Originally Posted by TheHighForester

This is a smart move by McCain's campaign managers. Their candidate's performance on the campaign trail has been abysmal--the more he talks, the more votes he loses.... This will give them an excuse to shut him up for a few days while they try to think of a new strategy.

On the other hand, the timing of this announcement will probably re-energize Obama's staffers. They see John McCain backing out of a debate with their guy just two days before the event, and they've gotta feel like they've got him on the run. Obama will suspend campaigning, too, for appearances sake, but his supporters can smell blood, and they're going to be howling for more.

Poor John.

Originally Posted by drgoodtrips

Out of curiosity, for those painting it as a shrewd political move (which it would appear to be), how can you feel justified in also saying that McCain is "doing the right thing"? Evidently, he and Obama are both leveraging the crisis as best they can for political capital.

If you think about it, the premise that McCain or Obama would actually be helping in some kind of substantive way is absurd: 1 voice out of 100 squabbling over the particulars of a situation everyone is scrambling to understand. They would be in much more of a position to be effective in terms of their beliefs by becoming the POTUS in a few months, and then they wouldn't be just another voice in the cacophony, but a main player in a position to have a legitimate impact.

The way this thread is shaping up, those who oppose Obama will preemptively criticize anything he does, and those who support him will preemptively justify anything he does. For me, personally, I don't really give a rat's ass whether either of them goes to Washington to grandstand about the economy - I'd rather hear their plans on what they would do once Dubya's out of office.

Edit: As an undecided voter, I also don't like the idea that McCain is backing out of the debate, though I don't much care what his motivation is, so I won't speculate. I find it annoying because the debates are always my best chance to hear what candidates really think without stagecraft and when subject to substance based questioning. Any cancellation of the debates appears to me a substitution of more typical election year pap for one of the few times I might get to actually hear some substance.

Originally Posted by partofme

Personally I think now is a more important time than ever to pay attention to the political process and for people to keep an eye out for who they think will be best able to handle this situation down the road. It's also a chance to have a real campaign focused on policy rather than personality. What better time to have a debate than when the American people are the most focused on current events and when the conventions brought the most viewers ever. It seems like this move won't really make the economic situation any better but it will squander one positive opportunity that it does bring.

Originally Posted by Danny

This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. Suspending campaigning perhaps but the debate between the two guys who want to inherit the mess is exactly what the people need to hear and is a necessity. McCain is running scared and I predict it will backfire.

Originally Posted by Andrewl

Seems to me McCain lost his post-palin/convention bump. Obama had regained his lead in the polls. So McCain wants a breather becuase he can sense it slipping away since the perception is that Obama is stronger on the economy. I wonder if McCain would suuspend his campaign if there was a terrorist attack, since the perception is that he is stronger on war.

I see no reason to suspend the campaign. Now, just as much as ever, is the time for candidates to get in front of the people and discuss the issues. To me this looks more like McCain is running away.

Andrew

Originally Posted by California Girl

This is not the time for cheap point scoring in debates. The US banks are in serious shit and it is not a question of just having some input into the bill - it is about working with the current administration to find a permanent, long term fix - not a band aid!

I think it's very telling that Obama thinks its more important to carry on campaigning. Very telling, and very stupid. McCain has, yet again, outsmarted Obaaama and made him look naive, and selfish.

Originally Posted by Andrewl

You know, the wisest course of action in an economic downturn is to not panic, go about your business, and let the market correct itself. Let the campaign and the debates go on.

Andrew

Originally Posted by chassisman

I guess you're from the "party till you puke on Thursday, take your finals on Friday morning" school of thought.

Excuses? Debating with a congressman with less than 300 hours experience? You must be kidding. "Hope" and "Change" won't get him thru a debate.

Originally Posted by Alex

Here is what I meant - Obama's refusal to go back to washington and "do his job" is making him look bad to voters. That was McCain's plan all along. It was a brilliant political move too. McCain gets out of another long, pre-arranged, scripted and choreographed debate and pushes the entire Obama campaign back on their heels. And what does the Obama camp do? they fall right into McCain's trap (Again!, like they did with their obsession with attacking Palin on experience) and insist that they keep the debate schedule . What is Obama going to do now? debate himself?

Originally Posted by CorpMediaSux

John McCain is a politician, everything he does is to further his political career. Let's not forget that. He never "suspends" campaigning, every move is calculated for potential political impact. The question is how many undecided voters will look at this move and NOT recognize that it's pandering? I suspect very few.

All that said, I think the Obama campaign should think carefully how they respond to this. If I were them I would:

1. Agree to a suspension of the debate, it will look very bad if Obama is in Mississippi and McCain refuses to show up because he's "working on the problem."
2. Use every opportunity to demonstrate that Democrats have been at the forefront for pushing for checks and balances in the Wall Street bailout.
3. Continue to point out that Presidents must be able to multi-task and continue to point out that McCain has NO experience when it comes to economic regulation.
This is a major hail mary pass by the McCain campaign and the fact that the Republicans on this board recognize it as such suggests that if they are smart this will not hurt the Obama campaign. Frankly, if McCain gets his way and the campaigns are "suspended" that actually doesn't help him. It allows his brand of "country first" to get promoted for a bit, but in order to make up these defecits in the swing states nothing can replace actually campaigning. Stunts look great in September, but campaigning gets the job done in the long run.

Originally Posted by AjaxPress

Is the Senate planning to stay all night Thursday to discuss/solve the issue? If they aren't doing that on Thursday then your comment doesn't really address the point at all.