Ambinder:
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The one way to make the bailout negotiations MORE political is to have a major party presidential candidate try to bigfoot his way into the debate under the guide of not being political.
The problem is that McCain's job now is not leader. It's candidate. And Democrats in Washington -- the majority party -- view him as a candidate, not as a senator.
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Ponnuru
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I think McCain's decision reduces the likelihood that Congress will pass anything and the likelihood that McCain will win the election—and say so here, where you can weigh in.
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I don't think it's right that the Dems will be less likely to push something through because of McCain's interference (yes, I am intentionally using the word interference). But any political operative like McCain has to know that his going to Washington would put their backs up and likely make things harder. He cannot have it both ways - but I'm sure he'll try. If negotiations stall I'm sure he'll place the blame squarely on the Dems, and not take any responsibility for the fact that he could have been influential without being detrimental by staying on the sidelines, rather than diving in headfirst.
Drudge (about Letterman, not because it adds to my position but because it's funny):
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David Letterman tells audience that McCain called him today to tell him he had to rush back to DC to deal with the economy.
Then in the middle of the taping Dave got word that McCain was, in fact just down the street being interviewed by Katie Couric. Dave even cut over to the live video of the interview, and said, "Hey Senator, can I give you a ride home?"
Earlier in the show, Dave kept saying, "You don't suspend your campaign. This doesn't smell right. This isn't the way a tested hero behaves." And he joked: "I think someone's putting something in his metamucil."
"He can't run the campaign because the economy is cratering? Fine, put in your second string quarterback, Sara Palin. Where is she?"
"What are you going to do if you're elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We've got a guy like that now!"
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