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

Republican John McCain says he's directing his staff to work with Barack Obama's campaign and the debate commission to delay Friday's debate because of the economic crisis.

Flanking McCain were former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, his one-time rival for the GOP presidential nomination, and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman.

Where is his ass-tute selection for VP? ...shouldn't she be flanking him?

I do agree with him on this and am frankly surprised he's saying this:

McCain renewed his insistence that the bailout deal have greater transparency, oversight and CEO accountability to make it acceptable to voters.

My guess he'd feel very differently if he election wasn't looming near.

"Thain was the best-paid corporate executive in the U.S. in 2007, receiving approximately $83.1 million in salary and bonuses that year."

Where can I get a rape kit?

Where can I get a rape kit?

You can buy one in Wasilla AK, they sell them there, but there is a catch.

Obama: The debate is on.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/mccain-not-comm.html

Could backfire on Obama, if he isn't careful.

I suspect they intend to hammer the subject while it's fresh in people's mind, but given neither McCain or Obama are on the committees masticating the bill(s), I'm not sure what they're planning to do if they're not introducing something new.

Wait for McCain to refuse to show, saying that he's taking a "leadership" role in Senate to "fix" the economy while Obama plays politics.

I think McCain was using the financial crises as an excuse; he is beginning to trail more in the polls and I am sure he is aware that the economy will be to him as it was to George Bush Sr.

Obama is right to want to go forward with the debates, because it does indeed show that the potential leaders are capable of addressing more than one issue at a time. There is not enough that either candidate can be doing in Washington to warrant skipping the debate, and neither candidate is in a position on any committee relevant to the legislation that they would need to be anywhere other than at the debate site.

And, let us keep in mind what affect there has been on the town where this debate is to take place, and how people and businesses would be impacted if the rug were pulled out from under their feet at this late date.

The debates must go on (the spice must flow).

Wait for McCain to refuse to show, saying that he's taking a "leadership" role in Senate to "fix" the economy while Obama plays politics.

you almost think Obama is begging for this to happen. He can then turn it around saying you had 20 years to fix this blah blah blah perhaps?

Guess what I just saw 90 seconds ago? A new McCain ad attacking Obama on the specific issue of the economic crisis and the bailout plan.

I'ma thinking the McCain campaing is honestly scared of poor showing in the debate alongside headlines concerning the abysmal failure of GOP economics. thats a 1-2 punch they can ill afford this late in the game.

Truthfully Johns a fairly smart guy but i wouldnt be all that confident myself in taking on Barak on national television.

wait for mccain to refuse to show, saying that he's taking a "leadership" role in senate to "fix" the economy while obama plays politics.

country first!

I'ma thinking the McCain campaing is honestly scared of poor showing in the debate alongside headlines concerning the abysmal failure of GOP economics. thats a 1-2 punch they can ill afford this late in the game.That's my thinking too - running scared. The problem is, I think this is a brilliant move. Slimy, but very clever and well paid.

What Obama should do is agree to return to Washington while having his staff continue the campaign in force, including playing prerecorded speeches. He could demonstrate that as a president he can deal with two crisis/significant issues at once, while McCain can only handle one.

He handled it well, imo. The Commission said the debate will go on w/ or w/o McCain, and Obama said the American people need to hear from the person that will lead them in 40 days. Basically called him out for hiding from it.

You know that...I know that...the 40% or so of American voters still blindly following McCain, well, will they get it?

McCain wants to delay the VP debate as well!!!!

vMQxDprCVbE

What Obama should do is agree to return to Washington while having his staff continue the campaign in force, including playing prerecorded speeches. He could demonstrate that as a president he can deal with two crisis/significant issues at once, while McCain can only handle one.

That would be brilliant. "Multitasking Is Patriotic" could be the tagline. McCain could respond with: "What's Multitasking?" :D

After seeing this and the interview of Palin with Katy Couric I am just frankly amazed that anyone would consider McCain a viable leader. The GoP ticket is so dreadful it makes one wonder if it wasn't somehow meant to be so shitty. I mean honestly has anyone who actually supports them... heard Palin talk to the press? I feel sorry for her sort of.

The ticket is designed to test whether the GOP now has full control of elections in this country. If this ticket can win, the GOp must have complete control over elections in this country.

/tin foil hat off :)

Lol I thought this was funny http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/25/obama-will-make-debate-a_n_129250.html

Looks like Obama is calling Mccains little "Im suspending my campaign to save the economy" political stunt bluff. I get the feeling Mccain was hoping Obama would have joined him and called the debate off. (I hear his campagin wanted to cancel the VP debate and instead do the first Presidential debate on that night, Palin must not be inspiring a whole lot of confidence P.)

Looks like if Mccain dont show up, Obama will turn it into a Townhall Q and A for 2 hours on all the major networks, free of charge. A huge platform to Define his postions and to trash Mccains to over 10 million + viewers on primetime.

I bet you anything Mccains ass will be there with bells on. Theres no way on gods green earth he can be stupid enough to allow that lol.

It is definitely not smart of McCain to suddenly ditch the debate.

I bet the town and university that is hosting it, especially after having spent millions of dollars in preparation, will not be pleased either.

The Note: You Break It . . .
'Pottery Barn' Rule Bites McCain, As Deal Collapses and Debate is in Doubt

By RICK KLEIN with HOPE DITTO
Sept. 26, 2008
http://a.abcnews.com/images/Site/byline_abcnews.gif
[/URL]

OXFORD, Miss. -- Sen. John McCain may or may not have broken the bailout bill -- and surely he didn't do so all by himself.
But he owns it now. In the battle over perceptions, it really is this simple: There was a deal before McCain came back to Washington. There was not a deal by the time the evening ended. And now there might not be a bill -- or a first presidential debate Friday in Mississippi.

http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/nm_mccain_080707_mn.jpg
Some gambles go bust: John McCain's bold decision to head to Washington now jeopardizes both the critical bailout bill and the crucial first presidential debate, as Republican objections create a political thicket for the GOP nominee.

(http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/comments?type=story&id=3105288)

Holding that very heavy bag are McCain and his GOP colleagues in Congress. Steve Schmidt gets his wish: McCain is in the middle of the action -- amid friendly fire, political gamesmanship, competing loyalties, reelection fights, and a White House with no juice left.

(And, oddly, the whole distraction has an upside for Team McCain: We're not talking about Gov. Sarah Palin, whose slow media rollout is maybe not going slow enough. (http://townhall.com/content/5525c5e0-f4c0-461e-bcf1-c83ff419628f))

"Democrats immediately blamed McCain for disrupting the effort at compromise, saying his decision to suspend his campaign and return to Washington shifted the klieg lights of the White House contest to the tense and delicate congressional negotiations," Michael D. Shear and Jonathan Weisman write in The Washington Post. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/25/AR2008092504603.html)
Oh yes, the debate.

We know that at least half of this strange non-team that saw the bailout bill go from done deal to just plain done Thursday at the White House will be making the trip to Ole Miss.

Sen. Barack Obama's A team is already in Oxford, Miss., for a debate that would be fraught with symbolism and historical significance even if its very existence wasn't still in doubt.
"Come hell or high water, we're going to Oxford," an Obama press aide said late Thursday, per ABC's Sunlen Miller.

ABC's George Stephanopoulos (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/stephanopoulo-7.html): "If McCain fails to show up, officials are mulling turning the first presidential debate into a town hall meeting where the Democratic presidential candidate takes questions from the audience and from the debate moderator PBS's Jim Lehrer."
We don't know whether McCain, having staked the near-term fate of his campaign to a bailout bill that members of his party absolutely loathe (and that even he seems unsure about whether he should embrace), will be making the trip. The McCain traveling press pool is assembling at 8:30 am ET, "just in case" they have to leave Washington quickly, per ABC's Bret Hovell.

This may all get worked out in plenty of time for McCain to get his moment. Maybe he will be cast as the deal's savior. Maybe this thing is such a bear that he shouldn't be seen as saving it -- not in its current form. Maybe the debate goes off as scheduled and this will all be a footnote.
The framework agreed to between the White House, Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans, and House Democrats remains in place -- and while it's too late to squeeze in a vote before Friday night, a deal could still come together, Stephanopoulos reported on "Good Morning America" Friday.

Regarding McCain's participation in Oxford: "It's way up in the air right now."

Is this what McCain bargained for?
The would-be savior "found himself in the midst of a remarkable partisan showdown, lacking a clear public message for how to bring it to an end," The New York Times' Adam Nagourney and Elisabeth Bumiller write. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/us/politics/26campaign.html) "As a matter of political appearances, the day's events succeeded most of all in raising questions about precisely why Mr. McCain had called for postponing the first debate and returned to Washington to focus on the bailout plan, and what his own views were about what should be done."

[url]http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=3105288&page=1

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080926/ap_on_el_pr/candidates_debate

McCain will attend the debate. Nice grandstanding Pappy.

nm, he already won it

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/images/26Sep_Friday_WSJ.JPG

I agree, the Treasury Plan is unfair to taxpayers....

I agree, the Treasury Plan is unfair to taxpayers....

stop shitting up the thread and go back to free republic.

Wiggo, look! If you stare at the pic long enuff, he's giving you the 'evil eye'!!!!

McCain: “My understanding is the details have to do with money.”

McCain's debate notes leaked!

http://www.236.com/blog/w/lee_camp/leaked_john_mccains_debate_rem_9143.php

The most telling comments regarding this mess for me came when McCain replied to a question regarding his not going to the debate with a petulant comment "You know, I asked Senator Obama to commit to several town-hall meetings, and he declined."

McCain is back to desperation mode, with Palin's short-lived bump to his numbers now disappearing as folks are seeing her as the gimmick she represents and not anyone closely ready to engage at this level of politics.

I continue to hear folks from all sides of the spectrum say they feel insulted by McCain adamantly stating that she is ready to lead the country if it came to that.

Well that was about what I expected. McCain lied through his teeth in almost every question and was disgustingly pandering and contemptuous. Seemed like he was given the last word every time though.

I am even more disgusted with McCain now... and whats up with both candidates being oblivious to the fact that Iran has no Republican Guard... That was Iraq.

Iran has the Revolutionary guard! DUH!

So someone tell me about Palin skipping out on participating, please :) I missed the debate, was at work.

*edit to make it legible, stupid cell phone posting*

I think this debate will harken some comparisons to the first debate in which Nixon's appearance cost him the election; McCain did not give the appearance of someone I would want running the country, much less having the nuclear codes. There were several occasions when he looked close to a physical outburst, and his eyes had a glassy, menacing look to them.

And he was making shit up on the fly, like the phony story about Ike's letter of resignation.

As a debate coach, I have to disagree. I thought McCain came across very strong, much stronger than I expected, and Obama seemed very weak. McCain was much better at using solid examples and facts - even though many of them were irrelevant - and Obama did a poor job of answering many of McCain's challenges until the end.

At the end, they both finally warmed up. McCain started looking angry, and Obama started fighting back. If I were scoring it as a debate round, I probably would have sided with McCain.

That said, I still liked Obama's points better, he just didn't do so hot at the delivery.

No better thread to post this in.

I am furious at this election. The fact that one of the top candidates, for example, is Palin, a woman full of flaws and no experience. The ignorance demonstrated by American voters. The lies being spread about offshore drilling by both parties.

But the kicker - the stupid part of the debate where they discussed how horrible it would be for the president of the US to sit down with a leader from a country we disagree with. As if having the president sit down with, say, the leader of North Korea somehow gives them more power. FUCK THAT! The first thing I ask students who come to me with problems with their peers is, "Have you talked to the other person yet?" So what, the best way to handle situations is to first bully a sovereign nation into accepting our terms? I expected it from McCain, but Obama barely disagreed.

The US needs to figure out that we are not the end all of governments, not the world's police, and not always right. Maybe if we treated other nations with respect, as equals, Putin for example wouldn't be playing games with us, Ahmadinejad might come across as moderate, and maybe we'll head off significant future wars. But no, we'd rather pander to ignorant voters and pretend like diplomacy is a last resort?

Thing is Kanyli, the formal points for a presidential debate rarely have much to do with how most people experienced the debate. When looking at how the 2 displayed themselves, Obama was calm, cool, and maybe even the cliched "presidential," while McCain looked angry, irritable, contemptuous, and old.

100% agreed with your 2nd post.

Yep, I totally agree with your 'furious rant'!

I don't know from my viewpoint it seemed to me at least in the beginning and middle Obama was getting flustered (almost whiney) at all McCain was saying, he was repeatedly trying to interject at almost everything McCain said. So to me he looked a little weak and McCain looked strong, god help us =\ But by the middle I was so sick of hearing about Henry Kissinger and how to talk to leaders of a foreign country that I was disgusted. Neither one adequately covered the economic crisis to my satisfaction and if anything Obama scared me with all the things he wants to do/add all I could think of was where is this money going to come from? So I when I heard McCain saying that he'd put a freeze on things I was happy until he kept on and on and on about how he can't be called "Miss Congeniailty" of the Senate. Not to mention his ridiculous health care plan. They both scare, they infuriate me, and I will not vote for either.

....why do we accept this from the ones who will lead this country? It disgusts me that the debates seem more like a sneaky way to attack the other person rather than sincerely debate the issue. Not like the media and talk show hosts didn't help drum that up though eh? I'm ashamed at us and our citizens for encouraging a culture where name calling and smooth talking is what wins elections.

All I have to say was that that was night and day better than the 2004.

Yea, I thought Obama was going to walk all over McCain, but quite the opposite happened in my opionion. I think Obama has some work to do to convince the American people hes our man. I wished he had stomped on McCain but the old coot held his ground, although he reference Regan one to many times.

I think if you went into it without knowing anything about current events, McCain held his own. If you realized how often and to what magnitude he was lying, it made him look like even more a scumbag than ever.

Obama needed to pin him down on those lies somehow. I don't know how you pin down such a brazen liar though, in that setting.

All he had to do was nail that comment about Al Qaeda and Iran (who hate each other) joining forces if we pull out of Iraq and that would have been game over. Obama is getting focus-grouped into pablum like so many other candidates who are told they have to "simplify it for the common plebes."

Obama could have pinned him on:

The letter of resignation Ike never wrote;

his impassioned portrayal of himself as being a strong supporter of our veterans, which his voting record belies;

his flip-flopping (ala Kerry) on the Bush tax cuts (he was against them before he was for them);

his continued shift of talking about the $18 billion in earmark spending rather than the $300 billion the tax cuts are taking from our revenue stream;

his flippant lyrics of "Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran" and the implied threat to Iran and also the implication he is willing to sacrifice more American troops for a cause that has not been proven, only suspected.


McCain's demeanor was an offset, IMO, to his marks on experience and knowledge of foreign policy. He refused to engage Obama as Lehrer asked a number of times; he looked angry often, and used snide sideways comments to attack Obama (the sub-committees I chair attend to their business, or something like that); and he interrupted Obama on a number of occasions when Obama was making a closing point, to get the last word in on the topic.

McCain wants to be President in the worst way, and in many ways he is a good candidate. If he had not resorted to desperation in his VP pick, he may have gained more ground with the debate. After watching that debate, and the Couric interview with Palin, I am simply dumbfounded that people would be comfortable with those two running the country. McCain would continue the Bush/Cheney policies and our country would continue to slide downward; and Palin.....well, is Palin.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/110740/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Moves-50-42-Lead.aspx

Sucks to be Iran, Pakistan, or anywhere else some sort of crisis favoring McCain can pop up before November.

NPR had a great segment Friday of Around the World, worth listening to if they have a copy on the website. Five former secretaries of state were on, including Powell, Albright, Baker, Kissenger, and forgive me I missed the name of the fifth. It was fascinating to listen to, especially realizing how brilliant and experienced some of these individuals are/were. I'm fairly certain it was Albright who made the statement that sitting down to talk with leaders of any regime does not make the US weaker, it in fact makes us stronger because we invite them to talk and look for solutions. The others seemed to agree, and I suspect that if she were not in office, Rice would agree as well.

Fortunately, McCain, Palin, and Obama (I don't recall Biden's rambling answer) are all smarter that these folks, and they know better than to sit and have a talk without first threatening the other nation with excessive terms and restrictions.

I suspect that if Obama didn't need to cater to idiot voters worried about them Ay-rabs, he wouldn't have agreed.