McCain suspends campaign to go back to DC to work on bailout

[pbear19]

I can maybe understand that logistically it's hard to pull TV and radio ads immediately. (Although I know it's been done before for non-political reasons.)

But why, if he has suspended his campaign, are his surrogates and/or campaign staff still appearing on TV, why are they sending out their blast emails to the press today, why is he interviewing with Couric, etc? What has been "suspended" other than the Letterman interview and a couple speeches? Did he not say he was going to stop everything?

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_p...disbelief.aspx

Don't get me wrong, I think the whole idea of a campaign suspension is idiotic. But if you are going to say you will suspend your campaign, doesn't it make sense to actually do so? Maybe he doesn't have full control over the advertising, but surely he has control over whether his own staff appear on TV and send out campaign emails to reporters today?

Even more idiotic than suspending is claiming to do so falsely. Makes it look more and more like a convenient way to postpone the debate and somehow manage to cancel the VP debate altogether.

[a.e.B.O.T.]

Originally Posted by pbear19

I can maybe understand that logistically it's hard to pull TV and radio ads immediately. (Although I know it's been done before for non-political reasons.)

But why, if he has suspended his campaign, are his surrogates and/or campaign staff still appearing on TV, why are they sending out their blast emails to the press today, why is he interviewing with Couric, etc? What has been "suspended" other than the Letterman interview and a couple speeches? Did he not say he was going to stop everything?

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_p...disbelief.aspx

Don't get me wrong, I think the whole idea of a campaign suspension is idiotic. But if you are going to say you will suspend your campaign, doesn't it make sense to actually do so? Maybe he doesn't have full control over the advertising, but surely he has control over whether his own staff appear on TV and send out campaign emails to reporters today?

Even more idiotic than suspending is claiming to do so falsely. Makes it look more and more like a convenient way to postpone the debate and somehow manage to cancel the VP debate altogether.

"you gotta have a gimmick, if you want to get ahead" has been playing in my head all day...

I think he meant that HE is stopping the campaigning, but made it sound much more heroic like his campaign is stopping all together. Its not, and it won't. Mr. McCain goes to Washington will and is getting a media bump, and may result in a poll bump. I can just see my grandmother telling me how noble he is for doing so.

[AGDee]

I don't think it will have an effect either way. If you like McCain, you'll say "how noble", if you don't, you say "Why can't he multi task? Why is he afraid to debate?" If you don't care, you won't care more now.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by AGDee

I don't think it will have an effect either way. If you like McCain, you'll say "how noble", if you don't, you say "Why can't he multi task? Why is he afraid to debate?" If you don't care, you won't care more now.

You're right when it comes to the loyalists on either side. I think it may matter, though, in so far as it affects (assuming it does) the thinking of that dwindling group of people who may actually vote and who are still making up their minds.

[DaemonSeid]

Ok...so the poll was a lil' early...and I guarantee it will go down...why??

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/candidate...ncial_meltdown

Even after Congress has agreed to handle the fallout....McCain has still decided to NOT GO to the debate (his mind may change of course....) I still think this is a punk move.

[ThetaDancer]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

McCain has still decided to NOT GO to the debate (his mind may change of course....) I still think this is a punk move.

So right now, is he just not going to show up? What will happen then? Obama will be on the stage alone?

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by ThetaDancer

So right now, is he just not going to show up? What will happen then? Obama will be on the stage alone?

Yup...for now McCain has still decided to not go....Obama can probably still use it as press time to answer questions....

[CrackerBarrel]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Ok...so the poll was a lil' early...and I guarantee it will go down...why??

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/candidate...ncial_meltdown

Even after Congress has agreed to handle the fallout....McCain has still decided to NOT GO to the debate (his mind may change of course....) I still think this is a punk move.

No, he said that his position is unchanged, if they can get a bill passed before the debate he will attend. I would bet poll numbers will either remain unchanged or go up. Why? Because the only people you hear outraged about his decision are partisan Democrats. And why are they mad? Because he beat Barack to the punch on trying to seize this issue.

Yes it is a political move, but unless the bailout plan absolutely bombs it was a good move. If they pass a plan and it works, McCain looks good. If they don't pass a plan, blast Obama for not coming to help try to work something out. The only way McCain loses on this is if he helps negotiate a deal that does harm.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel

No, he said that his position is unchanged, if they can get a bill passed before the debate he will attend. I would bet poll numbers will either remain unchanged or go up. Why? Because the only people you hear outraged about his decision are partisan Democrats. And why are they mad? Because he beat Barack to the punch on trying to seize this issue.

Yes it is a political move, but unless the bailout plan absolutely bombs it was a good move. If they pass a plan and it works, McCain looks good. If they don't pass a plan, blast Obama for not coming to help try to work something out. The only way McCain loses on this is if he helps negotiate a deal that does harm.

he beat Barack....how??

Uuuhh...hullo?

The economy was fundamentally sound......

Heh!

[CrackerBarrel]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

he beat Barack....how??

Uuuhh...hullo?

The economy was fundamentally sound......

Heh!

He beat Barack to the punch by going to Washington before Obama could say what he wanted to do.

Clearly I'm not changing your mind on this, but you're looking at it from an extremely biased perspective. I understand you don't like McCain. Thing is, neither do I, I just don't like Obama even more.

And what I mean is that from a political standpoint, McCain just seized Obama's issue. Now when Obama whines about the economy, McCain has the answer of "Well why didn't you join me in Washington to try to do something about it?"

[texas*princess]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

he beat Barack....how??

Uuuhh...hullo?

The economy was fundamentally sound......

Heh!

but now all of a sudden the economy is about to crater!!!

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel

I would bet poll numbers will either remain unchanged or go up. Why? Because the only people you hear outraged about his decision are partisan Democrats.

By the same token, pretty much the only people you hear trumpeting what a good move it is are those already on McCain's side, who see it as another demonstration of leadership instead of a meaningless move by the guy who just two weeks ago told is the economy is fundamentally sound. (Or, I guess, who see it as beating Obama to the punch, like you do.)

I think we'll have to wait a while to see whether it was a good move or not -- or perhaps more to the point, whether people perceive it as a good move or not. And I think it will depend more on whether the deal finally worked out does more harm than good. (And did McCain actually help negotiate it, or was he showing up for photo-ops?)

I don't see the "why didn't you join me in Washington" attack sticking too much. From what I've seen, McCain isn't going to be able to say he did anything once he got to Washington other than meet with Obama and the president and vote when the time comes.

[pbear19]

Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel

<snip> Because the only people you hear outraged about his decision are partisan Democrats. </snip>

The idea that hyper-political people are all mindless drones whose opinions always align with our parties and only for partisan reasons has been thrown around here several times over the last few months. I usually don't address it, because the thought irritates me too much to have a dispassionate discussion. But I cannot help but quote this particular line, and reference this morning's post by Jonathan Martin at Politico:

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Thursday that Sen. John McCain made a “huge mistake” by even discussing canceling the presidential debate with Sen. Barack Obama.
<snip>
Huckabee said he still backs McCain’s candidacy, but said the Arizona senator should not have put his campaign on hold to deal with the financial crisis on Wall Street. He said a president must be prepared to “deal with the unexpected.”

“You can’t just say, ‘World stop for a moment. I’m going to cancel everything,”‘ Huckabee said.

Having lived in Arkansas for two years while he was governor I am getting a good chuckle out of the idea of Huck as a partisan Democrat.

[AGDee]

These politicians have my blood boiling. They need to get off their high horses and get this bailout done. They're messing with our retirement funds, our bonds, our futures and they're grandstanding because of flippin' politics. I am furious with our "leaders" right now. And I won't believe for a minute that they didn't know this was coming before THIS week. Give me a flippin' break.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080926/...ncial_meltdown

The White House summit meeting had been called for the purpose of sealing the deal that Bush has argued is indispensable to stabilizing frenzied markets and reassuring the nervous American public. But it quickly revealed that Bush's proposal had been suddenly sidetracked by fellow Republicans in the House, who refused to embrace a plan that appeared close to acceptance by the Senate and most House Democrats.

Paulson begged Democratic participants not to disclose how badly the meeting had gone, dropping to one knee in a teasing way to make his point according to witnesses.

And when Paulson hastily tried to revive talks in a nighttime meeting near the Senate chamber, the House's top Republican refused to send a negotiator.

"This is the president's own party," Frank said at the time. "I don't think a president has been repudiated so strongly by the congressional wing of his own party in a long time."

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel

No, he said that his position is unchanged, if they can get a bill passed before the debate he will attend. I would bet poll numbers will either remain unchanged or go up. Why? Because the only people you hear outraged about his decision are partisan Democrats. And why are they mad? Because he beat Barack to the punch on trying to seize this issue.

Yes it is a political move, but unless the bailout plan absolutely bombs it was a good move. If they pass a plan and it works, McCain looks good. If they don't pass a plan, blast Obama for not coming to help try to work something out. The only way McCain loses on this is if he helps negotiate a deal that does harm.

uuuhhhmmmmm

uhh....errmmm

http://www.gallup.com/poll/110749/Ga...McCain-45.aspx

"I told ya so"?


(and the only way he can bounce back is if he wipes the floor in the debates tonight)