maybe Sarah is a slow learner, they have been trying to pound enough knowledge of current US affairs into her head so she doesn't come off as a complete ditz. We haven't seen Palin without a teleprompter ever.

We have seen Obama without a teleprompter, in the church debate thing, and he wasn't that bad, and McCain has problems speaking off the top of his head, so they are really pretty evenly matched, skill wise, topic wise, the economic doings put McCain at a severe disadvantage, so if he can delay the debate, and the bailout eases the crisis, it may be easier for him.
The debate topic is supposed to be foreign policy, but I don't see how the current economic crisis won't pop up, it is a global crisis after all.

Two thirds of the public blame the GOP, one third blames the Democrats, that's a pretty tough nut for McCain to deal with, right in the middle of the shit. If he can delay the debate until something is put in place, and better yet, claim credit for the something, it may help him, which is why Obama will not agree to delay the debate.

And let's face it, there is no one in Washington waiting to get John McCain's input on what the bailout should consist of, why would you hold things up to get input from a guy who admits he's not that knowledgeable on the topic.
I doubt McCain could tell you how a Credit Default Swap works, let alone engineer a plan to deal with the 62 Trillion dollars worth of unregulated credit default swaps that are out there, exempted from regulation by legislation written by McCain's economic advisor Phil Gramm.

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“ The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.”

Adam Smith , The Wealth of Nations 1776

"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics"
FDR's second Inaugural Address

I'll say it again since you don't appear to read commentary here- he already was on record twice trying to get a handle on freddie and fannie and that like it or no puts him a long way ahead of Obama......who said and did exactly- squat.




and as to the op in general, gee, maybe , just maybe the guy gives a shit and wants to be part of the process? wow, what a thought, a senator actually doing what hes paid for.....for a guy who staked his reputation and campaign on the surge and said so when it was being declared dead in the water by Obama, that’s not a stretch at all....but of course Obama is the only one who gives a shit about the country I guess....

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"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

Forte or not, both McCain and Obama are Senators, and they have a duty to be there for consideration and debate while the Senate is in session.

They've both shirked plenty of their congressional responsibilities this year - taking some time off their side jobs (campaigning) to do what we, the taxpayers pay them to do is only right.

IMHO we need to amend the electoral process a bit - once one accepts the nomination, one must step down from any national office they hold. It's ridiculous that we pay them to be working in Congress and at the same time pay for them to be running around abdicating the duties we pay them to perform.

Matt

Have you ever heard of there being too many cooks in the kitchen? I think another one just introduced himself into the home mortgage cauldron.

This is my observation of candidate McCain and an opinion. I have written before that John McCain was involved in the Keating Five Scandal and the resultant Lincoln Savings and Loan mess. At the time, he only saw the surface problem. That was, an investigation into Lincoln Savings and Loan was causing Charles Keating problems. So he and four Democrats injected themselves into the problem. I'm sure they had the best of intentions and I don't say that sarcastically.

But McCain didn't have the intellectual curiosity or the common sense to delve deeper and try to see if there was a real problem or not. Now, he is doing the same thing with the mortgage mess. Time after time, McCain has said that the economy isn't his strong suit.

Did McCain say he doesn't understand economics as well as he should? - McCainFactCheck.com

So why is he trying to get involved now when there are many who are already working the problem and this issue just isn't his forte?

My opinion, based on what I've seen, both earlier and now, is we are getting a peak at the McCain character. He sees himself as the "white knight" who can pull America out of this problem. And I also see his actions as the result of arrogance brought on by ignorance. He can't solve this problem any better than the experts who are working on it right now. Is he more capable than Chairman Bernanke? How about Sec. Paulson? What can he bring to the table that we don't already have except just another opinion? He is actually going to make the problem worse and the solution that much harder by introducing presidential politics into the mix.

This is a man who is a mediocre thinker and now exhibits very poor judgment. But he is very typical of a person who has a high opinion of his own ability. McCain should study the problem and support whatever he feels is the best solution, not try to bring another to the table. He can do that quite easily and campaign for president at the same time.

RJ

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so whats the difference between him and say barney frank? or any other senator? you make this argument for any of them.... hes entitled to give or hold his sppt. he is an elected official and if this doesn't measure up as to attention required sans politics I don't know what does....

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"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

Let's look at 9/11 day to understand how people see the President's role. When George W. Bush was flying all over the country after the last footage of him earlier in the morning, the cameras went to New York, and then cut away to Washington and a little in Pennsylvania. Rudy Giuliani found himself walking the streets since his headquarters had been built in the WTC Towers. Then he found himself anchored behind a podium. It earned Giuliani tremendous respect and an outpouring of love for just being there, being the public face, striking a reassuring tone, not losing his head while everyone else was losing theirs. "Where's the President?" was being asked throughout the day. Rudy Giuliani was doing his job.

One of the main jobs of President is being the spokesperson for the nation, and one of the curious job requirements that no one can teach you is to be able to strike a reassuring and calm tone during a crisis. I think John McCain's intentions are well-meaning. But he flies back to proceedings in Washington that have been underway all week and what does he do, exactly? Is there specific imput that he has for Washington that they aren't aware of? On the bailout, doesn't it seem disconcerting to anyone that the conservative candidate is more eager to see an assault on taxpayers by moving money from them to the wealthy people who screwed this whole thing up?

The nation is facing many crises simultaneously. Does this mean that as President, Sen.McCain would only be able to handle so much at a time? Or would it mean that as President that he would micro-manage every new big issue, leaving all the rest behind? For me, John McCain's judgment is deeply troubling here and it reveals yet another instance where he reacts with his "gut", with his emotions, instead of clearly taking a breath and finding perspective here. Because there is perspective here: the SEC and the Fed chairman are doing precisely what is not in their job requirement by instilling fear into everyone. And it seems that many politicians are running around like chickens with their heads cut off about it. Meanwhile, two-thirds of Americans don't like the idea of this bailout.

John McCain has said, "I know who I work for". That couldn't be more true by his losing his head today and running back to Washington to make sure his benefactors take all that money from us. This is the most naked and revealing move I can remember that exposes precisely my problem and the contradiction of the Republican Party right now: they say they're for the little guy, but now that they see that their real friends are in trouble, they'll stop at nothing to save them.

To all those who are truly as conservative as I am on fiscal policy, I ask you to take an honest gut-check. The very notion that John McCain, who has a 26 year record of fighting for deregulation is the one who has reversed his entire career philosophy on gov't in one week should be troubling to you. He's rushed back to Washington not to help you, but to make sure his true "my friends" get theirs.

This is a canard people. Wake up and keep your head. You don't postpone your life when shit comes your way. You carry on. You keep your head, and you carry on.

Don't misunderstand the thrust and direction of my post. I'm not saying he has no right to get involved. He has just as much right to offer his opinion as any other Senator. But we don't need another layman's opinion on how to sove the problem. And by his own admission, economics is not his forte.

The difference between McCain and Frank is that Frank is the Chairman of the House Banking Committee that has jurisdiction over the area in question. And I don't think Frank is any intellectual giant either. All Frank wants to do is tax the wealthy that he says got us into this mess.

I feel that McCain should understand that wiser heads need to prevail. It's poor judgement to bring presidential politics into a matter when you don't have to.

RJ

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So what exactly is McCain going to do to "work on economy?" Is this something that cannot be done simultaneously with the Friday debate? Does he need a long weekend to fix everything and make it all better, with Friday's potential debate being the reason he wouldn't be able to fix the economy?

Is there any undecided voter on this forum or anywhere that will look at this rash move by McCain as favorable? I don't think so. The ones supporting him are Republican voters without question. I can't see anyone being impressed by McCain's move. Quite the opposite actually. I predict that at this time next week we'll start to see national polls in the low teens for Obama. We already have one at Obama +9 today.

And now Harry Reid is on tv saying, "With all due respect to my friend John McCain.....we don't need to bring Presidential politics into this".

Did John McCain even call Washington to see what it is that he could do?

If I'm a Republican, I'd be like, "You DICK! You're job is to win us this thing, not LOSE TIME!".

The reality in Washington is that these two candidates haven't been available much of the year. In Washington that goes without saying. The others on both sides just deal with it.

Maybe Sen.McCain is just so comfortable being in the Senate that it freaks him out that he doesn't actually now what to do otherwise. That's not a joke or a slight on McCain, but look at his presidential campaign; he's been testy, emotional, made the kind of gaffes that as a candidate we don't remember him making as a Senator, and making poor judgments only to have to reverse himself later in moments of crisis.

Again, part of the job of President is to be a reassuring public figure; no matter how bad things get, the President needs to be able to be the one who can keep their head. Today, it feels like John McCain has been made to go a little crazy over this, while accomplishing very little.

This is not an economic issue we are dealing with anymore, it is a political one. Republicans are not going along with the Paulson/Bush proposal. John McCain is going back to Washington to deliver the Republicans votes needed to get the legislation passed. If he succeeds it will be a major coup for him. If not, he loses nothing......

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I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.

Political theater at it's best. Cheney couldn't deliver congress, now McCain will see if he has any political capital to deliver.

This whole debate is now mute, as Obama has accepted Bush's invitation to come to Washington to work on a solution.

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"Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear."

-Thomas Jefferson

Obama doesn't need to suspend anything. He's already given a great explanation for going ahead...which is that now, more than ever, the nation needs to know where the candidates stand and intend on doing if they win about the issue. Now isn't the time for cowering.

Indeed, that's like waiting for a plumber to fix a computer database.

Nobody's buying McCain's BS excuse, not the media and not the voting public. Only the Kool-Aid drinking die-hard Far-Left lunatic fringers.

Yep.

McCain's going down in flames. Had this been another terrorist attack he wouldn't have suspended jack.

You are embarrassingly and laughingly naive and/or dense.

Well McCain and the gang is in FULL panic mode.

I suppose you expect that "Drill here! Drill now! Drill fast! Drill hard!" will?

As I said, nobody's buying McCain's brand of cowdung...the word already came back from Congress to McCain..."Thanks, but no thanks." Everybody's planning on Friday being a go. If McCain's a no-show...it will be the final nail in his coffin.

He is indeed a politician, of the most weasely kind at that. Trick, after trick, after trick. He's sunk.

What else do you expect from a Far-Right Lunatic Fringe Kool-Aid drinker like him?

In 26 years of pushing deregulation, he is on the record pushing for something to do with increased regulation. What else was in the bill? Who's ox was being gored?
Seriously, politicians are on both sides of almost every issue, because everything gets bundled, to look at any one position or two even and say it overrides a 26 year career as a champion of deregulation betrays a lack of understanding of how the system works.

John McCain is trying to duck a debate that is occurring at a very inopportune time for him, and trying to substitute a photo-op of him with the people who are actually working out the details.
Friday, everyone watching the debate will have the economic crisis on their minds, and most of them will be blaming it on the Republicans, and even though the debate is "Foreign Policy" the crisis will make it's way into the questions, and what is McCain going to do, flip flop on his last 26 years, admit he's been wrong all this time, or try to spin it when he knows that everyone will jump down his throat for trying to spin his way out.
He just doesn't want to be in that situation where he has to speak about the economy, without notes, without a teleprompter, and without a deep understanding of the issues.
He'd rather have a picture of him hunched over a table with Barney Frank, looking like he was actually doing something other than posing for a picture, maybe he could even mouth some platitudes, and feign concern for the taxpayer, anything to get elected ............

__________________
“ The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.”

Adam Smith , The Wealth of Nations 1776

"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics"
FDR's second Inaugural Address

Umm. Far-left lunatic fringers? When did they start supporting McCain? But thanks for admitting the far-left drink the Kool-Aid.


As Angry American said, it's all a moot point since Obama has now changed his mind and is going to Washington. Like I said earlier in this thread, Obama's initial position is almost always wrong and this time is no exception.

Obama Fails Leadership Test - Again

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Andy
Cynical Optimist