It’s a gimmick!

1. The bailout is that big.
2. The debate should still go on, but be changed to economics
3. It will take longer than the two days Bush, Bernanke and Paulsen are pushing for to address the bailout. Paulsen’s “trust me” is falling on deaf ears, particularly since just a few months ago he was extolling the “strength” of these same businesses.

Everything is political when it comes to the race for the White House.

Does this announcement mean that McCain is giving up his ambition to be the next President? Hardly. McCain still wants to be President, and so does Obama - it’s still up to the people to decide which one is better. McCain (and to be broader, the Republicans) are behind in the polls. McCain is known for taking political risks, and this is a well played one. It buys him time from the debates (more time to prep his very green VP choice) and gives him the appearance of being a leader.

Perhaps it will give him a bounce, perhaps not. But when you are behind, you have less to loose by taking chances.

McCain and Obama are going to come up with a solution in less than 48hrs. ? Um…right.

Coming from the campaign that brought us Sarah Palin, how could one look at this, amid McCain’s declining polls, as anything but another shrewd political move?

Another cheap political stunt. He was Chairman of the Commerce Committee for 6 of the last 8 years. Where has he been? Now, he wants to grandstand. Ron

I understand that this may be a campaign ploy. But quite honestly, I would like see McCain and Obama involved in this debate as Senators. On the surface, it appears that McCain is motivated to do the right thing, and has excellent leadership qualities. Something important to me as a voter. If I start to see his campaign people compare his actions to those of Obama, I’ll know he’s just looking for an opportunity to attack his opponent, not really help the American people.

So here we have McCain taking a ‘I’d rather lose an election, than the economy’ stand and you blast him for it… even though he insisted that Obama should be there too.

Some of you are really something…

The bailout is that big, but so is choosing our next president. We need the debate, delaying it is the wrong thing to do.

I think it would be a great idea to put it on hold. They are both congressmen that need to be present and informed of whats going on in Washington. Another reason they need to get involved one or the other is going to be elected and they will need to be much more informed to deal with the problems. I don’t think McCain is afraid to debate with Obama or Obama afraid to debate with McCain so why would it be a gimmick to get out of it. It seems much to much to expect a senator to be up on what is happening and trying to plan for a debate at the same time. Something is going to suffer. I would rather it be the debate. One of them is going to inherit the buy out problem so they need to have as much input as possible.

What McCain is doing is the exact same thing a basketball coach would do when the other teams get momentum: Call a timeout. Obama is starting to open a lead in the polls, and now McCain wants to slow down Obama’s momentum.

This ain’t basketball John. There are no “timeouts” in Presidential campaigns. Play the game go to MS and debate.

This is a political move.

We have to vote on a new president in a very short time. We need to hear the two candidates discuss their ideas in debate with each other, not in ads, or prepared speeches, or sound bites.

The country is not going to die this week, and I’m beginning to think the situation is not as dire as the Bush admin makes it out to be. Regardless, what could either McCain or Obama do, except add to the circus atmosphere?

If the vote is close, then yes, they should be there for the vote. However, I doubt there’s going to be a vote at the exact time they’re debating.

As for each candidate’s take on the current situation, let them issue their statements — it will still be up to Congress to make the final decision. They’re running for President, they aren’t president yet. And neither is an economic expert. Why don’t we let the economic experts in Congress hash this one through?

(And I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m really getting tired of the erratic nature of McCain’s campaign. Is this a demonstration of how he’ll lead? If so, we’re doomed if he wins.)

Let’s also not forget the expense and cost to the University of Mississippi, which has had to re-arrange it’s own business in order to accommodate the debate. Not to mention others who are attending who have purchased tickets, made plans, and that includes television networks.

These debates are arranged months in advance. The University did a huge amount of work in preparation. The campus has been disrupted in preparation. Re-scheduling isn’t like re-scheduling a press conference, where you can just hold a new one on the fly.

This was incredibly insensitive of McCain’s team. If they’re that uncomfortable participating in a direct debate, how the heck will McCain be able to lead?

Everything, I repeat everything that John McCain has done since South Carolina, 2000 has been political. Why would he change now?

Naked politics? Nope, beating someone to the punch…yes.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080924/ap_on_el_pr/mccain

According to the AP, “Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement that Obama had called McCain around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to propose that they issue a joint statement in support of a package to help fix the economy as soon as possible. Later, McCain spokesman Brain Rogers said in his own statement that although Obama called in the morning, he couldn’t reach McCain and did not leave a message about what he wanted to discuss.”

Rogers couldn’t reach McCain and he’s a campaign spokesman?

“McCain called back six hours later and agreed to the idea of the statement, Burton said, and McCain’s statement was issued to the media a few minutes later. But Rogers said it was McCain who “asked Senator Obama to join him in returning to Washington to lead a bipartisan effort to solve this problem.”

See, McCain had 6 hours to discuss with his lobbyists from Fannie, Freddie, et al and came out swinging later. See, it was HIS IDEA to do the bipartisan thing.

For someone who just a few days ago said the economy was sound only to reverse himself 3 hours later in a separate campaign outing…and Gov. Palin saying we could be heading to another Great Depression…well, I just can’t trust the Deregulator Guy.

So here we have McCain taking a ‘I’d rather lose an election, than the economy’ stand and you blast him for it… even though he insisted that Obama should be there too.

Some of you are really something…

Tsquare–you’re joking, right?

Few people are THAT stupid to believe that John McCain would rather “lose an election than the economy.” This is pure politics–he’s dodging the debate because a) he’s behind b) he’s behind in LARGE part because of voters’ perceptions about him on the economy c) debates are not his strong suit–he loves the folksy town hall meetings with no moderators and no one to challenge him on his remarks.

Oh yeah–he accuses Obama of being weak on the economy, so why does he desperately need his help…and like anything magical is going to occur within 48 hours when this thing bail-out is being questioned by both sides.

McShame is a political whore of the worst kind. Whatever virtues he had 8 years ago have been sucked dry by his lobbyist staff and his insatiable desire to become prez before he dies…he will say and do anything to win this as has been proven by his repeated lies in his campaign ads, his refusal to answer policy questions from the media and the continuing efforts to keep Caribou Barbie (Palin) shielded from the press lest her Barbie doll circuity should malfunction and springs and wires start poking out from beneath her neck.

Obama shouldn’t let McCain have this one. Call his bluff.
Offer to suspend the campaign after the debate.

The deal is 98% done, moving the candidates to Washington will be more of a distraction than a help. Besides, aren’t Presidents supposed to be able to multi-task? If McCain suspends his campaign for this, how will he handle more than one crisis at a time in the White House, with a hand off to Sara??? This is a stunt to get into the news cycle when he’s got nothing else going for him. Pathetic.

I think that this is a great move that both candidate should embrace. This issue is bigger than a debate which can be rescheduled and to suggest that McCain is afraid of debating Obama…why did he invite Obama to 10 townhall debates of which Obama made it to zero?

After Obama called him privately to suggest a joint statement, and after he agreed to that, it was a dirty trick for McCain to go public with a suggestion to delay the debates.

Rather than look like a sincere, honest man, McCain now looks like just another politician with no integrity.

-News Flash-

Obama has rejected McCain’s call to delay the debate, saying: “This is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess.”

I agree. Lets hear how it is that just a week ago McCain was saying the Economy was fundamentally strong, and how just 2 months ago his economic advisor said : “You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession.” and “We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline. We’ve never been more dominant; we’ve never had more natural advantages than we have today.”

Let the debate happen. I want to hear how this crisis came as a surprise to McCain, because if he can’t see this coming, then may God help us if he becomes the President.

Michael Keating would be proud.

The crisis is big, but the media mouthing is bigger. Someone somewhere is trying to talk the country into a real Depression. The markets are based on faith and optimism that one can work towards a brighter future. I’ve given up on most of the news as long as people are crying “the sky is falling, the sky is falling.” Other than talking heads are panicked, I don’t see much change on the street as yet.

The terms of the bailout which I have heard so far indicate that the Reps want their cake and eat it, too, which they have been doing under the Bush. It’s not the ‘economy’ which is failing, but the the nerve of the kids with their hands in the cookie jar. Fiscal conservatives, my foot!

Mc Cain and Obama are only two Senators out of 100. If the other 98 can’t figure out what to do, we’re in worse shape than I thought. I agree with the person who said make sure no big vote takes place within 4 hours before or during the debate, (and hold both of them to stay informed and cast a vote) but let the fireworks continue.

Mccain and Obama are potential presidential candidates and senators. Even though it sounds like a good idea to represent your state and work on the bill, it would be very counter productive as the media would focus more on them. With this attention other members of their party would be distracted by this and prolong their decision overall in working together in hammering out a bill that satisfies both parties.

Yes, the bailout is big; however, it seems pretty obvious nothing is going to be settled anytime soon. Postponing the debate makes perfect sense for McCain for several reasons

1. It allows him to posture and take the high ground–and look like he’s in charge. It has the added benefit of putting Obama in an uncomfortable position whether he agrees to postpone or not.

2. It makes McCain look like he’s doing something about the economy despite being one of the legislative architects of deregulation and lack of governmental oversight that got us into this mess in the first place.

3. Given his track record for getting himself into trouble when he tries to speak off-script, anything that postpones–or better yet–avoid participating in real debate with a real opponent is in his best interest. This seem particularly true given the number of times he’s stuck his foot in his mouth recently–especially in regard to the economy. BONUS: If Obama refuses to postpone, and if McCain plays his cards right, he might be able to use this as an excuse for not participating in any debates at all.

From where I sit, McCain is doing this to gain leverage. Also, from where I sit, it makes him look like an opportunistic weasel.

We need to solve the problem before the debate, and they are both senators…they should be there doing their job in a time like this. John McCain is right, politically or not, to do this and to also ask for Obama to join him. This is a scary situation.

When exactly did McCain say he’d rather lose the election than the economy. I’ve read every story I could find on this and I have never seen that particular quote. He wants to focus on the nation’s economic problems, which is a good thing, something he should have been doing all those years he was in congress but apparently forgot. Now, six weeks before the election, he wants a time-out so that hopefully they can solve this big crisis. No matter what - debate/no debate - crisis is not going to be “solved” in the next six weeks. It took years of bad legislation, greedy Wall St. bankers and poor decision-making to get us here. Will he next want to postpone the VP debate (sure because they’re afraid to let her talk) and then let’s postpone the election - who really needs a president anyway. The guy isn’t even thinking straight.

Gimmick.

Knowing he will be blown out of the water in any verbal encounter on foreign policy or the economy with Obama, McCane now wants to scurry back to DC to “help fix the financial crisis” and delay (probably inevitably) the debate in Mississippi.

I thought the fundamentals of our economy are strong? I thought McSame had 26 years to change the “old game in Washington”? I thought McDinosaur were one of the ones that called for complete deregulation of our financial system?

McCain has already admitted that the economy is not one of his strengths. If he doesn’t know much about it, other than his previous comments that “regulation is bad, free markets are good”, how can he help get the nation out of this mess? Is he going to have his campaign staff (which is full of lobiests) write the rules of the bailout? It’s all political.

First the convention and now this. What is he trying to hide???

Seems like he is wussing out to me.

When you have nothing but failure to run on, you create distractions. Its the only way a Republican can win, because it sure isn’t on their track records. Given his track can you blame McCain for creating yet another distraction? Let’s face it’s the only way he can get elected. Because it surely isn’t based on his ability to lead and get things done. Unfortunately there are far too many Americans who fall for this tripe.

John McCain has missed more than 63% of all votes cast in the 110th US Congress. He believes that the economy is strong. Exactly what would be the effect of this completely irrelevant Senator with no knowledge of the economy taking a break from the campaign to focus his attention on the economy? I doubt he will be present for any votes on the matter and I know he won’t be sponsoring any legislation. His extra devotion to the economic crisis will probably have about as much of an economic impact as what I decide to have for dinner.

Men that want to be president need to be able to address many complex issues at once. I think that by withdrawing from the debate McCain is showing that he may not be able to do that.

Is it just me or is anyone else tired of this whole process? For 2 years we have had to deal with this endless campaign. November can’t come soon enough for me.

Obama doesn’t need to be there, he’ll probably just vote present if he were, and McCain has been in the Senate forever and hasn’t addressed any of this crap.

In a country of 300 million these are the two best clowns we could come up with for President? This country is in worse shape than we think if that is the case.

McCain said this about himself not too long ago, “I and not an expert on the economy.” What difference does it make if McCain goes back to Washington to help with the bail-out package? He doesn’t know what the hell he is talking about by his own admission. And now his input is so necessary or essential that he feels that the presidential campaign needs to be suspended? Give me a break.

The party of Reagan got us in this mess; this bail-out is the end game of the trickledown economics era as the financial big wigs bail-out and cash out at the same time. Financially, a bail-out is necessary. But it should not be a trickle down bail-out, is should be a trickle up bail-out. Every tax payer gets a bail-out stock or voucher worth 6000.00 or so that matures in 4 years. Don’t give 700 billion to banks for gambling with our money and then losing. Let’s loan it to them and have the financial industry pay the people back with interest.

McCain is remaining true to the office for which he was elected to serve. He is putting his country first, which he has done his entire life. I think it is genuine and sincere. Obama, on the other hand, has put promoting himself politically above serving as a senator since the day he was elected. I am thankful for a candidate who sticks to his values and puts his country first at the sake of his own political opportunities.

I know it is late September, but does this count as our October suprise???!!!

Even if you set aside the fact that everything has to be viewed as political, what can Sens. McCain and Obama impact by skipping one debate?
Besides, doesn’t the package currently proposed by President Bush have to pass throught the House first anyway?

The real question boils down to what both of these guys are supposed to be doing to earn the 6 figure salary that us poor middle class folk work hard to pay our taxes to support. Given the impact that this situation will have on any future administration as well as the common taxpayer for years to come, both of them should get to Washington and work! Earn that salary and show us some real “change”! I personally can’t think of a better opportunity for either of them to show what they are made of. Words and rhetoric are worthless. Actions bring “change”.

I find it hard to support someone who in one speech claims he is the best person that can make a difference for the economy and in another that “If I can be helpful, then I’m prepared to be anywhere, any time.”.

“If I can be helpful”? If he himself isn’t sure that he can be helpful making one of the more critical decisions regarding the economy now, then how can I be sure he can do any of the other things he claims if he becomes president?

Yes a president needs to be able to handle many issues at the same time. That is why a president has a team of advisors. But McCain and Obama are still senators and should be doing their current job before asking for a promotion to a better one.

However, presidents also need to know how to set their priorities. Good intentions or not, which candidate has chosen the right priority here?

McCain is proving that his campaigm theme “country first” has meaning. It sure beats the hell out of Hope and Change, Hope for Change, Change for Hope, Hope that I can change the country, I’ll Change the country where there is no hope by Obama

First Tom is way off. We need someone in office who has the ability to respond to multiple issues at once. John McCain must be able to multi-task. The debates are too important to postpone - let the voters see your position on the issues John!

Senator McCain has held a failed policy supporting banking deregulation since at least 1993 and now wants to try to ‘fix’ it? I don’t think so. I think he still wants to protect the banks and not the people. He was and is part of the problem and hiding in Washington won’t do us any good. I’d rather have him exposed to Senator Obama in debate so everyone can be reminded that he is one of the people that got the country into this mess by deregulating banks.

Suggestions that Obama is not properly addressing the problem as an elected official is a crock, because he is going to Washington tomorrow to do just that.

McCain can easily get on his jet and make the debate after working with Congress on Friday. To say that he can’t, is further proof of his inability to deal with the multitude of problems facing our country at once.

John is going to propose that the first presidential debate be held Tuesday, pushing back the VP debate so Palin has more time to memorize her lines. He knows she is no way ready to discuss the issues (her interview with Couric tonight was embarrassing). The McCain camp is scrambling for more time, and his buddy Bush is trying to help him out. That is why they waited until 2 days before the debate to declare an emergency, when the emergency has been know for some time.

What a disgrace.

How encouraging and astounding the lopsidedness of this discussion.
The overwhelming majority are for continuing with the debate as scheduled for several different reasons.

I’m a nobody and I want the debate to go ahead also.

My hat is off to an impressive group of posts that remained civil and respectful on a very important subject.

Might be the first step towards shutting down the elections to keep King George The Saviour of Rome in place. Keep in mind that Gran-Pappy Prescott Bush tried a military coup to take over in 1933. Then Oliver North tried the same thing with Reagan. Both plans were found out and thwarted but seems now that:

Bush Fulfills His Grandfather’s Dream
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/66505

EITHER YOU SUPPORT THE BAILOUT OR YOU HATE FREEDOM AND WANT THE TERRORISTS TO WIN!!

There I said it! Now lots of Native St. Louisans will support that statement and say that Bush and McCain are on loan from God and here to save us because they love us and want us to be happy.

The End
(I love a Happy Ending)

I’d be scared too, if I had to debate Obama. McCain’s wimping out.

A new twist: now McCain is saying the VP debate should be postponed, too, for sometime in the future in Ole Mississippi.

This is absolutely astonishing. I feel like we’ve entered a mad house. Not a fun house, as there’s nothing fun about it.

Frankly, McCain’s actions are making me doubt the true urgency of this so-called financial crises. Is it a crises? Or is it nothing more than an elaborate plot of the Republicans to keep the events before the election so chaotic, we don’t closely examine the Republican platform or candidate?

Instead of helping, McCain is making it all insanely worse. McCain supporters? Tell your candidate to knock it off. Oh, and to stop being sexist and actually let Sarah Palin talk. This isn’t Saudi Arabia where the women are not allowed to speak.

Unbelievable.

1. The bailout is that big and needs full bipartisan discussions.

2. The debates should go on as scheduled with the topic changed to the economy and housing foreclosures. The “meat and potato” issues the rest of us need to hear about.

3. If the candidates wanted to “appear presidential”, the vote in the Senate could be scheduled mid-way through the debate. They (McCain and Obama) could stop the debate make their respective statements via satellite hookup and cast their vote in front of the whole nation. Now wouldn’t that be some television? Of course then they would be “stuck” with their vote in front of everybody and might not be able to “spin” it easily.

So what happens next week if the crisis gets even bigger…another delay of the debate? What if another crisis happens two days before election day, do we postpone that? And truly, right now, the electoral needs to know more about the candidates. WE need to figure out who we feel will inflate or deflate this crisis. For McCain to delay the debate hinders my decision making process. Who is he to decide if a debate should be delayed….especially if he wants my vote.

This is a financial crises, a national crises, like we’ve never had before. If numbnuts doesn’t understand this, he needs to drop out of the race. The fundamentals - meaning the American worker - of our economy are strong, and only small-minded people can’t understand what McCain was talking about. McCain answered the 3 AM call on this one. He’ll be ready to debate the wimp as soon as business is taken care of in Washington.

The 3 a.m. call was from McCain’s broker, telling him his houses are being foreclosed, and his presidential stock is plummeting.

what a cop out - McCain is not ready for the debate. He’s been reeling for the last 10 days. He’s already admitted that he doesn’t know much about the economy (obvious when he has to read from a script everywhere he goes and it obviously doesn’t resonate as he reads conflicting lines prepared for him by his desparate campaign later in the day, or from one day to the next).

His advisors (lobbyists) got us into this mess in the first place and McCain fell for it then and now seems a pawn for them now. Yeah, the fundamentals of the economy (AND I AM NOT DISSING THE AMERICAN WORKERS HERE JOHN!!!!) are strong - Wow, I’d ask for a delay too…

This is the second rabbit we have seen McCain pull out of his hat. The first, Palin, made for a very flashy political choice, but Huckabee would have filled the social conservative bill much better and with scads more experience to boot. I guess he’s not as “hot” though. Not as much of a conversation piece.

And now, rabbit number two: again, when he feels he lacks momentum, he whips it out. He knows darn well Obama is tops with voters on the economy. So, voila! “See how much I care!!?” C’mon, this is from a vet who actually missed the vote on the Post 9-11 GI Bill. He only cares what he is doing when people are watching. Unfortunately, our seven house-owning, heiress-chasing friend isn’t really fooling anyone. At best, he looks desperate, and at worst, he looks conniving. I smell Karl “Turd Blossom” Rove behind this.

McCain is dropping in the poles, this is an attempt to gain votes and avoid
the debate with Obama. Anyone with one once of sinse knows that it is not neccessary to cancel the debate. McCain is simple trying to draw attention to himself again and look like something that he deffinately is not.

I think that McCain is attempting to avoid a debate with Obama.
While at this same instant make himself look like a great leader.

Does anybody really care about a debate? On a Friday night? Unless you enjoy waiting for the train wreck, the “gotcha” statement (see Lloyd Bentsen vs. Dan Quayle, ‘88), they are dull and uninformative. Only political hacks think debates are important. A well produced TV ad has more influence with the public.

SS,

I care about the debate because voting for the president is important. This is your one chance at input, after this is over, you have to live with the winner for 4 years – no take backs or do overs. But I also know plenty of people who are on the fence, and wanted to watch these debates to help them decide.

You see, we know that a well produced TV ad can make anyone seem presidential. A debate allows you to see them in action. Can they think on their feet? What happens when their handlers aren’t feeding them lines? How do they perform under pressure? This is the first “3am call”, and it looks like McCain is making excuses and letting the machine pick up. Perhaps his handlers are afraid he will be revealed as an out of touch 72 year old with anger issues and a habit of endlessly repeating old war stories. But at least, before the debate dodge, I always assumed he had guts.

McCain should postpone the debate, take advantage of the lull in his campaign, then resign from the race, sending Palin back to live with the Eskimo population before she embarrasses her party and her gender.

A true Leader certainly should be able to juggle both the Crisis and the debate.

The “Goliath” McCain is facing, his “FALLING NUMBERS” and “Our Economic Crisis” has overcome him with fear.

This suspension is ALL about McCain and McCain’s campaign not this Crisis or this country.

And look at all the other DISHONEST REPUBLICAN PUNDITS LYING and knowing that McCain suspending hois campaign was not about this country or the Crisis. They are ALL DISGUSTING for LYING and SPINNING it for ONLY THE POLITICS of McCain’s falling number and his INCOMPETENCE TO EVEN BEGIN TO KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THIS CRISIS.

Why is it that McCain returned a telephone call to Obama saying, “he wanted to postpone the debates” Not saying anything definite then, minutes later McCain “THE WEASLE” was in front of the camera announcing that he was suspending his campaign.

Then a true leader would not have LIED to David Letterman, “McCain stated that he needed to cancel his appearance because he had to right away jump on a plane to Washington because of the financial crisis, but hoped on a plane to New York to the Katy Couric show.

MCCAIN IS JUST PLAIN DISGUSTING! He’s behaving like a little WIMP NOT A TRUE LEADER BECAUSE HE IS NOT!

I am really getting to the point where I don’t like him he is still behaving like the game playing adulteress.

As expected Ole Miss has come out saying how difficult it would be for the college to have the debate canceled. The school spent 5 million on the debate. What was more important to the University, though, was it showing a new face to the world–one that has put aside its Confederate flag days. Now, according to McCain, none of the school’s effort is worth it.

The team in Congress working on the plan have already said neither Obama nor McCain would be helpful or welcome.

However, I doubt that McCain is terribly worried about the debate for himself. This has all the signs of being a way to “push” the presidential debate to St. Louis next week, and the VP debate to some nebulous date in the future (most likely never to happen).

Why? All you have to do is watch the Katie Couric interviews with Sarah Palin to know that the Republicans don’t want her debating Biden. And that’s what happened yesterday that, in my opinion, triggered all of this.

One heartbeat away, folks. One heartbeat away.

As for those saying this is McCain’s duty, then why not Monday? Why not earlier? Why not last week? Why not before meeting with the world leaders the last few days?

Come to that, McCain has missed more Senate votes than most, if not all, other Senators in the last few years. Why does he suddenly remember his “duties” now? He, who has already said he sucks at economics.

As for rallying the troops, he’s appearing at a photo op with the President. Wow. I’m sure that will make all the difference in the world.

No, no, no. This is beyond political. This action can only be termed Machiavellian.

89% of faux news viewers last night said mcsame pulled out of the debate this friday because he put his country 1st…
only 11% said it was a gimmick…
wow!
now we know why jd, sic vis, the lunatic and all the other neo-cons are knuckleheads

McBush wants to pull out of the debate because he fears questions about his LEAD role in the Keating 5 Scandal that led to the bailout of the Savings and Loans. Same Ponzi Scheme as now, just different scum and McCain was one of the scum. McCain’s 3 am call was from his wealthy friends wanting more poker chips via the taxpayers.

It’s a shame that the policies of the Republican party that put us in this mess.The GOP platform embraces as little intervation as possible from the federal government.This gave the greedy banks and large mortrage corporations a blank check to do what they want to do with little or no respercussion.Since these large finicial corporations gave so much money to the GOP,Bush felt it is only “right” to bailed them out.For Bush,I’m sure his check is in the mail.

First, the debate on Friday is about foreign affairs/defense. It is not about the economy. McCain will wipe the floor with Obama during that debate. McCain has been asking for townhall style debates for months but Obama has refused. You liberals have no way to back your candidate on his reasoning except to confirm that Obama is afraid to debate McCain without a prepared speech. Now, if Obama was smart, he would ask to change the debate with McCain to economics to talk about this problem and what to do to jumpstart the economy. THEN, he would have the upper hand.

Secondly, McCain is a sitting Senator who can play a pivotal roll in the bailout discussion. The democrats came out this morning saying that McCain’s roll is important in the discussion because he can bring the Republicans to the table to come up with an agreement with the democrats. McCain needs to be in Washington now..and so does Obama. However, Obama’s only job since becoming a Senator has been to run for the presidency..so it’s no surprise that he doesn’t want to be in Washington. He should be thanking his lucky stars that he might be able to get out of the debate on Friday so he can do more studying. Besides, they can always have the debate next week.

Obama has shown no leadership here except to be a leader among those who don’t want to get involved in the situation.

— Logicprevails
“First, the debate on Friday is about foreign affairs/defense. It is not about the economy. ”

Except that the economy is global which results in a huge overlap between foreign affairs-defense and the economy.
Wanna bet that the economy won’t come up pretty quickly?

“McCain will wipe the floor with Obama during that debate.”
Rule#1 - never underestimate your opponent

I know Obama is willing to continue the debate on schedule.
Why isn’t John?

To Logicprevials:It look like Mc Cain is more whack out than Bush.It look like he only a few steps away from the loony bin.Maybe he was really abused by the Vietcong way back when.Do you really want this man to answer the phone at 3 AM? Do you really want this man to be our president?

First of all, they are both senators (note to “First Tom”).

Clearly this is purely a political stunt. The plan has been 95% resolved and will likely be all but approved before McCain even gets to Washington. Nevertheless, he will no doubt try to take credit for it. Obama will be there are well, doing the same things as McCain, but he will also be able to continue his campaign. He is able to do more than one thing at once.

The debates must go on. McCain and Palin just seem scared right now.

Ron Paul was our best choice in this election. Judging from the comments here, none of you took the time to hear his message.
How many of you know that the Federal Reserve is not a branch of our government? Its a privately owned bank. They print our money, and you the tax payer pays the interest on the loans through the illegal, and non existent federal income tax law. He who makes the money makes the rules. We need to abolish the Fed now. Stop the political party finger pointing, they are all in it together. You want real change? Stop repeating the same process every four years and vote for a 3rd party candidate.
Like Jesse Ventura said, The two party government is comparable to pro wrestling, they give the appearance of being foes of each other, but they are all working together for a common goal.
Knowledge is power people, start seeking the truth. http://www.infowars.com is a good place to start.

Here’s some must see TV

Rather than God-Country-Apple Pie it’s most likely the real reason McCain is maneuvering to jumble up the debate schedule or run out the clock which would result in eliminating a debate or two. I’m guessing the VP debate is the one especially getting their interest.

The last minute - priceless
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Palin_and_Couric.html

One heartbeat away folks. His judgement says she’s ready to be one heartbeat away.

STL, I’m unable to send YouTube videos here but let’s be fair, Biden’s most recent comments have proven that both VP candidates make mistakes are aren’t as sharp as perhaps we would want them to be. I can provide links to many, many websites that quote Biden’s bonehead comments including his comments yesterday regarding television and Franklin Roosevelt, but am not going to waste the time…because everyone here knows about them. Palin has a long way to go to be media savvy but she has a huge problem: every mainstream media interviewer is going to look for gotcha moments with her and every comment that appears to be questionable will be blown way out of proportion. Palin is more under a microscope than any other candidate out there.

I’ve also mentioned why McCain is going to Washington and believe it’s the right course of action. The other comments here regarding what is currently on the table seems to be wrong. Bush’s plan to throw $700 Billion at the problem is in trouble and isn’t passing muster with either party. Look for the Democrats and Republicans to forge a different plan that they can stomach and that the American public can stomach.

McCain can debate next week or the following. Obama doesn’t want to be in Washington because he’ll have to actually have to make a decision and not vote “present”.

Steve665 and poppycock, your knowledge of how we got in this mess seems to be lacking. I can point to many different things that went wrong in both administrations (Clinton and Bush) that lead us down this path. Greenspan, while looking like a hero during his years at the Fed, probably did more harm than good by lowering interest rates. I can point out Barnie Frank and Chris Dodd’s failed leadership in addition to Bush’s failed leadership. McCain was calling for reform as early as 2002, which I have documented in other posts. I have not seen any calls for reform from Obama but would be happy to learn about them here if anyone can get me the website.

I think it’s somewhat amazing and heartening to see both parties desire to work together to get something done here. Perhaps we’re seeing a new kind of Washington? Country First.

— Logicprevails

I respect your views even though we disagree on some things or maybe it’s everything, but we are able to communicate in a civil manner.

I think the policy of McCain’s campaign, to keep her away from the media, has increased the magnification. When you are able, do watch that YouTube video, because what I saw was about 5 minutes of gottcha with the last 15 seconds showing such a lack of preparation or maybe it’s a lack of knowledge on a hot button issue that I concluded it’s “game over”.

I think it unfortunate that John McCain has let Rick Davis run a despicable sleazy campaign, reminiscent of what George Bush did to McCain after New Hampshire in 2000. This year, continuing to run ads that are lies about Obama’s tax plan and Palin’s position on the bridge are two examples that, to me, have destroyed McCain’s credibility. Furthermore, I think an erosion in his credibility is responsible for the gap opening in the recent polls.

When appropriate please do watch that YouTube video. I’m interested in your feedback. I’ll look back here tonight and tomorrow for your response.

Hes doing what he gets pair to do.

I was able to listen to a the part where Couric asked what “specific” things McCain has done in his 26 years in regards to regulating a company. It was a tried and true tactic.

Hell, ask Obama what “specifically” he has accomplished and he’ll stammer and stumble as well.

Are we really that petty that we expect Palin to know McCains every vote in his lifetime?

Did Couric ask Palin what she thought of the bailout? Pakistan firing on our troops? Illegal Immigration?

— Amazedbythelunacy
“Are we really that petty that we expect Palin to know McCains every vote in his lifetime?”

Nope.
But I don’t think it is unreasonable to expect her to know how her boss justifies his new position as being in favor of regulation after a 26 year record of being in favor of deregulation. After all it’s a $700Billion issue right now.

btw, she’s probably got company because I doubt if Biden or Obama could have come up with any specifics about
what McCain has done in his 26 years in regards to regulating a company.

STL, will do. I appreciate our civil discourse as well. I have heard about Palin’s response and, if true, it sounds like a pathetic response to Couric. STL, you have held my feet to the fire here and I’ve learned that I better be on my “A” game when I’m making comments..and would expect Palin to do the same thing. If she mentions McCain’s regulation stance, she should have specifics. I would agree with Amazed that Obama would stammer as well IF he was asked about specific accomplishments…but I don’t believe he has been asked that.

With that said, in remarks earlier about campaigns and McCain lowering himself with “lies” about Obama, Obama has also done the same in some of his ads, including the Spanish ad and the one mentioning McCain not using email (war injuries prevent him from doing this). This type of campaigning, though, has been going on since our country was founded. In fact, language towards candidates used to be downright “salty”.

If the mainstream media can get past their “gotcha” questions and focus on the kind of questions that Amazed brings up, I think we’ll have a better idea what the candidates are all about. Remember Charlie Gibson’s question to Palin about the Bush Doctrine? Palin was right when she threw it back at Gibson asking “which part?” or something like that. There are a couple of parts to the Bush Doctrine, including pre-emptive strikes and sowing the seeds of democracy throughout the world…but Gibson haughtily responded like she didn’t know that. THOSE are the types of gotcha moments that I think the McCain camp are trying to prevent with their tight control of Palin (similar to the tight control of Obama..and soon, Biden).

— Logicprevails

” In fact, language towards candidates used to be downright “salty”.’
Your are right, as I learned during a visit to the Lincoln museum in Springfield IL earlier this year. I was astounded at the cruelty of the political cartoons against Lincoln, the candidate and the president. I did not notice “salty” but I was very surprised at the tone.

I think the McCain’s sheltering Palin has resulted in increasing the pressure on her. As I’ve stated I think her credentials, her resume, is way to short for the VP. Sigh, i expect we disagree.

About the ads, I guess we just see them differently.

Hopefully both candidates will be in the auditorium in Mississippi tomorrow night.

fyi - my best friend is a Republican. Rarely vocal but really dug in - but I’m really pressing.

-STL, well, I watched the video and I was not impressed with either women! Palin seemed a bit uneasy and I don’t think her answers were impactful. I did think that she initially answered Couric’s question about McCain trying to reform the system a few years back but Couric wanted more examples…which is where I take issue with her. I’m not sure any Governor could come up with other examples. Biden could..because he has been in the senate for awhile (but, of course, he would not volunteer that information). If Couric was known as a tough interviewer of both parties and was known to ask the minutia of questions, then Palin would have had to really do her homework on the number of times McCain brought the reform issue up..which was in 2000 and 2005 I believe. Couric is also a partisan interviewer and has admitted to being a democrat…so I’ll have to give Palin a little leeway..but only a little.

I think Biden has the upper hand when it comes to the debate because of his vast amount of time in Washington and knowing the ins and outs of the different facets. However, I would question whether we want more of the same for a President and VP or if we really want a senator known to cross party lines and a VP candidate who is not a Washington insider.

Funny, I have a couple of liberal friends and recently got into some very heated discussions with them (different venues)…and we agreed not to discuss politics for awhile. We also agreed that beer and politics don’t mix!

Fun times ahead!

— Logicprevails

McCain Blinks - He’s going to Mississippi

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-ap-candidates-debate,0,1384728.story

-Yep..he went to Washington, where he needed to be as a sitting senator, and now he’ll go and win a debate. Country first, debate second. STL, I’ll not be able to get computer access on Monday so I’ll have to win our debate on Tuesday!

— Logicprevails
“STL, I’ll not be able to get computer access on Monday so I’ll have to win our debate on Tuesday!”

There are many good posts at the link below.
My thoughts on the debate pop up a few times amongst the crowd. My posts relating to some rowdies increasing the noise-to-signal ratio are not directed at you. You post with civility.

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/talk-of-the-day/talk-of-the-day/2008/09/debate-no-1-in-mississippi-did-it-change-your-vote/all-comments/#comments

It never was suspended; it was a desperate move to look like a Superhero by “convincing House members to vote for the bailout”. Except problem was, he is not IN the House, he is a Senator. And the House Republicans don’t like McCain, partly because they don’t trust him. And they already had a plan BEFORE he arrived. McCain is so extremely impulsive that he makes these horrible, rash decisions to “boost” his dreadfully sagging campaign. But these decisions aren’t thoughtful; they are impulsive and frankly, rather insane, and of course they constantly backfire on him. McCain really needs to be on some medication; it’s pretty sad, really, and Palin is just another example of his badly impulsive decision-making. Now the campaign is scrambling to the point of nearly constant lying to media, and just shouting over the Democrats. I have smelled desperation all week in the McCain campaign.