Let me start by saying that this is my opinion. It is not something that has been specifically said by the McCain campaign.
McCain announced today that he was suspending his campaign in light of the financial crises that he helped create. Last week McCain didn’t seem to see any cause for concern. I’m glad to see that he finally acknowledges that there are problems on Wall Street.
Why, though, did he do this? Well, let’s look at what they are and aren’t saying.
First off, McCain is saying that he wants Friday’s debate to be postponed. What he isn’t saying is that McCain is afraid that questions about the economy will arise. Specific questions about his push to deregulate everything and his participation in the Keating 5. He’s saying that the fat cats on Wall Street caused the crash with their greed. What he’s not saying is that his former public face on economic policy, Carly Fiorina was fired from her CEO position at HP but left with a executive compensation package worth roughly $45 million.
What he also isn’t saying is that McCain has taken no time off from campaigning to prepare for Friday’s debate. What better way to not show that he isn’t prepared then to postpone the debate?
The McCain campaign is also saying that Palin is ready to be president. What they aren’t doing, however, is allow anyone to ask her any real questions. At least not if she hasn’t had the chance to prepare for them ahead of time. His campaign even blocked reporters from asking questions when Palin went to the UN to meet with some foreign heads of state. They could take her picture, though.
Personally, when I first heard that McCain was suspending his campaign and asking for a postponment I figured he was just scared of looking bad next to Obama. Then I thought about it some more and I decided that this would be a good time to postpone or even cancel Palin’s debate against Biden that is set for next week. Little did I know that just before I started to write this CNN would report that sure enough, they wanted to delay Palin’s debate as well.
Was this a presidental move by McCain? Hardly, it was the move of a desperate campaign that knows they are sinking fast. The nation is heading into a financial crises that McCain the deregulator helped create. They have a VP pick that can’t answer a question without sounding like a high school student trying to overwhelm with words on an essay so that no one notices she has no clue what she is saying.
McCain, if you want to prove you’re ready to be president, you need to prove you can lead without resorting to fear tactics and that you can do more than one thing at a time. Your running mate should do the same thing.
Jenn says:
Desperate campaign? You must be talking about Obama.
McCain was CLEARED in the Keating 5, get over it. Plain has been on my local news almost every night from the campaign trail being asked questions by reporters and answering them. She has also faced the firing squad of leftist haters like Stephanopolous and Couric.
Obama has like 300 “advisers”, just took a vacation and is well rested. And he was still beaten.
Ask Barney Frank who’s fault this crap is. The Repubs have been asking for oversight on Fran and Fred since 2002. He, Clinton as well….they know ask them .
10/1/2008, 4:51 pmLaura says:
McCain may have been cleared by Senate Ethics Committee for acting improperly but he was slammed for poor judgment in the scandal. Judgment (or lack of it) is an important consideration when picking a president. This makes the Keating 5 scandal still valid in relation to McCain today.
Firing squad leftist like Couric? Really? Palin couldn’t even answer which specific newspapers and magazines she read. That wasn’t a firing squad question. That was a gimme. Couric asked Palin that one. Just because Palin can’t answer the question(s) don’t make them inappropriate to ask her or any other candidate in this race.
McCain came across as mean and crotchity in the dabate. That’s hardly a winning combination. Just because his campaign put out banners saying he won hours before the debate doesn’t make it true.
Fran and Fred aren’t the only reason for this fiasco, either. Matter of fact, in the scheme of things they are pretty low as to cause. And just which Repubs have been asking for oversight since 2002? Have they been asking for oversight for Wall Street as well?
Why don’t you ask McCain? Ask him twice. See if you get the same answer both times.