>>>>>>>>John McCain announced yesterday that he is suspending his campaign to help deal with the financial crisis. He said he would not participate in tomorrow night's scheduled Presidential debate if the Senate has not passed a bill in response to the administration's bailout proposal. Barack Obama said he wants the debate to proceed as scheduled.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Thoughts?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>It's all politics.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>McCain has taken a notable hit in the polls in the last 2 weeks and has lost the post-Palin/Convention momentum due to the financial crisis. He needed another big moment to regain ground. Obama has provided it by stumbling through his response to McCain's decision and then reversing his decision about returning to Washington. In the end will it matter? Not likely. This race is down to the debates.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Frankly, I think the debate topic should be changed from foreign policy to finance and go forward.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Amazingly enough, we are on the same wavelength. (Not so amazing really). There's a lot of political posturing going on. McCain's is easy to see, trying to take the high ground of putting the country first when actually this addresses the recent poll drop you mention, specifically the perception of his ability to handle the economic crisis. I gave him the benefit of the doubt until I found out he announced his campaign suspension unilaterally, after he and Obama had discussed it in vague terms.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Obama and his forces are playing it, too, in reaction. They have a point -- why don't you want to debate? -- but it's going to be lost in the helicopter whir of a campaign in its last few weeks. The election is sucking everything around it, even a(n) historic financial crisis, into its own vortex. Whoever wins is going to get a nasty surprise when he is handed the reins.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Call me a sap (sap!) but I genuinely hoped this campaign, between these two men, would be conducted on a higher plain. Maybe one of them will surprise me yet.
>>>>>
>>>>>http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/stephanopoulo-4.html
>>>>>
>>>>>ABC News' George Stephanopoulos reports: If Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain doesn't vote for the Bush administration's $700 billion economic bailout plan, some Republican and Democratic congressional leaders tell ABC News the plan won't pass.
>>>>>
>>>>>"If McCain doesn't come out for this, it's over," a Top House Republican tells ABC News.
>>>>>
>>>>>A Democratic leadership source says that White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten has been told that
>>>>>Democratic votes will not be there if McCain votes no -- that there is no deal if McCain doesn't go along.
>>>>
>>>>I'm not sure about that. He has never been quite that influential within the Senate. What is clear is the Democrats want him to come out for it. They want him to put his stamp on an unpopular measure by an unpopular President.
>>>
>>>Interesting the information came from Republican and Democratic congressional leaders... You may not be sure of that, but they are :o)
>>
>>Well, gosh, if it came from Republican and Democratic congressional leaders, that's authoritative (g). Come on, you know political posturing when you see it. The spinners who can't stop spinning have inserted themselves into the picture and I wish they hadn't.
>
>FWIW, I can imagine that R's in Congress want McCain behind it as cover for themselves. "We were doing what the new leader of our party asked us to do."
>>
>
>>The funny thing is I bet McCain and Obama will be pretty good pals the rest of their lives, if they aren't already. They just happen to want the same thing now. I thought it was interesting that McCain called up Obama to propose the campaign moratorium in the first place. On his cell phone, do you think?
>
>The way I heard it, Obama called McCain first to propose a joint statement. Then McCain unilaterally announced his moratorium.
>

OK. I read that McCain called Obama.

I wish they had talked and suspended the campaign bilaterally. Those are the candidates I want to believe in. Dreamer.