65. Curtis | 09.25.08

Do you think for one moment that Obama wasn’t thinking about doing the same thing in the next day or so? Get real! As an independent voter I’ve heard enough already about the candidates and will make my choice by election day on the issues and what takes place between now and then. I don’t need another debate that simply rewarms the same political diet of he said/she said monologue. Quite frankly I’m a little impressed that McCain has made a move to do what’s best for the country. If it fails and he is seen as simply being political, so be it, he will lose. But if in the end he plays an integral part in bringing the parties together and accomplishing a workable plan, not the one presently on the table, that is good for our country, then he will win. Either way I’m not going to lose any sleep over it and really don’t care what the so called pundits say. Time will tell who has made the right choices. I’m also watching to see what Obama continues to do the rest of this week while our country sits on the verge of financial chaos. Time will tell!

66. volunteer | 09.25.08

“Reagan Republicans changed the nation’s economic rules in ways that allowed Wall Street to run amok”

Try showing a little objectivity - You did not have to go all the way back to Reagan to find blame - how about Senator Dodd & Rep Frank’s efforts to stop regulation on Freddie Mac & Fannie may just a few short years agao

67. Peter | 09.25.08

It is a set up. The Republicans are holding out. McCain comes into town. All of a suddend they compromise. McCain rides off in his white horse as the hero that saved the deal and the current. Go figure, he is not in the leadership position nor has he been in the negotiating party. Something doesn’t smell right here.

68. bopst | 09.25.08

You have to be kidding me. Hail Mary passes only succeed a mere handful of times that they are attempted. It is an apt analogy though I guess. The man is desperate. Still, our next president has to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. With the way the world works, you can’t just change topics because they aren’t to your liking. And besides, by his own admission, economics isn’t McCain’s strong suit and considering that he hasn’t shown his face in the Senate since April, I think they can handle the situation. As bad as this situation is, deciding who our next president is of utmost importance….

69. Jo | 09.25.08

For anyone to actually think that he’s doing this for the country is outrageous. This guy is going at the last minute when most of the deal has already been worked out. Both the white house and the treaury dep’t have conceded the preconditions the congress wanted included. It’s now being reported that 98% of the deal is actually done. So, what’s McCain’s role here? Country? Leading congress to a making a deal that they have already worked out almost all the pieces and do not need the addition of one more senator to get it passed? No, this is all fake move, McCain first, and desperate move to change the subject. Whether the deal is passed or not, the economic downturn is not going to be halted by just this bail out. Economy will be fron and center through this election. So, whatever McCain does now is not going to change the subject no matter what. To think, McCain kept on talking about joint town hall meetings when he now is actually trying to duck out of an actual debate infront of potentially over 100 million Americans who really want to see what kind of plans their two candidates have for the future of this country.

70. Todd | 09.25.08

Why should I listen to a liberal.

They can’t afford college.
Tell us how bad public schools are.
Can’t afford the loans they took out.
Want someone to pay for their free ride.

71. Nick | 09.25.08

Did you know that Jack Bicknell III snapped the ball to Doug Flutie on that hail mary pass? JB III is awesome!

72. Curtis | 09.25.08

Gail,

You’ve got to be kidding?! I could think of a lot of spin options in favor of Obama, but do you really bloviate the idea that McCain isn’t ready for a debate on Foreign Affairs? I think not. Even Obamas camp concedes this is his strong suit. You might want to rethink your argument and color it another shade of truth.

73. Big Pete | 09.25.08

This is a cheap political stunt by McCain, just like picking a “culture war” VP. It’s a campaign of distraction; keep everyone focused on things that don’t matter (lipstick on pigs remarks and all the other horse manure). If he keeps everyone focused on the distractions he can win. If he goes toe to toe on the issues, the distractions fall apart and he loses.

The financial crisis is not a fabricated distraction, but McCain’s trying to weasel out of the debate IS. It’s a stunt, and I agree, it is shameless.

The phony photo op with Sarah Palin and foreign leaders is the same thing. Make her look presidential. Distract, steal the news for a morning or afternoon. It’s so transparently false you want to laugh, but sadly many are taken in by it.

Lynne #2 above is a perfect example. Lynne my friend, these two candidates can take 90 minutes of their time to explain their views to us. These guys fly all over the country, multiple cities and stops in a day. They’ve been doing it for a couple of years. They can debate in Mississippi and still go to Washington to talk financial crisis. It would be nothing to move the debate to Washington, for that matter. Then walk across the street and talk financial bailout.

No Lynne, McCain is not being patriotic. It’s his campaign strategy. It’s all about distracting and creating images that are not real, just to win. McCain hired the Rove team that successfully slimed him with dirty politics in the 2000 primaries. If it worked for Bush, he figures it’ll work for him.

If he runs his campaign this way, imagine the high roller in the White House. It’s becoming more frightening by the day.

74. Ray | 09.25.08

So much for the ” fundamentals of our economy being sound”

75. R Edwards | 09.25.08

If Lincoln could run the Civil War and campaign for president same with Roosevelt and WW II then McCain can too after all we have much better communications systems now He just wants to look like Ivanhoe a totaly political move on his part or he just can’t hack it.

76. Jaycee | 09.25.08

Tina, as one who actually attended the rally where John McCain began his statement with ‘the fundamentals of the economy are strong’ and went on to expound upon the American people (as the fundamentals) that are strong and resilient and that we should be reassured by our ability to work through tough times, I am angry (but not surprised) that the liberal press jumped on it like a gorilla on a banana and proceeded to chop/dice/edit his remarks to their own edification.
That being said, this IS the greatest financial crisis since ‘29, almost 80 years ago. And, Obama wants to multi-task? I want both of these Senators to be working for the good of the American people! Swallow your pride that you didn’t set the example, Obama, and show us that you truly are bipartisan. All I’ve seen so far points to he can sure talk the talk but he can’t (or won’t )walk the walk.

77. Aneesh Kumar | 09.25.08

McCain’s move insults the American public. He has, of course, done that before (ex: picking Palin), and has even partially succeeded. But you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. His campaign is in the dump, and his increasingly desperate and childish moves–gutter ads, mock outrage at a common English phrase, shielding Palin from media interviews (!!)–are now transparently so.

78. Alex the Russian | 09.25.08

Stop. Pause. Think. Doesn’t it sound familiar? “Hurry up, no time to think, give me your money, or it will be too late!”
And few (thousand) dollars later you think: “Damn, what was I thinking!”
I get overly suspicious when someone urgently needs my money and says I would be a fool to not part with my money ASAP.
Or is it ‘fool and his money will soon be apart’? Sorry, my English is not good…ROFL

79. Michelle | 09.25.08

There are 100 Senators in the U.S. - And like it or not Bush is still “THE PRESIDENT” Why can’t the debate go on as scheduled? We don’t need McCain & Obama Friday in Washington, with technology, they can still participate in this so called meeting. McCain just wants to postpone the inevitable.

80. Mary | 09.25.08

This is the biggest economic crisis since the Depression - sure, Presidents can do more than one thing at a time, but when there is a crisis of this magnitude it requires the full and undivided attention of those that can work to solve it. There are times when other things can wait a while. I’m with McCain on this one.

81. Al Sita | 09.25.08

In time of crisis, a Washington insider rushes back to Washington to hide behind partisan politics, loot the credit for a bill he has nothing to do with; and not face the public scrutiy (via debate)

82. David | 09.25.08

McCain needs to go to Washington to help solve the economic crisis? Isn’t he the one who is “uneducated” on economics, and repeatedly makes this evident? Why would anyone want his help?

A cute ploy, I suppose…

83. curious orange | 09.25.08

Bailing on the American public is a very bad idea.
Rewarding the crooks who caused the mess is even worse.

84. Flash | 09.25.08

McCain almost has this one right. This bailout is a very big issue that needs immediate attention. However, I, as an American, also have a very big decision coming up. I need to choose a leader who will be with us for the next four years. It is irresponsible for him to set aside this critical debate. Skipping the debate leaves me without the luxury of time to make an informed decision. Sounds kind of like the situation we are in with the bailout. Perhaps if you addressed this in your last 18 years of being a senator, we wouldn’t be in this situation. If anything, he has just politicized both the bailout and the debate. Way to go, Maveric!

85. lucy2008 | 09.25.08

Dear Mr. Orr,

This is the presidential race. It is not a football game. It is not any game, but Mr. McCain is gaming the American public. Mr. McCain is gaming me. I’m sorry but I don’t buy the justification that “the ole fighter is back” and how grand it is. This may work for the DC crowd, the handlers and journalists. It doesn’t work for me. Do you have anything to report except turning this into a game.

You, a journalist of this fine paper, should strive for the level of professionalism that respects the presidency. The transparancy of Mr. McCain’s move is 100%. There is no ambiguity. I feel such a let down reading about “the game” and who will fight the hardest. This type of behavior doesn’t serve me and doesn’t serve our country. I am not alone thinking that this ploy and the ploy of picking Mrs. Palin is not a good thing and not a thing of warriers. It is the behavior of snakes and worms. This is a thing of carpetbaggers and lowest of the lowest of our nation…the handlers and the liers. Mr. Orr, how can we be a good people and how can we be respected in the world when this horrible behavior is here right in front of our eyes and you don’t call a spade a spade? We all know. The people of the world that watches knows. We are teaching the world about our hypocrisy by joining the game as fans. I am not a fan. This is wrong and I will not stand for it.

86. Peter | 09.25.08

First we had the Wall Street Bailout Plan, now we have the McCain Presidential Bailout Plan.

87. Nick | 09.25.08

Obama says that the president needs to be able to do more than one thing at a time. Ok, Mr. Obama, how do you plan on being at the debate and in Washington? You can’t physically be in two places at one time. As a Jr. Senator, you are responsible to those who have already elected you (past tense as IL has elected him as a senator, not the president). How are you serving them by playing politics? If I lived in IL, I would be extremely disappointed that the representative that represents me thinks that standing, once again, in front of the cameras is more important than doing the job that he was elected to do.

I am not a huge McCain fan, but I have to say that he is putting his responsibility as a Senator above his hopes at the presidency. Which is more admirable? The one that wants to be on TV, or the one that is heeding the job that he is committed to… You figure it out.

88. Yeil Raven’s Daughter | 09.25.08

Doug Flutie campaigned for Hillary Clinton in her 2000 United States Senate race and is a Democrat.

This is Doug Fultie’s Bio
http://www.netglimse.com/celebs/pages/doug_flutie/index.shtml

Also last week Hillary Clinton said that if anyone gave us a hard time to just say “Hillary Clinton sent you!”.

America can learn from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton making up! Some life lessons are real simple.
http://www.redbookmag.com/health-wellness/fight-friends-yl

Obama/Biden ‘08

89. Otis | 09.25.08

I’m not an Obama fan nor Democratic Party supporter. But McCain’s move seems to signal the ol’ man can’t do multiple tasks simultaneously. I can’t debate and work on the debt problem at the same time = I’m not capable to run the Federal government.

Fine. How about letting someone like Ralph Nader, or even better, Cynthia Mckinney (Green Party) debate Obama. These “marginal” candidates could wipe the floor with either of the puppets from the Corporate War Party. Of course not. American “Democracy” doesn’t function as one.

90. E. in Houston, TX | 09.25.08

Don’t blame McCain.
What would you do given the polls, both present and those to come in a few days? I fault the media that refuses to call this what it truly is, a stunt pure and simple. The public knows it and so does the media.

91. CarSu62 | 09.25.08

North Korea has just attacked one of our military bases in the Pacific AND Bank of America Collapses!

What are you going to do President McCain?

“(Whine)(Snivel)”
“I can’t concentrate on two things at one time! Much less if I haven’t had my nap!”
“(Yawn)(drool)(Zzzzzzz)’
~President McCain

~ President McCain.

92. Agnes | 09.25.08

When you are in a high stakes political campaign, everything is political. There is no such thing as “suspending a campaign”. As a matter of fact, this is the politicking of all politicking - there are now many fewer voices talking about the details of the deal and many more talking about McCain’s stunt. Throw your tantrum elsewhere, Senator.

Bush could not help on the convention floor, so now - now that the economy is in such bad shape that he cannot just sweep it under the rug for a few more months (i.e. continue the policies of the past few years) for the next admin to clean up, he politicizes the mess. If McCain wants to continue in Cheney’s role - go behind closed doors with House Republicans, fine. Otherwise, if you are going to send anyone, send the economic advisers to the campaigns who actually know something useful and who might be in Paulson’s position in the future.

Congress and Paulson/Bernanke are working out the deal. No photo-ops required.

93. Ginger Snap | 09.25.08

McCain does NOT trust Sarah Palin at all. His actions today are extremely telling — he cancelled his campaign rather than let her go out alone, and he cancelled Letterman to do damage control after Palin’s interview with Couric (Palin was taped earlier). Sooner or later, the voters have to get over their partisan blindness and realize that Palin is not ready to be within 100 yards of the White House. That tells you exactly who John McCain puts first.

94. James Patterson | 09.25.08

Anyone that buys this McCain stunt is amazingly gullible. This clearly illustrated McCain is too old, disengenous, oily, desperate, and frankly woefully inadequate to take over the mess the Bushes have gotten us in. I now see McCain as a neutered, feeble whiner, Frankly I’m surprised at his apparent lack of backbone, and hiding behind the skirts of a women to boot. Not the Naval Academy sort of man I know of.

95. Ben S. | 09.25.08

McCain’s decision to drop out of the debate indicates his willingness to try anything to gain headlines. It is a gimmick which injects presidential politics into what should be serious efforts at finding solutions to our economic crisis. There is absolutely no reason not to debate. McCain’s actions speak volumes about his character – a roll of the dice and erratic guy - someone we do not need in the nation’s highest office in these uncertain times.

There is old adage that a lawyer will always ask for quick adjournment if he is either ill prepared, or going to loose.

96. Bob | 09.25.08

Oh please! This makes McCain look like a child. Transparent posturing to pretend he is part of the solution to the problem that his party created by unfettering financial piracy.

97. JC in DC | 09.25.08

Both opinions being shared here are nothing new, if you’ve been watching the news. The fact is (again, nothing new) both of these guys are politicians, and will not miss the chance to turn anything to their advantage. It’s almost like watching some vacuous Disney sitcom where the prepubescent boy works himself into a frenzy to have the right hair, wear the right clothes, use the right slang to win the 14-year-old girl with big hair and too much makeup. (Not that I ever watch such slosh.)

I think McCain’s intentions are (were) sincere. But from its inception I think he saw how to turn this to his advantage. I heard his announcement from NY first, and thought, “Wow, things must be quite a mess…” And then when he suggested delaying the debate and hoped that Obama would join him, well, it started to look a little too much like something you would see on the 5th grade playground. Delaying the debate might or might not be a good idea, but the way he announced it without first settling the matter with Obama was, well, immature.

Obama, however, really didn’t do much better. Here’s Joe Cool, who probably cringed for a split-second when he heard McCain’s remarks, but immediately saw how to turn it to his advantage. I’m surprised he didn’t come out with a cigarette in one hand, gin glass in the other and croon for us. There’s no doubt that Obama’s a much better showman than McCain will ever be. But that begs the question, who’s behind the mask?

Yes, two politicians doing what politicians do best. My hope is that before my life comes to an end I’ll get to vote for a president without feeling like I’m picking the lesser of two evils.

98. Zsombor | 09.25.08

Having had his hand in the cookie jar along with Bush and the rest of the elite crowd in our capital, of course McCain is in favor of giving unparalleled powers to a man we did not elect whom we also cannot hold accountable to bail them out.

Even as we sit here watching our coutry go down the drain, the Republicans want unalienable rights to distribute our tax money without any checks and balances. It is so communist Stalin would be proud. Mcain with his incredible wealth (he owns 7 houses, 13 cars and a private jet) is the lowest of the low using our economic crisis to get ahead in the polls and probably personally benefit more than Obama (Obama owns 1 house, 1 car, and a bycicle).

It’s just mind boggling to me that after 20 years in the USA, this is what it has come to. My family and I left everything behind escaping communism only to have the financial elite fleece & hang us out to dry then our own government finishes the job and bails them out with our tax dollars. All while McCain supporters are touting his patriotism and leadership. Are we really this gullible?

We have had zero accountabilty in the stock market and banking industry lately and this is where they got us. So now we are going to pass a bill that allows someone we do not elect to do with our money as he wishes.

Mcain proposes that the work be contracted out to private firms. You know because it worked so well to hire mercenaries in Iraq and multi billion dollar compaines with no-bid contracts to rebuild New Orleans.

Please if you support this bill read it and remember it only took a one page letter to declare our independece…imagine what 3 pages can do to our economy and read the proposed bailout and think about this: If the economy were a skyscraper with foundations cracking and crumbling, would you repair it from the top down? And why would people we want to lead us scare us and push so hard to pass it without any forethought……

99. Jack | 09.25.08

The woman who insists that McCain is putting the “County’s” needs first highlights the core problem here. She goes on to suggest that McCain shouldn’t participate in a debate that will find him answering “silly made up questions that some slanted journalist has already formulate in his favor.” The United States is discovering that a political system steered by majority opinion is in big trouble when the majority of voters are dim bulbs whose political discourse is comprised of parroting the slogans served to them on talk radio. Never mind that the vast majority of these individuals are acting contrary to their own interests. In order to fit-in with their peer group, many will insist that up is down, even while watching the bread being taken from their mouths.

100. Michelle | 09.25.08

The debate is a few hours in Mississippi Friday night. Why do they both have to be in Washington? Oh yeah McCain is 72 years old and can’t travel 900 miles on that fancy private jet and be able to think that’s just too much for an old man. So Obama has to do what the old man wants to do or he looks un-American. STUPID!

101. Richard | 09.25.08

Why not let McCain have his way, most people see through what he’s doing and let’s use Wolf Blitzers idea and let the V.P’s have their debate Friday night

102. Ben | 09.25.08

From a passive internation perspective. I suspect that McCain is is trying to limit the amount of preparation time that Obama has for the debate. By doing this he will create more drama and detract from the economic angle that would have inevitably overshadowed his strongest topic with his weakest.

He will show up tomorrow night at the last minute, but leave the public emotionally drained and focussed on him.

If he does not, then Obama should simply have the debate with a life-sized cutout of McCain ala White Goodman from dodgeball.

103. kaf | 09.25.08

Wow. We’ve been numbed to violence by so much television violence. And it gets more real and closer to home by the day. And that spreads, even to schools over seas. We’ve been numbed to immorality by so much television immorality. And it gets more real and more widespread. We have become numb to lies while we are spoon-fed more bullshit. We’ve sat in front of our tv’s and watched as our schools have become little more than truancy pens for an illiterate generation.
We are numb to the corruption and destruction of our planet in the name of greed, and we are numb to the coming onslaught of a holocaust visited upon us by the upset forces of nature. When we allow the immoral greedy with below-average intelligence to elect themselves and pose as leaders, when they are intended to SERVE, we deserve what is coming. 894th out of 899? Oh yeah, that’s who we want in charge.

104. Katherine | 09.25.08

Nick: “You offer a very logical and respectable view point and in no way sound like a loon. Of course your rationale should be voting for the person who is least likely to bring the apocalypse”

Thank you for that, Nick. You actually made me laugh out loud–amazing because the tenor of this “race” has become very depressing in its one sided desperation. Cheers!

105. Joseph Lauterbach | 09.25.08

The lack of understanding of the current economic crisis and the media’s fuel on the fire of ignorance in support of Obama is almost criminal. The crisis is one born of the democratic dictates that forced a distortion of the immutable laws of economics. By forcing the “lenders” to give an ever increasing percentage of loans in previously red lined areas is at the reason that this mess was born and the government takeover of Freddy and Fannie allowed the democrats to protect these bad loans long enough to dump it on the taxpayers at a time that was most advantageous to there quest for power.
The crisis is not all that big in terms of dollar value as it is to stability of the lending buisness. Obama is doing the only thing he is qualified to do campain. Their assertion that this is a failure of the private sector is political pablum for the uneducated it is a direct result of governmental influence in the free market.

106. Microtek | 09.25.08

It is Joe Biden, and Nobama admitted that Hillary should be the Dem VP.
Joe Biden is a big mistake, not the other way around.

SO SAD FOR NOBAMABOTS

107. Eddy | 09.25.08

Hello America, let’s all stop everything we are doing and go to Washington to solve this economic crisis. Yes, we are not all Senators but McCain has missed the most votes, Obama comes third and that’s not a credit to either one of them. They can go to Washington but why suspend the campaign? Is the campaign hurting the economy? The man admitted he knows nothing about the economy, the man supported deregulation, the man thinks we(the workers) are fundamentally strong, now we are in this mess and he wants to look like the Messiah? This has got to be a joke! Has anybody watched Sarah Palin interviews? Couldn’t McCain have picked a better woman in the party, if he was so desperate to get the Hillary supporters? Now the Republicans are after Laura Bush for saying Sarah Palin has no foreign policy experience. If I was a republican Senator, I wouldn’t want McCain in Washington right now. Most of the job is done, and now he wants to look like the one who helped seal the deal. I hope we continue to spend billions in a country that has a surplus while we are bailing out Wall Street in our own country.

108. Janet | 09.25.08

This is the last straw for me. I have seen enough of McCain’s impulsive decisions to sway me into voting for Obama. Everytime there is a big issue at hand, he goes for the hail mary. It’s pure gambling. I do not want a President that is going to keep on making rush and impulsive decisions everytime he’s faced with a big issue that actually calls for calm, collected and well informed decision making process. I respect the man, but I do not support his decision making process. I am definitely not going to gamble with my kids future by voting for someone who panics and makes decisions on the go.

109. custerjs | 09.25.08

What is Obama doing for you while he is campaigning? He is not even present to give his great financial wisdom that he and the Democrats say he has. If he is such a great leader why is he not focusing on the greatest issue at hand since the great depression?

Why is he not putting his wonderful debating skills to use bringing the democrats and republicans together to figure out a way to better the American public, the middle class, and the working people?

So Obama is telling all of use that the issue of the economy; which the media has taken hold of and has pushed onto people as the next great depression in which the American public has been feeling the pinch and whom are scared and frightened about, is the fears of Americans are not important. That he has been working on this debate so much that he needs to put it on because he didn’t waste his time on learning foreign policy to worry about what the American public is worried about.

He shows that he is only worried about himself and being the president. Just as the media is only worried about their programming schedule; “Every network in America has that time laid out,” Fox News anchor Shepard Smith said on the air Wednesday. “There are thousands of people en route to Oxford, Miss., at this point. For seven months they’ve been working on this.” Who really cares about what you want…

110. Nick | 09.25.08

Who do the candidates work for right now? Obama works for the people of IL; McCain for the people of Arizona. Who is doing the work they were hired for? Obama wants more TV time; McCain wants to discuss and pass the bill on the economy. Let me think…I think IL is getting the short end here.

People bash McCain for his economics. Maybe rightly so. But who here seems to have the economy in mind? Not the TV hording Obama!

On another note, for all of you who say that McCain is out to touch with the working class and Obama understands; what world are you living in? Obama makes a six digit salary like McCain. He wouldn’t know the first thing about getting his hands dirty to actually do manual labor. He was a community organizer. Whoop-dee-do The man probably couldn’t pick up a screw driver and know if it was a slotted or phillips screw driver. Neither would at this point. Obama is just as out of touch and in the elitist group as McCain is. So get off it. Here is one place that both candidates are the same.

111. LewA | 09.25.08

16. J. Woode wrote:

You can not have “constructive debate” when you selectively print reader feedback.What you have is biased presentation of main stream media talking at you rather than to you. Good day,
************************************************************************
I don’t know what you are talking about. I have seen both pro AND con comments. It is just that the “con” comments seem to greatly outnumber the “pro” comments. I don’t find this suprising. It is obvious that McCain is pulling a political stunt. His numbers are falling badly, his economic philosophy (at least for the last 30 years) has resulted in a meltdown on Wall Street, he is being referred to as “Palin’s running mate” (her crowds are dwarfing his and she has even referred to a Palin/McCain administration).

McCain even called Dave Letterman to tell him he had to cancel his appearance on the Late Show because he was about to board a plane to “rush” back to D.C. The ONLY place he rushed to was Curic’s CBS Newsdesk. He even attended additional campaign events yesterday.

McCain is running scared. He doesn’t want to face the debate and he is trying, desperately, to change the conversation. Well, the conversation has changed, but McCain isn’t going to like the turn it has taken. COWARD!

112. Alex P | 09.25.08

If I was having problems remembering where Spain is I would probably not want to debate someone who is young , smart, and well educated.

If I openly admitted I didn’t know much about economics I would wonder why I tried and succeeded in de regulating the financial institutions that are at the root cause of the present mess.

If I started this campaign on reduction of taxes , increased security a as a soldier leader of integrity and hen moved over to someone else’s slogan of ‘change’ when I saw it wasn’t working, together with a non qualified VP just to get womens votes I’d be looking in the mirror and wondering what I had become and what happened to the integrity bit.

I would wonder what was going on when called back to Washington for the economic crisis that really doesn’t appear to be very much as the sky is still blue, the stores are still open and people are still in their homes but I would thank God for it as a good excuse not to debate someone who is smarter than me.

If I new more about economics I would worry about the $16 increase in crude caused by fears of the inflationary move of printing more money for bailouts
but what the heck by the time gas is $20 a gallon I’ll be in Costa Rica on my inflation proof pension as a senator.

Yes vote for me McCain 2008

113. TJ | 09.25.08

Liberal Socialism? What do you call $700 billion for Wall Street Fat Cats? Fascist Socialism! It would be cheaper to let the banks that perpetrated this fraud on America go into bankruptcy (hopefully becoming insolvent) where they can dump the bad debt. You can use any stimulus from bailout funds to allow new banking entities (that did not commit fraud) to take over the investment banking industry? With this bailout, you can stipulate that no top level management/board members from the current defrauders can work for or profit from the new institutions. If the current Fascist do not lose their pants on this, they will only start a new fraudulent scheme next week!

Just remember - $3,600 for every man, woman and child in America!

Why is it that these frauds only occur during Republican administrations? Fascist Socialism!

114. steve | 09.25.08

I don’t believe anything McCain says now or then. The story about him telling his captors he didn’t want to go home unless others went home doesn’t make sense. As a 23 year vet, your enemy didn’t say to you, “you can go home because you daddy is a big wig in the military.” If anything, it was more reason to keep him for interrogation. The story is full of holes and all we have is McCain’s word that it happen.

It is unfortunate McCain was a POW, but McCain is an opportunist then as he is now. A man of any integrity does not approve such low blow campaign ads, distort the truth, and out and out lie as he has in this campaign. I don’t care if you feel Obama has done the same. As a military man, we still maintain our integrity no matter how dishonest the enemy is. McCain’s campaign character does not reflect the integrity of a true hero.

I want proof from McCain that someone in the enemy camp said he could go home. McCain, do you really expect veterans, like me, believe that? When in history has the enemy told a captive he could go home? You have proven your word means nothing now and I suspect you took the opportunity to distort your story then for political purposes, as you seem to be doing now. Country first, if it advantages McCain, is your true motto.

115. ace | 09.25.08

Balderdash…

98% of the population does not have the luxury of dealing with ONE issue at a time no matter have important it is. I am a single father who works two jobs, focused on raising one daughter, putting another through college and supporting an ex-wife, 3 households! I would love the opportunity to tell my bosses, ex-wife or children hey everybody I’m going to focus on just this one thing so hold your breath and catch you when I’m done.

I am insulted by this move. McCain is playing a political card and it is irresponsible to the American people, period. If his rational was actually true how the heck could I vote for someone to have one of the most important jobs in the WORLD who can’t multi task when I am forced to every day of my life. McCain you should be ashamed of yourself. I truly have lost all respect for your campaign and advisor’s.

116. Sparc | 09.25.08

As a congressional staffer I can assure everyone that no one thinks that McCain provides any value-added by returning to Washington D.C.

All McCain needs to do is support the agreement that Congress strikes with the Administration. He is too much of a political coward to do this, so instead he is biding his time and calculating his politics before making a pronouncement.

McCain has failed in the leadership test and failed miserably. Our nation cannot afford a political coward at this moment in time.

117. meredith | 09.25.08

If the debate is moved to Oct. 2, when exactly will the VP debate happen? Will it be televised in primetime? If McCain thinks he is needed tomorrow at 9pm on the Hill, perhaps the debates could be swapped instead? I’m not holding my breath . . .

118. kaf | 09.25.08

Wake up. The critical difference between Obama and McCain is simple. McCain is a figure head, just like Bush. Both are puppets on strings. They are tied to the corruptors of the earth, corporations who are polluting the atmosphere, clearing the land and turning it to desert, polluting the rivers and oceans, and poisoning our food supply. All for personal wealth. They each were assigned silent VPs (and a potential VP)who do (and would) all the real damage behind the scenes. This GOP is all about destroying the dream of self-rule and strengthening tyranny by the aristocracy.
Obama has refused to be tied by these strings. He is completely funded by individual citizens, not corporations. And I think when he is President, he will use the scissors of morality to cut all the puppet strings. We’ll see who’s still moving after the puppets hit the deck, those will be real people.

119. Scott | 09.25.08

Absolutely ridiculous, Jimmy. To borrow a phrase used by McCain’s sad campaign, one would have to be completely “in the tank” for McCain to see this situation as a win for him. Obama is absolutely correct about the need for a president (of just about anything but particularly of the United States) to be able to multitask.

Even if I adored John McCain I wouldn’t be able to accept this. There are some things you simply don’t do, especially 40 days before an immensely important election, and one of those things is try to duck out of a debate. You are applauding the theatrics of McCain’s maneuver, and Bush’s assist, but only a conservative political pundit obsessed with the daily news cycle could view this as any kind of “win” for McCain.

It is simply difficult to respect a candidate who tries to avoid a debate. It’s weak and weakness doesn’t win elections.

Whatever little respect I may have still had for John McCain is gone at this point. He should simply forfeit. That seems to be the way he’s heading anyway. Just quit now and spare Sarah Palin any more exposure until she’s ready for the big show in 2012. Obama is the future of the Democratic party and Palin may be the future of the Republican party if McCain doesn’t destroy her now in his quixotic campaign for the White House.

120. Larry | 09.25.08

This is simply John McCain throwing more **** against the wall to see if it sticks. It’s more proof that McCain has warped into a loose cannon. What will he do as president? If Canada disagrees with us, will McCain choose to invade Ottawa? He’s acting like a degenerate gambler. First he chooses Sarah Palin, a rank amateur with no grasp of reality, as his running mate. Now he demonstrates that he’s incapable of multi-tasking. Do you want this guy and his running mate with their fingers on the nuclear trigger? Wake up America. If you vote for McCain, you are putting our country at risk.

121. Rajah | 09.25.08

I am flummoxed…What will McCain do to save this economy in crisis? NOTHING!!!!!! He is trying to politicize the situation. stupiD……It is called a political hijack. It is a shame that some of you here have the nerve to say that he is Presidential and shows leadership???? What is this? A “cover up?? Are we that STUPID??? There is a Pres. Bush, who is still in charge…In fact the problem is already in progress in congress. Simply, go there to promote Bush’s plan, and to encourage Republicans to stand behind hum, so that he can come out a hero???? Yeah, he was a so called hero, for killing innocent people in Vietnam, as it goes “in a war, innocents woill die…The maverick made a mistake and bombed the wrong areas…killing babies, pregnant women, children, old men and women, etc, destroying their community, with the assumption that they were enemies hiding there. The reason why thye had to punish him for that killing when he was captured….
McCain’s brain is not functioning right….He uis just a senator, and as ussual a political gimmick..

122. Laura | 09.25.08

Pitiful politicaly maneuver by McCain…he hasn’ t been in Washington since April to vote on any legislation. He missed the vote in July on the Medicare reimbursements that nearly made healthcare even less accessible for millions of senior citizens. Suddenly he feels the need to suspend his campaigning to be back in Washington to help out with the financial crisis? What a joke! And I’m Republican!

123. TBW | 09.25.08

This is a grandstanding routine. Just like the Palin play. He’s going to help the country in this time of financial crisis. Bull.
What may happen is he’ll tie his boat to an act by a lame-duck president and they’ll both sink.

124. Smart Shopper | 09.25.08

You guys that think McCain did this for altruistic reasons are fools. This is nothing short of a Hail Mary, and it will be intercepted for a TD by Obama.

The VP is supposed to support the President when he needs to be in 2 places at once. Where’s Palin? McCain realizes that his VP pick can’t share the load.

Either way, people see this stall tactic for what it is. No matter what was going on in the past (Civil War, Iran hostage crisis) the debates went on, this one should too. To do otherwise reinforces the ‘weak old man’ status.

125. Pete O | 09.25.08

No one has said exactly what McInsane did to help the Vietnam War. Was he an ACE pilot? Did he bomb any strategic targets? Would he have been accepted to the Naval Academy if his dad was not an Admiral? So his captors did not kill him because they thought he was a good bargain chip to hold. Where is the heroism in all of this? He is a pure opportunist. I have seen his kind in medical school: kids who are there because their parents are doctors. They get positions that we hard-working students cannot get.
Lacking the ability to keep you plane in flight does not make you a hero. These republican scamsters have had plenty off opportunity to limit the size of Government and reduce taxes starting with criminals like Newt Gingrich and Ton Delay; and the War Lord himself, George Bush. And all they did was loot the nations coffers. If you are a republican voter and you cannot bring yourself to vote for Obama b/c of “personal reason”, please show your love for your country by staying home.

126. Eileen | 09.25.08

Everybody sees through this. Everybody.

Why is McCain showing up in Washington when a deal is already inches away from being done, by others?

Why is he meeting with Lady Lynn Forrester de Rothschild and showing up at Bill Clinton’s gig and being inverviewed by Katie Couric but cannot make the debate?

Why does Palin have to suspend her campaign and debate? She is not a senator. She has nothing to do in Washington.

John McCain is a coward after all.

127. dennis | 09.25.08

McCain’s move here is a con job. He’s desperate, he knows his policies helped cause this mess, and he’s a naturally impulsive, risk-taking kind of guy (great qualities for a President, eh?). He also thinks he’s smarter than us and that we won’t figure him out. It won’t work, though. Americans understand who put us on this road–it was McCain and his band of “deregulate at all costs” cronies, pushing unrestrained greed as the primary driver of capitalism.

Without reasonable regulation, this meltdown was bound to happen, as the sharks on Wall Street got blue in the face with money-lust and pushed harder and harder until… the natural laws of greed erupted like wooden nickels from a slot machine. Democrats have understood forever the perils of unrestrained greed. The Republicans continue to deny it, in the face of repeated evidence (remember the 80’s S&L crisis–which McCain also contributed to?).

Shame on Sen. McCain for injecting politics into a situation that could cost us all our economic futures.

128. Scott | 09.25.08

It was a democratic congress who idealogically believed that everyone should be able to own a home that got us into this mess, and a democratic congress that claims it is going to bail us out. Let Nancy chide the executive branch for allowing things to get as bad as they are, but perhaps she and the senate banking commitee should look in the mirror. The blame falls squarely on congress and everyone who thought that an interest-only mortgage was a good idea. Ask your parents what it took to buy a home; hard work and saving, not gambling on an unreliable housing market.

129. Vinny | 09.25.08

Someone who already admitted to Economics not being his strong point, wants us to believe in his character and strength than his ability to solve? Is he going to understand in two days, what he has not understood in 26 years?

This is the typical Bush doctrine to wait until a crisis, imagined or real, hits us, then come up with a two page proposal, no oversight, free hand executive power, no bid contracts, lots of taxpayer money, essentially for the well-heeled cronies of the administration. Naturally, it is couched in fear mongering, urgency, call to patriotism, bipartisanship - do it now or else!

Instead of assuaging the markets by saying, ‘Yes, we are coming out with a solid plan that will be debated by the best minds and legislators for a reasonable period of time, modified to ensure safety of taxpayer money, ironing out the little details - (like are we paying 20 cents to a dollar or 90 cents to a dollar of something that we think is a dollar? I mean wall street still cannot value it or is not willing to, but you think you can?)’ here we are goaded into doing something quickly, once again.

I mean, when are we going to think through this? How can somebody decide to spend $700 billion dollars (how did we get this figure? Who’s hat?) to buy basically trash in seven days without oversight? I mean, who the f*** is at least kicking the tires?

And we are still thinking of grandstanding, pulling a stunt. If you want to do something, just do it, don’t pull a stunt and you had the stupidity to say the economy was sound, just a week ago?

130. philko | 09.25.08

Three comments:

1) Obama’s campaign *finally* was able to pull of a quick and smart reaction to a McCain stunt. Instead of waiting/ignoring/deer-in-the-headlights/me-too reaction, he jumped on the “multi-tasking” idea. Brilliant!

2) I had heard that Paulson had been working on the details of his bailout plan “for months”. Does anyone know if that is true and, if so, why the Administration is treating this as a “who could have known” instant crisis?

3) Cries of “We have a crisis. Pass this bill now because America’s in imminent danger!” preceded the Patriot Act and the Iraq War - both of which were looked back upon by Congress with lots of “If only I had more time to consider it” reactions. Anyone notice a pattern here?

131. Vinny | 09.25.08

Also, it was more important for McCain to speak at the Clinton global initiative, but not the debate! Now, if that is not grandstanding, I don’t know what is. And it also shows, he is neither prepared for the debate nor for the calamity upon us.

132. Swimlady | 09.25.08

For all of you who think McCain put his country first and is doing the right thing, please answer this–what exactly will McCain do once he gets to Washington? The terms of the bail out have been in the works for days–they are working on it right now and McCain is not even there. McCain is not on the banking committee. So what exactly do you think he is going to do and how is he putting America first?????
McCain is still campaigning. After his announcement, he sat with Couric for an interview. He is going to the Clinton meeting today and other events. How is he putting the country first? By saying the economy is fundamentally sound? By picking a VP who is a blood clot away from the presidency who is clearly unqualified (I prefer someone with more degrees than me; who did not take 6 years and 5 schools to finish college; who did not just discover the use of a p***port; who actually repeats a lame *** line that she has foreign policy experience because she can see Russia…..), that move does not say America first. And how dare he insult women by suggesting that Palin is there for the Hillary voters–please Palin cannot hold a candle to Hillary and Palin’s views on women’s rights (no choice even if raped–and oh yeah, pay for your rape kit; no stem cell rersearch) Please, please, please people. Stop drinking the Kool Aid.

Read–even your most conservative papers will tell you the facts. McCain is not going to do squat in DC.

WAKE UP AMERICA. We need a leader who is smarter than the common man; who is better tempered than the average man; in other words, we need better than the average man and not someone who graduated at the bottom of his cl*** and has a fit when thinkgs do not go his way…Please.

Every step he takes is calculated–including trying to put off the debates and keeping Palin away from the Press.

Taking your ball and going to play elsewhere barely worked when you were 4. Stop it McCain. I pray and hope America is smarter than this and gets off the Kool Aid.

133. Brad | 09.25.08

Nick (post #71)

Personally I thought JB3 sucked. He was also holding on that play and has admitted it. But, you are right, he did snap the ball to Flutie on that play.

What’s all this talk about money? Did I miss some big bailout or something?

134. Chris | 09.25.08

Sorry folks, but McChicken has been a coward his whole life. That’s not white hair its feathers.

McCain supports Bush

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnb2IrsU1Cg

VETS on McTraitor…message from George W. Campaign. They knew this stuff because they were allowed to get the records that McChicken had locked up as soon as he became senator even though it meant thousands of families would never find out what happened to their missing sons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MUY9S6iCvk

135. Chris | 09.25.08

Bill Kristol is a Zionist who works for Israel intelligence.

136. Al | 09.25.08

What I need a this time to make my mind on how to vote is for these two candidates to stand in front of a podium and give us their best shot at persuading me, and many others, that one of them is the best man for the job. For the last year they have taken a one-way road to these debates. Now, Mr. McCain, in a move that looks and sounds shady, stops and a takes a road to Washington. While I am not clear what Mr. McCain’s role is going to be in these negotiations, and I have not heard anyone state that he is indispensable get the legislation going, to me it is clear that he should debate Friday. Do not delay and deprive us of an opportunity to make an intelligent choice.

137. ChuckTx | 09.25.08

Actually, he was asked by Paulson to help out:

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2008/09/25/schieffer-paulson-warned-bailout-would-fail-unless-mccain-got-invo

“So much for a “stunt.”"

138. rick boyer | 09.25.08

With President Bush staring into the headlights for over 14 munutes on TV last night, and Candidate McCain stiffing Dave Letterman, I now see Candidate Obama winning by 55% in November. Senility is harsh, but very real. Very real. The good news is that “Ms. Palin, you will be back in Alaska in time for the long, long winter”.

Rick

139. John Carpenter | 09.25.08

There’s one group of political observers watching McCain operate through a lens that is not partisan but empirical.

Fightert pilots–last, present, and future.

To the political pundit McCain is playing chess or ****. Choose your metaphor. To the fighter pilot, since picking
Palin, McCain is not making decisions politically, he is making them tactically. Obama looking through the distorted lens of legal skills gleaned at Harvard and smarmy misdirection gleaned while as a graduate student in the Chicago
Political Machine’s school of Advanced Electoral Corruption isbringing a peashooter to a knife fight.

Obama believes in what he thinks is the superiority of brass-knuckle of Chicago politics. The rules are simple if
eventually self-sabotaging. McCain, as a former air combat believes in one rule: there are no rules.

So what’s going on, here? McCain is not allowing Obama to take the fight to him: he is dictating the terms of the engagement. Obama had the advantage twice: for a few hours after tne DNC and again with the current financial crisis–temporarily.

To the political pundit or the “civilian” McCain’s move to theHill looks reckless but he has been taught to stay on the offensive by going an inch away from being out of control. It looks risky and it is but there’s no desperation. It’s calculated, bold, and if he’s right, it sets him up for the Kill shot.

Chances are McCain will make another mistake along the way but right now he’s on the offensive and Obama’s
camp is trying to regain the advantage. The problem is Obama, on the defensive, at this point, has a much smaller
window of opportunity to correct a mistake if he makes one.

The bottom line is, Obama has never gotten this deep into enemy territory. He ran virtually unopposed for the House and Senate. He’s never know the heat of real bullets. He has no analogues or precedents to draw from.

He is at the mercy of his advisors. McCain has been in far worse fights against much worse odds. There’s a saying:
“In a chase between a rabbit and a fox, bet on the rabbitt. The fox is running for his supper, the rabbit is running for his life.

MCcain knows the feeling.

140. Karl | 09.25.08

We need to get to the heart of the problem. The economic meltdown is the latest and most serious symptom. Face it, we have a disinterested, secretive, pro-business, intellectually lazy, ideologically driven administration. McCain’s conduct has enabled this type of problem to manifest itself through his anti-regulation activity and bias. Pity he didn’t put a little effort into understanding the problem and heading it off. He only had 26 years as a Washington insider to get it right.

Let’s call it what it is…McCain quit. He threw up his hands, took his toys, and went home. I give him credit for one thing, however. He understood that his campaign was doomed to failure as long as this serious crisis existed. No longer would lipstick on a pig dominate the news. Nothing could distract voters from this catastrophe.

Back to the heart of the problem. Big business has run Washington for the last 8 years. Political ideologues at federal agencies were nothing more that Trojan Horses sent in to weaken the system enabling business to raid the store. Now we have a mess on our hands and have no choice but to step in to clean up the mess. McCain is also part of the problem because he enabled this to occur and didn’t have the intellectual heft to figure out what was going on. He should have learned his lesson from the savings and loan scandal. After all, he was one of the Keating Five.

141. Reed | 09.25.08

This is possibly the worst political ploy ever. Lets be real, there are hundreds of talking heads and elected officials all over this. McCain nor Obama are on any relevant committees here. Their prescence would be strictly political.

McCain’s move is not presidential, not maverick, not telling of a leader. Its a magic trick and a stunt, just like the ‘pull-a-palin-out-of-a-hat’ trick.

In my opinion,the only reason to cancel a debate is a war on our soil. Nothing less!!

Country First!! McPalin Last!! Obama/Biden ‘08…”They Never Back Down”

142. Don | 09.25.08

JBIII was the center for Flutie and got in the highlights for one thing he did in his life. What has he done since?

143. Ron | 09.25.08

Dear John McCain,
The Party started without you, you weren’t invited, So please stop acting like a baby and pretend that it can’t go on without you there. You are scaring me to hello. If Barack Obama caves in to not having a debate, He will lose the election. Is line right now should be ” Senator McCain, Ill see you at the debate “

144. dragonfly777 | 09.25.08

McCain is doing what he should be doing and that is protecting the interest of the people. You people act like there were no Democrats making any decisions for the last 40 years or had a hand in any of this. Now that the Dems have control of both houses, have done not one thing, for they are still whining they can’t do anything. What a bunch of ****ies!Let Obama get on stage and blow his wind while McCain works. That’s all Obama is good for. Talking and no action. BUT REMEMBER HE VOTED PRESENT 190 TIMES. Another **** to go with the rest.

145. Down South | 09.25.08

I am embarrassed to say that I considered voting for McCain. But defending him, his flip-flops, and his brash moves has led to one big migraine headache.

146. PulSamsara | 09.25.08

McCain is slipping in the polls and growing desperate.

Now he’s trying to leverage the Republican WhiteHouse to boost his own standing with the public.

Flailing political stunt that the American people aren’t going to buy.

Not this time McRove !

———————————-

Why would America REWARD complete Republican failure ?

We wont.

147. Justin | 09.25.08

Does anyone remember the Keating Five*, and the Savings and Loan fiasco, and McCain’s role in allowing it to happen? It appears his appetite for deregulation of the financial services industry wasn’t dampened at all by that little disaster. And now he’s going to lead us to safety? Give me a break.

*included John McCain

148. Get a clue | 09.25.08

Apparently, most of the American population does not understand that the questions for the debate are not written by the press. The questions come from random, regular people from both parties who are called in advance and asked to provide a question which they then read out loud to the candidates. My co-worker’s husband did this for the 2004 election debates.

McCain should have no issue responding to these questions. He is stalling for time and went behind Obama’s back by releasing his statement to the press… That’s really putting politics aside.

Obama is spot on….a President needs to be able to multitask. McCain is stretching here and it will undoubtedly backfire.

149. stan | 09.25.08

Pure cowardice by McCain. He hasn’t got the intestinal fortitude for a real debate. If it really was about what he claims, why do they need to cancel the VP debate? More cowardice. McCain does not trust the American people to make their own decision based on the debates.

A few days back, or maybe a week, when it first became apparent that McCain’s poll numbers had peaked, I began thinking, ‘The only way Obama won’t get into the White House is if the debates get cancelled.’ Guess the McCain people were thinking the same thing. I’d bet dollars to donuts that they find excuses to cancel all of the debates, not just these ones.

150. Frank | 09.25.08

The debate is at 9PM and runs for 90 minutes. How difficult would it be to participate in Congressional activities during the day and fly into Oxford, MS for the debate, then back to DC? Is McCain too old and feeble to handle that? Shouldn’t the President be capable of something so simple?

151. DoTheMath | 09.25.08

McCain’s “rationale” for this bail-out (his, not the market’s) rests on the faulty premise that he - with or without Obama’s acquiescence - has some kind of crisis resolution super powers. He’s not on any of the committees leading negotiations on this issue. He hasn’t voted on anything in the Senate since April 9. On Tuesday, he admitted that he hadn’t yet read the three-page bail-out proposal which the administration had released ON SATURDAY. He hadn’t bothered to read three pages in four days; now suddenly he’s going to drop everything and ride into Washington to save the day?

When you factor in the McCain campaign’s suggestion that next Thursday’s scheduled VP debate be converted to the first presidential debate, thus postponing (perhaps forever?) the VP debate, the “purposeful leader who puts governmental duty before politics” loses several points on this move. Only a true believer could calculate the calculation out of this move.

152. mike | 09.25.08

I watched McCain speak this morning at the Clinton Global Initiative Summit in NYC. Admittedly, he “veered off topic” to discuss the need for economic reforms in this country and saying that, he was immediately suspending his campaign. He then proceeded to say, “And if I’m elected President…” several times.

Would someone PLEASE tell Grandpa McCain that suspending his campaign would mean just that: for the time being, he has to stop asking to be elected.

Can’t he even follow is own rules?

153. Chris | 09.25.08

Why can’t McCain go on with the debate, and just communicate with the bailout team in Washington by e-mail? Oh… wait a sec… nevermind.

154. Katharine | 09.25.08

The last thing we need right now is to politicize the senate with McCain while this debate is going on. If he had a role to play, good, but he is a self confessed novice on the economy. All he is going to do is bring in all the camera crews on a photo op in the middle of real business. This is stupidity in the extreme. Obama initiated a call to make a joint declaration on the economy and model the bi partisanship the senate needs to agree to, but McCain called a press conference 10 minutes after he said he agreed with Obama to try to one up him by taking it solo. That is just dishonorable. Shame on you McCain.

155. Kim | 09.25.08

We need to remember that Mr. McCain’s own run for the White house almost didn’t make it this far..Why, because he couldn’t manage his staff, his campaign finances, and couldn’t decide which way to go left or right. Is this man trustworthy? Remember, after returning home, his wife, the mother of his children was injured, ailing from an accident. What did he do? He left her for a woman he was having an affair with, that Daddy had a lot of money and clout. Daddy of Cindy whom was not without his own controversy. Daddy who financed his first campaign. With technology today there is no reason he can’t be in two places at the same time. Keeping his campaign going and in touch with Washington. Other workers around the country do this every day. Can you trust this person to help the common tax payers of this nation? can he make the right choices to punish his peers? Even if we bail them out they need consequences for their actions, unlike the rest the Bush admin has already bailed out at our expense. The Debate must go on, as well as the VP debate, We need to hear the differences in plans to put this country back in the black where it was 9 years ago. We paid our taxes and deserve to know what they plan to do with them now and in the future.

156. Jimb | 09.25.08

Why can’t Palin continue the campaign while McCain is in DC saving the economy? That’s what a VP nominee is supposed to do, especially when Biden is a senator and will be in DC. This could really be her time to shine. Too bad the campaign doesn’t believe in her enough to let her do her VP job.

157. crawlg burtfon | 09.25.08

By the time the next scheduled (or, as McCain would have it, “first”) presidential debate takes place, 16 states will already be voting with early mail-in ballots.

158. Rikki Nadir | 09.25.08

McCain carries on the proud GOP tradition of cynicism, bait and switch, and cowardice disguised as rationale. Nice try but np cigar. And now I see he doesn’t want Barbi-rella to debate either.

159. Annemarie | 09.25.08

It’s basic. Anyone fit to be President of the USA can both drop into Washington to participate AND fullfill his responsibility to voters and honor the debate. Voters NEED to listen to these two together, with some of the BS filtered out, and make up their minds.

McCain spent most of today at Clinton’s global get-together. Why didn’t he cancel that event and run immediately to Washington to participate? The negotiations are going on today and he’s not there? He hasn’t been there at any point of the last two weeks, is HE really going to make the difference? I doubt it.

Before he made his announcement yesterday, he called Bush, so the White House press officer just said. Yesterday, it was positioned that Bush called both candidates - intimating that it was BUsh’s idea to call them in and McCain was prescient and “presidential”. Ain’t so - he essentially set it up with his buddy Bush.

Let’s not forget, either, it was Obama who first outstretched the bipartisan hand at 8:30 AM, McCain, without having the courtesy to discuss his new twist on Obama’s joint statement idea, made his announcement in the afternoon - making it look like HE was the one that had shown bipartisan leadership.

Let’s not forget additionally, McCain’s comment to a journalist a few days ago that “he hadn’t had time yet to read the Bailout proposal”! Two and a half pages?
No time to read the $700 Billion proposal but he felt he had to rush to Washington to negotiate its contents? Sorry, but isn’t that absurd?

Finally, we can’t forget Governor Palin. Slipped in behind McCain’s call to delay his own debate is his suggestion to delay Palin-Biden debate. Presumably he really wants to delay that one until way after the early voters have cast their ballot.

The man is a fraud, and if the system allows him to get away with this…the system is truly flawed and, once again, it’s the American voter that gets shafted.

160. Philip | 09.25.08

I am from Germany and observe the elections very closely. That there is a large economic crisis in the U.S. is obvious since years. E.g. just look at the trade deficit. In this context I find it amazing that neither of the candidates seem to have an economic agenda. And it is kind of scaring that they support to pay 700+ billion in subsidies - some experts say in reality this will become 1000+ billion. The GDP of the U.S. is about 12+ billion!

Would you expect such a plan from a conservative party with an anti-socialist history or from a liberal party? I think the U.S. financial system (and therefor the world economy) would be better off to do nothing than that. I hope people realise that McCain is just a talker…

161. Big T | 09.25.08

Puuhhleezzze spare us all of these deceptive shenanigans!
John McCain = Mr. Tudball, Enough said.

162. Montanan4Obama | 09.25.08

So why the sense of urgency at this late date? The last time Bush and Co. (McCain) had this level of urgency we ended up Iraq.

It is difficult to take McCain seriously on the economy when just last week he declared “the fundamentals of the economy are strong”, but now one week later we need John McCain to ride back to town and lay down the law. John McCain has been a champion of deregulation for 26 years and now he has seen the light! What a farce!

First, he is still making appearances. He attended the Clinton Global Initiative conference this morning and he managed to find time for make-up and an appearance with Katie Couric.

But now things are so dire that he cannot debate before the American people on Friday? Can’t this guy walk and chew gum? So why the change in strategy? Why roll out the President who is only biding his time until the end?

Because John McCain saw a significant dip in his poll numbers. He knew he had to take drastic action, to pull some stunt, like the Palin gimmick, to distract people and make it appear he is putting “country first”.

This man is joke, but what is truly sad, I recall a time back in 2000 when I really believed in him and actually supported his bid for the Presidency.

163. Deborah J. | 09.25.08

This is all nonsense. Lame. Weak. Stupid. Nonsense.

There is nothing real and true about John McCain anymore. He cancels his appearance on Letterman for an emergency trip back to DC, but instead shows up on CBS News with Katie Couric. He says he can’t possibly debate, yet finds time to address Clinton’s global conference.

McCain and Palin should truly put Country First and PERMANENTLY suspend their campaigns!

McCain-Palin? Thanks but NO THANKS.

164. JK | 09.25.08

EXTRA! EXTRA!
I have heard 5 McCain radio commercials - TODAY !!! I have seen 3 McCain TV commercials - TODAY! and a News Paper Add for McCain - TODAY!!! The day after McCain Suspended his campaign to save the world… I have also been invited to go to a McCain fund raiser and meet John McCain TODAy … What Campaign did he Suspend ?

I HAVE HAD IT WITH THE GOP’S LIE’S…

I have voted Rebublican for 50 years. But this group are not Rebupican’s and for the first time in my Voting life I am voting Democrat… I Prey to God that you open your eye’s and stop believing their Lies… GOD BLESS ALL.

165. Kevin | 09.25.08

What other catastrophe will America and the world have to endure before Bush and the Republicans are out of office? I seriously fear for the Country’s survival in the remaining months of this presidential term.

166. Creamsykle | 09.25.08

As a Christian the rapture is your ultimate goal correct? Then god will come and destroy all the bad people who don’t think like you? Haha

167. vtx1 | 09.25.08

Lot of emotional responses from liberals today. I smell fear. That is what is so great about blogs. When the opponent is squirming, you can see it all over the net. Well, I see nothing wrong with Obama sitting in a hotel room studying for a debate as America’s serious leaders deal with serious problems. He might text in once a day to offer his leadership between room service and the last movie.

168. Andrew | 09.25.08

Bold leadership? McCain is playing a high-risk political game, hoping he’ll be seen as a white knight, rushing to Washington to create a bi-partisan solution — despite the fact that all the tough parts have already been hammered out without him. The idea of US president who is a volatile high-drama risk-taker is frightening. He is not the right person to give that kind of power. RIP his “straight-talk express” which died years ago. McCain is now following the recommendations of Bush’s buddies: big-time lobbyists and Rove-style manipulators. Pretty sad, and only “presidential” if you are a serious fan of Bush & Rove.

169. nathan | 09.25.08

This is just another pitiful tactic thought up by McCain and his Campaign, amazing how 8 days ago when McCain was doing good in the polls we were a fundementally sound country and now he is behind in the polls and we are in for a great depression. Amazing just amazing at what levels this guy will take to try to win. I think he sniffed way too much napalm in vietnam. I feel sorry for all the sheep that still back this guy and is antics.

170. Larry | 09.25.08

Now that congress is moments away from putting up the bailout bill for a vote, isn’t McCain’s grandstanding play of suspending his campaign and postponing of the debate simply silly?

On a side note, did any of you GOPers see the video of Palin’s minister laying on of hands to cast out witches? If that doesn’t scare you straight, I don’t know what will. Do you seriously want someone who believes in stuff like that with her hand on the nuclear trigger someday? Scary!

171. S. Sandlin | 09.25.08

I don’t think McCain’s cop out will change the minds of most voters: those who like him will just say he’s being presidential; those who don’t will just say they were right all along and this proves it. Thing is, if he’s to have meetings with national leaders if he’s president, will he cop out then, too, if he’s afraid of being shown up by his opponent?

172. c.jordan | 09.25.08

I can’t believe this article. If you are for Obama simply say it. You beat that bush so hard it is completely bare on one side. Personally I think it is very important to be undistracted while trying to save an economy by handing out $700b, which both parties seem to think is necessary, because we just don’t have the $700b. Where is is going to come from? Save the country first then prepare to lead the country. Not sink the country then try to drag it out of the ocean. And by the way I was told yesterday that Obama is supporting a bill that would put partial birth abortions back on the table. If this is in fact true, he has no morals and is unfit to be a leader. How many babies do you want to kill they are being born. Think about it, they are on their way out, what difference does two inches make. The baby is still a human being and it is alive. It is murder.

173. James B | 09.25.08

Let see :

McCain: “This far to important for the welfare of the American people”

Obama: “Call me if you need me”

Obama ” I guess I can vote “present’ for the 102nd time”

174. Alan | 09.25.08

Nick (Post #71)

Did you know Jack Bicknell went on to caoch at Louisiana Tech and then 2 years ago got hired to coach at his alma mater?

175. Kwaayesnama | 09.25.08

I do not care if a candidate is a war hero, I do not care is a candidate is a republican or a democrat. I do not care if a candidate is black or white. All I care about is the candidate intelligent enough to get this nation out of the mess we are in now.

I am an Arizona Republican but I will not be voting for John McCain. Why? Because, with the problems in the US and the world is facing today the nation needs intelligence in the White House.

Lets see my choice is John McCain or that smart black man Barack Obama?

McCain who does not know how to use a computer but is willing to learn if we elect him – I’ll just vote for that smart black man. My Choices are: John McCain who says the economic downturn is psychological? - Na! I’ll vote for the smart black man.

McCain who says you are better off under George Bush? - Nope I’ll vote for the smart black man. Mc Cain who wants to continue killing more people looking for weapons of mass destruction that do not exist? - Gee! I’ll vote for the smart black man.

McCain who believes that we should stay the course but is not willing to support the people he puts in harms way. - I’ll take a chance on the smart black man.

Should I vote for a man that does not know that 9-11 was caused by Osama Bin Laden not Sedam Hussein? - Easy! I’ll vote for the smart black man. Vote for the man who does not know if the Sunnis or Sheits are our enemies? - No way I’ll vote for the smart black man.

Vote for the man who helped put our government on the China, Saudi Arabia credit card? - Not a chance I’ll vote for the smart black man. Vote for the man with the worst temper in the Senate to have his finger on the nuclear button? - No way - I’M VOTING FOR THE SMART BLACK MAN, Barack Obama.

176. JK | 09.25.08

( 171. c.jordan | 09.25.08 say’s , ” And by the way I was told yesterday that Obama is supporting a bill that would put partial birth abortions back on the table “. )
—- Nice try c.jordan, but it’s not going to fly this time. And remember telling a lie is the same sin as spreading one! —-

I am not drinking that Kool-aid anymore, I voted for Republicans for 50 years because of Financial Responsibility - Small Gov’t - And the end of abortions. Well here we are at the end of 8 years of Republican control and 6 of those years were total Republican control. ” House,Senete,President “, And we now have the highest budget deficit in world history - The Gov’t is now the largest ever in U.S. history - And in the 8 years of Republican control and 6 years of total control of the Gov’t. Not one Anti abortion bill was introduced by the Repuplicans.
Last year at a fund raiser, George Bush was asked why he and the Rebulicans never tried to stop abortion. Bush said ” What are we going to run on in 08, The Economy! “. So as you can see c.jordan, we have been used and exploited by the Republicans and thats why I am voting Democrate. this time… GOD BLESS US ALL.

177. Republican4Obama | 09.25.08

I like McCain’s slogan of putting “country first.” Good idea. I think we should all put country first, examine these two candidates, McCain and Obama, and see which of them is right for our country. Which of them truly has the country’s and the citizens’ best interests at heart. Does McCain? Well, a quick look at his voting record for our troops and veterans shows that McCain, a man who served, has obviously forgotten that troops and veterans, the people who serve our country proudly, deserve the best. McCain voted to give them nothing, every time he was asked to vote. Active troops and veterans groups grade McCain’s voting record as a “D.” A “D.” So, practically a failure. How is it then that people support McCain when he doesn’t support our troops and veterans, and never has? I encourage everyone to research McCain’s voting record on our economy (dismal, and look what happened because of it); women’s issues (dismal, no wonder women of any color are NOT supporting McCain); our environment (another dismal voting record), and on and on and on. McCain has literally given this country and its citizens the finger time and time again. So how is it that he could be considered capable of holding the highest office in the land? His first major decision, the selection of Sarah Palin as a running mate, in and of itself proves McCain is unfit to lead. Even George Will, a noted republican conservative says McCain is unfit for the job. Lastly, I encourage all of you to research McCain’s involvement in the Keating Five (the S&L crisis of 1989, and how McCain supported the criminal that caused the S&L meltdown, and gave zero support to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who lost their life savings because of it). McCain’s latest stunt, trying to delay the debate, proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that McCain is unfit to serve. No matter how the McCain campaign frames his decision to try to delay the debate, anyone can see his actions are no more than a coward running from conflict. Would McCain be able to delay a crisis to suit his needs because he’s unprepared to handle it? No. We need a president who can handle crises. We need a president who has this country’s best interests at heart. McCain is not that man. I’m voting for Obama. I want this country to seize this opportunity to turn over a new page and start fresh. This country needs to show the world we aren’t stupid. This country needs to put Obama in office now.

178. Richard Hassinger | 09.25.08

I feel sick. I can’t believe this is happening. McCain is just screwing this thing up completely. If he had won the nomination in 2000 we wouldn’t have this ridiculous spectacle today. Obama doesn’t even need to do anything but stand there while McCain keeps digging a hole. He needs to do something fast, or it’s going to be all over long before the election.

179. SAGE | 09.25.08

Our government is broken, and our people cannot make an analysis because the press is not doing their job. This financial mess has its origins in the 17′th ammendment, which reduced states power as a bulwark against federal govt expansion. Shortly after the 17′th was the Federal Reserve Act, which meant the Congress could now hide behind the Fed and print inflation money instead of going to the people for tax increases. These two changes allowed the monied interests, industrialists, central bankers and others to termite their way into the washington woodwork. The founding fathers wanted balanced powers, and the dual tandem of 17′th and Federal Reserve act passed by the corrupt Progressive Era tipped the country over. It is a slow process but now we no longer see Senators as statesmen, instead they pander for your vote using special interest money. Special interest money can’t help but corrupt. Everybody has their price, even our government officials. The Senators need the special interest money to pay for re-elections to stay in power. The don’t work for you. The founders intended the Senate to be the worlds greatest deliberative body, above the political fray, populated by men who derived their power from their respective states senate. Tell me…do we have a great deliberative Senate, populated by Statesemen who have our countrymen’s best interests at heart? A fish rots at the head.

180. wolf | 09.26.08

If you’d asked me a week ago, I would’ve said, that I thought McCain and Palin would be looking forward to the debates ( at the very least, debates often help underdogs by showing them as equals with the front-runners — regardless of which is which right now in the polls ). But after witnessing the two of them this past week… it seems as though they’re running scared for some reason.

181. Jennifer | 09.26.08

Funny image and title… check out a real Obama-McCain chess game: http://jennifershahade.com/site/2008/09/23/obama-plays-chess-against-mccain/

Of course, I thought McCain was going to pull a Bobby Fischer and forfeit round 1. Nice to see game on!

182. mommadona | 09.27.08

McCain looks like an old fool stuck in the 20th Century.

He also looks and acts like an immature jerk. He was rude and condescending in the debate.

He looks like a typical angry old white guy who can’t IMAGINE a young man of color even talking to him, much less shaking his hand.

He is a disgusting old reminder of the way things WERE in the United States in the 1960s.

Old White Men Rule.
Everybody else, to the back of the bus.

Prove me wrong.

183. ur mom | 10.15.08

i….like….PIE!!!! goooo mccain

1. Bill Kristol: “McCain’s bold move could reframe the election–and win it” « Blogging from Main Street America | 09.25.08