BREAKING NEWS: McCain SUSPENDS HIS CAMPAIGN (merged)

Make no mistake. This move is solely about postponing the debates and trying to prop himself up in the polls. This has nothing to do with solving the economic crisis. McCain and his staff know full well that you can still continue the presidential campaign and debate schedule and address the economic crisis.

You'll have to excuse me if I have a hard time believing the guy who readily admits he doesn't know the first thing about the economy and enlists the help of a financial advisor to his campaign that suggests America is merely whining about the economy. PLEASE. This is the same guy who not two weeks ago suggested that the "fundamentals of the economy are strong." So now we're approaching a crisis that calls for a suspension of the political process?

BS.

-Pop

 

McCain established the rules for him to be judged upon.

 

Source: NYT

 

So did Obama, and he's gotten a pass.

FWIW, Palin has more executive experience as a mayor and governor than Obama does. The only reason why his experience as a community organizer is being bought up is his resume is paper thin.

 

Re: McCain wants to postpone Friday's debate

Only those with biases out beyond six sigma wouldn't view McCain's move as more presidential.

As of today, 18% of the electorate considers themselves "undecided". These kinds of moves matter.

Okay, name one that doesn't come with all kinds of negatives. Romney? He was pro-life when he ran for Governor of Massachusetts. Huckabee? He's too populist for McCain. Pawlenty? He was okay, but didn't energize the base. Jindal would have been the optimal choice, but he pulled himself out of the running. McCain's theme is reform. He found a Governor who took on her own party.

And on this we disagree. Was the fact she is woman a help to her? Sure. Was it the primary driver? Nope. It was about energizing the base that didn't like him at all. As for the polls, he's still higher than he was before and he's moved a few states that were battlegrounds (MT, ND, NC) solidly into his camp as well as appealing to PA and OH voters.

These moves are an indication of how McCain would govern. Obama's responses indicate how he'll handle surprises as well. I find the difference in decision-making processes interesting.

 

Okay, who should he have picked? It's easy to nitpick, but who was the "most qualified" and why?

 

Re: McCain wants to postpone Friday's debate

Right, and I'd say the opposite. Only those with biases beyond three standard deviations wouldn't view McCain's move as a political stunt. Also, this "great presidential move" seems inconsistent with his, and your, views. He's the one who said that the fundamentals of the economy were strong, and you agreed with him. If so, is emergency work by a senator who's admittedly not the strongest on economics really the necessary tonic?

Apparently, we disagree on this. I'm surprised.

 

That's a ridiculous proposition. McCain's campaign pushed for the foreign policy debate to be first because they knew it was McCain's strong suit. As for whether or not you can do both, I fall on the side of doing one at a time. This bill is going to have to take a lot of negotiation and he's going to have to get up to speed on a lot of complex issues. Having worked on Wall Street for a bulge-bracket bank in CMBS, there are still things I don't know about the liabilities faced by these firms. How much do you think a Senator without a financial background knows? If Obama thinks he's so smart that he can grasp these issues while campaigning, then he's kidding himself.

Sen. McCain was being modest. He was the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee. My guess is that as little as McCain may think he knows about the economy, he knows more than Obama. In fact, given my friendship with Obama's Chief Economic Advisor, I know that to be true.

As for Phil Gramm, he had a point. To win a political campaign, one party has been talking us into a recession. And we're not there. The term "recession" has a specific definition and it hasn't been met. We have become a country of whiners. Shut up and get to work.

The credit market aside, the fundamentals of the economy have been strong, especially when compared to historical precedents. Few saw this credit crisis coming, so yes information can change in as short a period of two weeks.

 

Perhaps McCain doesn't have the energy anymore that he might of had in his youthier days to handle all of this.

I'd be very wary if I was Obama of suspending my campaign. I can just see the friday headlnes: "Obama Suspends Campaign, Hillary Steals Democratic Nomination".

The fact that McCain is asking Obama to suspend advertising, tells me that the McCain campaign is starting to run low on money, and can't keep up with Obama.

If Obama was smart, he would move his campaign to the DC area, campaign in Virginia, do the senate work in D.C. and then have them fly to MS on friday for the debate.

The strategy by McCain here is to avert the economic crisis, so there is more focus on the foreign policy debate. If they debate on Friday, even if Obama waffles, it will be overshadowed by the economic crisis. If they pass the bailout bill, and then debate, and Obama waffles, it could cost Obama 2-3 points in the polls. While either way, if Obama pulls even with McCain in the debate, he probably will have delievered the final knock out bow needed.

 

Re: McCain wants to postpone Friday's debate

I'm not saying it's not a tactic, but that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about how it will be perceived. It can be perceived as both smart politics and the right thing to do. There's overlap on the Venn diagram.

And the credit market aside, the fundamentals of the economy are sound. Given what we've faced, the fact we haven't been in a deep recession points to the resilience of the economy, and its fundamentals.

 

This is exactly right. McCain wants to delay the foreign policy debate so that foreign policy is discussed instead of the credit market bailout. McCain is stronger on foreign policy than is Obama, and he needs to make this one count.

 

Re: McCain wants to postpone Friday's debate

I think McCain is doing the right thing, but I don't see how he is going to influence anything. He's just one of 100 senators, and many others are more experienced and have more understanding in these sorts of issues. How much help is he going to be? His aides and advisors will be doing most of the work, anyway. I also don't see why this would interfere with the debate. Move the debate to DC. Surely, McCain could spare two hours for the American people.

I laugh every time Real turns EVERY thread into a referendum on Sarah Palin.

 

Yep, it was a five month vetting process. I'm glad we agree.

 

Re: McCain wants to postpone Friday's debate

It can be. And my point is, how it is perceived depends on your biases (I have my own biases, of course...this isn't an accusation). I think those already favourably disposed to McCain will generally see it as some combination of smart politics and the right thing to do and those who aren't favourably disposed toward McCain will see it as a stunt.

Maybe. I'm not arguing whether he was right or wrong. But whether you want to talk about McCain's real beliefs or perceptions of him, on the one hand saying "The fundamentals are strong" (implying that things should turn around on their own accord and there's nothing major to worry about) and then putting his campaign on hiatus and rushing back to Washington to fix this disaster looks, justifiably, inconsistent. Either he undersold the issue previously (making the criticism he received over the comment justified) or he's grandstanding now over an issue likely to work itself out.

 

Re: McCain wants to postpone Friday's debate

I'm really surprised he hasn't made this a bigger issue.

 

Re: McCain wants to postpone Friday's debate

This whole election is being turned into a referendum on Sarah Palin.

 

Re: McCain wants to postpone Friday's debate

I think this entire web site is a referendum on Sarah Palin.