McCain suspends campaign temporarily and asks for postponement of debate

[MODU]

Interesting action.  I'll have to check to see if there were any similar suspensions in prior elections.

[MODU]

According to the AP, the Obama camp is not saying they support suspending the campaign or the debates at this moment.

[MODU]

where are you getting this from?

According to the AP, Obama's campaign called McCain's campaign at 8:30, then McCain called Obama at 2:30.

[MODU]

where are you getting this from?

According to the AP, Obama's campaign called McCain's campaign at 8:30, then McCain called Obama at 2:30.

thanks.  link?

Link

Why would Mccain want to ditch the debate on foreign policy? That makes no sense. In any case the debate will be postponed and not canceled right?

The McCain camp says they want the bill resolved before the Markets open on Monday, so delaying the debate to say Tuesday of next week would make sense according to their goal.

[MODU]

This is actually a great time for both candidates to look bipartisan.

I think the proper term would be non-partisan.

[MODU]

Political  theatre at it's finest. I really hope people don't buy this bullsh*t.

there is no reason Obama and McCain can't suspend campaigning until this bill gets passed this weekend.  they can reschedule the debate to Tuesday.

I think whatever this is should have happened awhile ago instead of two days before the debate. I guess its a good idea but then again it just seems rather silly.

I assume that both candidates thought the bill would be finalized and ready to be voted upon before today, which is why Obama and McCain talked about doing a joint statement.

[MODU]

Agree to the suspension, but suggest the debate go ahead with the economy as the main issue.

That's what the Obama camp should do.

Talk versus action, my friends.  Talk versus action.

That would be "ACTA NON VERBA."

[MODU]

A suspension and a change of debate topic would be the best compromise.

How about change it from a foreign policy debate to a roundtable discussion on the economic discussions going on in Washington, and have them explain why they support or object to different parts of the bill?  That way it will be more informative than a debate, it will come across as non-partisan, and might actually be beneficial.

[MODU]

A suspension and a change of debate topic would be the best compromise.

How about change it from a foreign policy debate to a roundtable discussion on the economic discussions going on in Washington, and have them explain why they support or object to different parts of the bill?  That way it will be more informative than a debate, it will come across as non-partisan, and might actually be beneficial.

I like this better than suspending a campaign over all of this.

There are days where I think we would do better at running campaigns/the country than 'the professionals.'

[MODU]

Here's another thing: this bill will not pass if it makes Barack Obama look bad. The Democrats control Congress, they have the numbers, and such a bailout will not pass if it paints Obama in the corner.

The more and more I think about this, the more and more I think the McCain campaign really ed up. They gambled and they will lose here. This might have worked if the GOP was still in charge of Congress.

And if nothing gets done, who gets the blame?  The Democratic controlled Congress who doesn't want to hurt the fragile image of Obama.  Does that make any sense?

[MODU]

Here's another thing: this bill will not pass if it makes Barack Obama look bad. The Democrats control Congress, they have the numbers, and such a bailout will not pass if it paints Obama in the corner.

The more and more I think about this, the more and more I think the McCain campaign really ed up. They gambled and they will lose here. This might have worked if the GOP was still in charge of Congress.

And if nothing gets done, who gets the blame?  The Democratic controlled Congress who doesn't want to hurt the fragile image of Obama.  Does that make any sense?

If nothing gets done, both sides get blamed equally, and the focus is back on President Bush.

Advantage? Democrats.

I would say that would be a disadvange to the Democrats, as they are the responsible party for putting together the package, compliments to all of their hearings on the matter.

[MODU]

Am I the only one who thinks it might not be such a good idea for McCain to be seen as closely associated with the bailout?

If the bailout is successful and the market recovers, McCain will all but win in a landslide.  If the bailout fails, McCain loses in a landslide.  It's worth the risk sometimes.

[MODU]

Here's the problem with that... there are only 41 days until the election.. there is no way the bailout can work in that amount of time.. and even if the market bottoms.. sentiment will take a while to come back

Am I the only one who thinks it might not be such a good idea for McCain to be seen as closely associated with the bailout?

If the bailout is successful and the market recovers, McCain will all but win in a landslide.  If the bailout fails, McCain loses in a landslide.  It's worth the risk sometimes.

There will be plenty of initial signs showing whether or not the bailout is successful.