The Debate needs to be on--the American people need to be informed and the debate at this time is MORE important than ever--I don't think we should substitute for the Veep debate--NO!

Thanks for the tick-tock, Steve. It occurred to me that McSame's gimmick would have been more credible had it come last Friday, or even over the weekend, when the AIG bailout suggested how bad things were, or when Paulson and Bernanke first floated the bailout idea. But to campaign for 4 days and then decide it is a crisis actually looks worse. Like McCain didn't recognize it even while most of official Washington was in on the discussion.

What a maroon. Hopefully everyone (Fox obviously already excepted) will call this for what it is.

Reid to McLiar (translated): "Stay out of my Senate, asshole"...

Give 'em hell Harry!

I think it is due more to the infighting within the campaign regarding Davis and the $15,000 per month. The Schmditt side probably is using this to force Davis out and it is easier to suspend the campaign and resolve the internal issues then acknowledge the internal breakdowns. Secondly, blaming the economy has taken the Davis issue out of the news cycle - one of McCain's favorite campaign techniques - win the news cycle.

The sad thing is that the media continues to play right along even though they have been burned so many times by McCain.

Frankly, I'm concerned that this was planned by McCain and Bush. Remember, after all, that Bush had been working on a plan for Wall Street for months. Interesting, isn't it that they threw this on America in September (what did Andrew Card say back in August 2002---from a marketing standpoint, you can't sell something before Labor Day). I think this was planned. I think it is one of several things that the Bush administration has in its coffers in an attempt to alter the results of the election to keep Republicans in the White House. The other big one is happening over in Pakistan as we speak. The Bush administration is willing to sacrifice good relations with Pakistan in order to get Bin Laden before the election. That's why we keep hearing of incursions into Pakistani territory. This will continue and get more heated up until the election.

Harry Reid said: "We need leadership; not a campaign photo op."

Well, that's fine for you Senator Reid, but John McCain desperately needs a campaign photo op.

This is how I think Obama should respond:

“While I appreciate and share Senator McCain’s sense of urgency, I deeply disagree that the solution is to suspend the Presidential campaign. The American people deserve and will get a robust and honest conversation about the root of our current problems and our plans to move us forward. This campaign and Friday’s debate are the best possible venues for having that conversation. Therefore, I urge Senator McCain to reconsider his proposal and join me Friday night to discuss openly and publicly the best way forward for the American people.

I agree wholeheartedly with Sen. McCain that we need to work urgently toward a bi-partisan solution to the financial crisis. I will accept his request to meet with him tomorrow in Washington DC to meet with Congressional leaders and members of the Executive branch to hammer out a fast, effective solution that adheres to the core principles I outlined yesterday. At the same time, I believe it is absolutely essential that we maintain the integrity of our democratic process. In America, we do not suspend Democracy in the face of crisis. We accelerate it. The answer to our problems is not more closed-door meetings with Washington and Wall Street elites and less questions from the American people. No, we must openly and honestly face the American people to outline the very different visions Sen. McCain and I have for getting this country back on track. We must have the debate as scheduled and continue the campaign. America deserves nothing less.�

This speaks to McLame's lack of fitness for duty. He's doubling down and rolling the dice again, betting the rent and grocery money in a vain attempt to stem the flow of independent voters flocking to Obama in the vake of his dishonesty and incoherence. Letting McPOW anywhere near the Whitehouse is like letting your crackhead cousin borrow your car. Stupid.

Why is the Clinton Global Initiative more important than (1) the presidential debates and (2) attending to the crisis that has caused him to suspend his campaign?

SecularAnimist @ 4:29 PM

Literal LOLZ!!!

:D

You're wrong, Steve. John McCain's Commission just worked really, really quickly. They figured out how serious this issue was in nothing flat -- way faster than the 9/11 Commission. That's what I call efficient leadership!

He's injured. His health is visibly failing. They simply don't want to risk any close-ups on Friday, as he's fumbling about on the issues and people get a zoom-in look on his eye and skin.

He's not a healthy man, and should never have run for president at his age.

It's on! It's on! It's on like Donkey Kong! It's on like Red Dawn! It's on like Charles Bron-son!

I hope Obama tells us he is perfectly capable of multi-tasking and believes the electorate NEEDS to observe the candidates under pressure to assess their ability - the debate is on. Perhaps McCain can consult with Sarah on how to craft a solution. Or not.

If this really stemmed from McCain's sincere desire to address the financial crisis, he would have called Obama and arranged a joint statement. Instead, he issues a call for bipartisanship -- unilaterally. This stunt's very transparency will preclude it from being effective. Prediction: He falls on his face again.

Change the debate to the economy, stupid!

The recent pictures of him with one sagging eye rrrreallly suggest that he's had a mild stroke.

Just sayin'

my take:

With the Davis mess, bad new polling, Palin problems, economic gaffes, and a debate rapidly approaching, the McCain campaign panicked and had to find a way to hit the "pause" button.

Politically, the bailout issue gave them some cover, so they took it, but the underlying dynamic was that they were in freefall and needed to do anything to regroup.

I think they are trying to cancel the debate for this reason rather than have to cancel because he's sick. I mean, look at him.

This has gone far enough. Those of us with parents in their 70's and 80's know that when short term memory starts to go, the ability to process new/different situations is also compromised. If someone had been a druggie for 5 years while in their 20's, or had been incarcerated in a maximum security penitentiary for a similar period, we'ed be asking serious questions about long-term mental effects. Why is spending 5 years as a POW any different? How you got there is not the point, it's the long-term effects of the confinement. A public debate on McCain's mental condition is way overdue.

(sigh).

If only Obama had agreed to those weekly town hall debates, there'd be no need to cancel this one.

Hail Mary Pass, Extraordinaire..

McCain now states he will remove campaign ads during the crisis?

So let me get this straight...the guy who was a chief architect in the deregulation that led to this mess wants to suspend his campaign so he can return to Washington to...what?....mess it up some more? Incredible.

Perhaps because McCain has so many banking lobbyists on his staff, that they all need to stop campaigning so they can lobby congress during this debacle.

I just want to remind everyone that Obama could have avoided all this by agreeing to 700 billion town meeting appearances instead of just three debates. The coward....

"Following September 11th, our national leaders came together at a time of crisis. We must show that kind of patriotism now."JM 9/24/08

Hmmmm. I suspect that the direction of our country may be changed forever once Wealthcare goes into effect.

I am not so happy with how "patriotism" has been demonstrated since 9/11. We have an endless war, a huge new branch of government came into being (DHS), and now we are faced with bank rolling a mother of all bailouts under the guise of "national security."

John has to be there. He wouldn't miss this party for a measly debate, and a self-imposed break from heated questions while on the campaign trail is welcome.

Obama should say, "Senator, regarding suspending the debates and depriving the American voters of an opportunity to listen to each of us and make up their minds about our proposals, I respectfully must say "thanks, but no thanks."

"If you feel that the other 533 members of Congress, including the bi-partisan leadership and committees that are already addressing these matters, need some special insight from you that you've not shared with us as yet, why don't you give Senator Dodd or Senator Shelby a call and let them know what your position is? I'm sure they'd welcome a phone call.

"I don't know, but this seems like another calculated political move by a desperate politician and his campaign at exactly the moment when this is least needed by an already shaky economy and the Americans most affected.

"I'll be in Mississippi on Friday to share my vision with the American people, not just with the politicians in Washington who got us into this mess in large measure. They deserve to hear where both of us stand on this issue, and I look forward to debating the particulars and fine points with you that evening."

Oops, Common Sense - I see great minds think alike and all that....

I suspect repubs are huddled in a back room throwing together a haphazard 'solution' to the meltdown. It will be offered up as "The McCain Plan for America's Economic Survival". Repubs will vote in unison, while the screech monkeys of their mighty noise machine will accuse all who have issues with the awesome plan of playing politics with America's survival.

I realize that seems like a threadbare retread, but do they have anything else in their playbook?

Obama just said Presidents need to be able to do more than one thing. Hahahahahaha!

Arachnae ~ or anyone else who mentioned McCain's appearance. I need to get up to speed on this. Do you have a good link? Thanks

As always the wise words of Sean Hannity come to mind. Here's Sean suggesting that it would be irresponsible for McCain to suggest that the American economy was in any kind of crisis.

HANNITY: Is Senator McCain then using what happened on Wall Street this week -- is he using it for political gain? Is there a danger if a presidential candidate is saying to the world that America's situation, economic crisis, is the worst that we have seen in decades, which was words that he was using yesterday? Is there a danger in terms of the world hearing that?....And I'm thinking about this, and I know we've got our problems. Certainly, we've been watching the Wall Street issues. Certainly, people have real concerns. But I'm wondering on the converse side of that, is Senator John McCain suggesting our economy is not a strong economy? Is he sending a signal to the world? Is that presidential? It almost seems like he's panicked and inexperienced and has never seen these cycles before.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200809180012?f=s_search

Oh, excuse me. On reviewing the tape it seems that Hannity was criticizing Obama last week, not McCain this week. I must have reversed the name. But I'm sure that since he's intellectually honest that Hannity considers his point applies equally well to McCain now as he said last week it did to Obama....!

"If we do not act, ever corner of our country will be impacted," McCain said. "We cannot allow this to happen."

9/11...9/11....9/11

The election will be suspended next folks!

Just watching the Obama press conference and wow that is a President. He just drove a stake into M&P. Just WOW!

Didn't McCain invent the Blackberry in order to keep from scheduling conflicting events?

I haven't seen anyone call out the McCain campaign on it's 'suspension' for what it really is: A change of venue. He's just moving his campaign from the trail to the Senate floor. Given his previous interest/awareness of the problem, it's impossible to view his presence there as anything other than a cheap photo-op.
I wonder if he'll allow the press to ask questions...

'fess up, Stefan: You moonlight as a writer for the Daily Show.

If not, you ought to send 'em that one.

This is a function of a campaign focused entirely on politics over policy (ooh, there's a nice change of pace from the last 8 years). They had been doing well for a while by creating publicity stunts that kept them in the news (the Palin pick, scurrilous ads) and I think they got carried away by their success (albeit short-lived). It has been my impression that they figured, if they could dominate the news cycle with a new mini-story every day, that could keep them up in the polls and that they'd only have to do it for 6 weeks. Seems like the press and voters may not buy it for that long.

I haven't seen anyone call out the McCain campaign on it's 'suspension' for what it really is: A change of venue.

As good as your point is, if they call it out for what it really is -- a desperate gambit -- I won't mind too much.

The mystery blogger of '4:45 PM' nailed it. McFool's staff need to go back to their day jobs of lobbying for financial (failed) institutions.

This is just too weird to accept at face value. It's even too weird to analyze as a gambit.

Think about it a second. Hard fought campaign. See-sawing polls. You're behind a little bit. There's a debate in two days that plays to your strong issue. The whole country will be watching.

And you pull out of it to be seen hanging out with a bunch of Republicans who are working on a huge bailout for Wall Street? Come on, that doesn't make the slightest bit of sense at any level.

The alternative, which is that McCain is in some sort of personal crisis -- medical, psychological, or both -- fits much better. In "suspending" his campaign, he'll be in seclusion for several days, and skip a high-tension evening.

I think there's a story we aren't being told. Yet, anyway.

CNN is reporting that the McCain would now like to postpone the VP debate to a date unknown. Are we down Alice's rabbit hole?

'fess up, Stefan: You moonlight as a writer for the Daily Show.

No, I only wish I did....

They need to hide McCain because he is unwell -- whether it is just the stress and the age -- or as I suspect signs of dementia -- he is not up to facing the American people.

And they need to hide Palin for obvious reasons.

Hope the Obama campaign surrogates start raising these issues if McCain doesn't step up.

McCain is a better debater than Obama -- not a better thinker -- but Obama doesn't talk in bumper stickers and McCain knows how to do that -- so pulling out of the debates is because he isn't up to it.

Sundowning maybe?

FDR ran a successful campaign during WW2 and John McCain can't run his now?

i think mccain is having an existential crises. he's afraid of success and is therefore sabotaging his campaign. his whole identity is so wrapped up in being a renegade that he's confused when his constituency looks to him for answers they can all believe in. he's never had the answers-only the questions. he's made a career of being an outsider. he's lost, way out of his element, dazed and confused. i hope he keeps it up.

Steve Benen...excellent perspective and structuring of the McCain desperation. Right on the money. It's now time for McCain to just STFU and stay out of the way.

Noun, Verb, “Tweety� McCain was a Viet Cong collaborator.

http://www.counterpunch.org/valentine06132008.html

FREE AMERICA

REVOLUTIONARY (DIRECT) DEMOCRACY

I've been reading multiple sources on the internet (for over a year) that have clearly stated that September 2008 would bring the US economy to a financial collapse. And... well... looky here!!! How is it that so many saw it coming and yet our officials act as if they got caught off guard? McCain, get your dumb ass back to your pathetic campaign. Nobody needs you to help them screw over the American people yet again. They can choose to steal another $700,000,000,000 from the tax payers (against their will) without your getting into the mix. Just get your debate over and done with, show us all how ignorant you are, and let your buddies continue to nationalize institution after institution until we all wake up in a socialist state where Canada, the US, and Mexico become a single entity and our dollar is replaced by the Amero.