Simbagal23 wrote:I venture to say the financial crisis and potential buyout is a bit more important the one of numerous debates.....postponing or cancelling in order to deal with the problem at hand is not a bad thing.
It's obviously more important, at least right now it's more important... but what precisely can these two individuals do that couldn't already get done without their participation?
This is purely a political move because:
1. it'll kill the VP debate, keeping Palin as a mystery figure
2. if Obama declines to postpone the campaign, he's gonna look like an arse
Mind you... I think it's a very shrewd move. But I see it as nothing more than a political move.
I agree that it's pure politics. Calling off the campaign was pure campaigning.
Speaking of keeping her a mystery, did anyone catch on 60 minutes the score is like 82-2 literally, Biden over Palin in number of public appearances since being named VP.
Not quite sure what to make of this yet, but the cynic in me has to note the following two passages:
The Arizona senator called on his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, to do the same.
In response, the Obama campaign said Obama called McCain at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to ask if the Republican nominee would join him in a joint statement of "shared principles and conditions" for the proposal. It said McCain called back at 2:30 p.m. -- shortly before his New York announcement -- to agree, and "The two campaigns are currently working together on the details."
I guess McCain had to get one last little bit of campaigning in.
I venture to say the financial crisis and potential buyout is a bit more important the one of numerous debates.....postponing or cancelling in order to deal with the problem at hand is not a bad thing.
This isn't about postponing it due the economy, it's about politics and trying to paint Obama into a corner.
If I'm the Obama campaign I basically say that the debates are tools to inform the American voter as to which candidate they feel will best right this sinking ship. To delay that process will further delay informing the voter. I'd also mention that allocating a few hours on a Friday night of two Senators who are not in the immed. circle of this event will not create a further demise and we are fully prepared to go to Washington to get as much done as possible and still be able to participate Friday evening.
I think Obama should tell McCain that they should go to Congress this week and hammer it all out...and still keep the debates scheduled...or is McCain too chicken?
The prodigal son returns. John McCain has announced that America is finally confronting a crisis that he doesn't feel he can be absent for.
Some fun facts about John McCain: Of all Senators, John McCain has been the most absent. There have been 643 votes taken in the current Senate session: McCain has missed 412 of them.
McCain has not voted in the Senate since April 8th. Since March, he has missed 109 of the last 110 votes.
He missed votes on the GI Bill, energy policy, and in 2007 he missed "all 15 critical environmental votes in the Senate" -- giving him a 2007 rating of 0% from the League of Conservation Voters. Zero percent? I don't think that's fair. I think they should have given him an "incomplete", and told him that he had to stay for summer session if he wants to graduate from the Senate.
So welcome back, John McCain. If I were the Senate Democrats, I would now completely rejigger the Senate schedule in order to put things up that America would really, really like to see John McCain cast a vote on. It seems the least we could do
ghostrunner wrote:I've wondered before if we shouldn't just have a law requiring people to vacate their seat as soon as they run for another office. These aren't supposed to be guaranteed careers for anybody.
That's not a bad idea.
Simbagal23 wrote:Well, whatever.....people will think what they want, but I just don't see postponing as a big deal. And this financial crisis is a huge......they are senators, afterall, so I would hope they would want to have some imput into the potential bailout plan as it will affect whomever is elected. And I think turning it into "who wanted it to do this first" is childish. As long as both agreed to it...so be it. One party will spin it their way, the other will do the same. Whoop-di-do.
That's fine and all, except that if McCain really has done an end-around on this while pretending to take the bi-partisan non-political high road, that suggests he's pretty slimy (and not very trustworthy).
The prodigal son returns. John McCain has announced that America is finally confronting a crisis that he doesn't feel he can be absent for.
Some fun facts about John McCain: Of all Senators, John McCain has been the most absent. There have been 643 votes taken in the current Senate session: McCain has missed 412 of them.
McCain has not voted in the Senate since April 8th. Since March, he has missed 109 of the last 110 votes.
He missed votes on the GI Bill, energy policy, and in 2007 he missed "all 15 critical environmental votes in the Senate" -- giving him a 2007 rating of 0% from the League of Conservation Voters. Zero percent? I don't think that's fair. I think they should have given him an "incomplete", and told him that he had to stay for summer session if he wants to graduate from the Senate.
So welcome back, John McCain. If I were the Senate Democrats, I would now completely rejigger the Senate schedule in order to put things up that America would really, really like to see John McCain cast a vote on. It seems the least we could do
Beyond his lack of voting record, look at his preparation skills for this debate:
There may be no greater illustration of John McCain and Barack Obama’s differing styles than the way they're preparing for Friday’s presidential debate.
Barack Obama is reportedly going to Florida for "debate camp" — traditional preparation that includes a sparring partner playing the role of his Republican opponent.
McCain’s prep is more on the fly: He spent several hours Sunday at his campaign headquarters working with aides, and he spent several hours in a Pennsylvania hotel Monday afternoon doing the same.
He will follow this "squeeze it in" prep schedule Tuesday as he campaigns in Ohio, and Wednesday around meetings with world leaders in New York.
Not until Thursday afternoon and Friday in Mississippi are McCain aides planning to hunker down and devote all the candidate’s time to debate prep.
Another illustration of how McCain’s preparation for Friday’s faceoff has been somewhat untraditional: right now aides say they don't have anyone playing the role of Obama in mock debates. Right now advisers like Mark Salter and Charlie Black and others are throwing questions at McCain they think the moderator could ask, without an "Obama" figure in the mix — although aides say that scenario may change by week’s end.
UK wrote:Another illustration of how McCain’s preparation for Friday’s faceoff has been somewhat untraditional: right now aides say they don't have anyone playing the role of Obama in mock debates.
I can't imagine going into a televised debate without more prep time, but I guess it's not going to matter if he stares blankly at the camera for 30 seconds. Does anyone remember Bush doing that in '04? I thought Kerry was going to bust out laughing.
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Sen. Barack Obama said Wednesday that Friday's planned debate at the University of Mississippi should go on as planned in order to tell voters what he and his rival for the presidency, Sen. John McCain, plan to do in response to this crisis. Obama said he thinks it's "important to communicate to the people where we need to go in order to pull out of this thing." McCain had asked earlier in the day that the debate and campaigns be suspended in order to contend with the current financial crisis gripping the country. Obama said the public needs to know the candidates can manage several issues at once
