mccain is suspending his campaign

[nosajmunson]

Originally Posted by cacophony

well this is obviously his strategy. my question is what we think the positive or negative results could be for each candidate.

so far the commentary i've read has been that people think the part about postponing the debate reveals an unwillingness to face obama face to face. but then, i don't know that i'm not just reading comments made by committed obama supporters who weren't likely to be shifted by this new tactic.

Trying to be Objective here, so...

I think it is a good strategy for someone behind in the polls. It makes him look like a knight in shining armour to the people. It does give the impression that he may want to put off debating. But there are upsides/downsides for McCain.

It puts a lot of focus on the debates. If indeed they are postponed and a solution or decision is made in Washington about the Wall Street situation, McCain goes into the debates looking good. Whether he factored into the solution or not, he can then take claim to being the person who started whatever the fix is resulting in probably higher poll numbers going into the debates. But that means he has to do very, very well in the debates to keep riding this "assumed higher poll numbers". Debating has not been his strong suit in the past.

IF the debates are not postponed, it can be spun that he was willing to stop to address a serious issue on our economy and Obama was not. So again, McCain goes into the debates looking good, or at least better than end of last week. But again, if he does not do well in the debates, he could sink furhter in polls. Possibly the lowest point since he came up in the polls after the RNC.

Bottom Line:
It was a good political move, although it was not his idea. He used it to his advantage. Not quite dirty politics but close. Either way, he will have lots more spotlight on him then before. So this singles him out and puts him into a Put Up or Shut Up position that no one, not even Palin can help him with.

That's my take, long winded as it is.

[BeautifulBurnout]

Maybe this is what has brought on McCain's sudden enlightenment...

[kagenaki koe]

another McCain flip flop. just a few hours/days ago he said he wouldn't vote on the crisis. and it also doesn't help that his campaign manager has been getting paid 15 grand a month by FreddieFannie even after they got bailed out. oh, and once again Johnny mac takes credit for something he had nothing to do with (ala the passing of the new GI Bill) for political gain

[cured]

Well Obama has given McCain some ammunition. Nobody who really knows anything about these two men would believe that their presence would get the Frank-Dodd bill get done any faster, or any of the other counter-proposals that will be offered. But Americans are stupid. They'll hear this nonsense about McCain putting his coutry first (I have no idea how he was going to inject himself into the discussion) and Obama only cares about his own TV vanity shots and speeches.

The thing is, this debate on Friday is about foreign policy when it would be more appropriate to discuss the economy.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by cured

Well Obama has given McCain some ammunition. Nobody who really knows anything about these two men would believe that their presence would get the Frank-Dodd bill get done any faster, or any of the other counter-proposals that will be offered. But Americans are stupid. They'll hear this nonsense about McCain putting his coutry first (I have no idea how he was going to inject himself into the discussion) and Obama only cares about his own TV vanity shots and speeches.

The thing is, this debate on Friday is about foreign policy when it would be more appropriate to discuss the economy.

It depends on how the events are covered I think. Obama's response has been a strong one:

Obama also said he, McCain and other officials could address the crisis in a bipartisan fashion and still go on with the campaign, noting that multi-tasking comes with the office.

"It is going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once," he noted.

If this response is given equal coverage, then it's kind of hard to (accurately) criticize his position.

[kagenaki koe]

Obama's move during this past week and a half is to actually not do a whole lot of moving. McCain on the other hand doesn't seem to have a plan other than throw shit to the wall and see what sticks.

[Deckard]

Originally Posted by nosajmunson

it can be spun that he was willing to stop to address a serious issue on our economy and Obama was not.

In answer to Cacophony's original question, the above is how I see this being received by the general public. Particularly if the financial situation worsens. Obama could easily be made to appear like the one who's playing politics in all this, who's "insensitive" and "disrespectful" to the severity of the current situation.

Certainly McCain is dominating the news sites at the moment, looking tough and leader-like.

Quick scan of the homepages main stories...

CNN: McCain puts campaign on hold to work on economy
(pic of McCain)

CBS: McCain Calls For Delaying Debate
(pic of McCain)

ABC: McCain Wants Debate Delayed for Econ. Crisis; Obama Responds, Says No
(pic of McCain and Obama)

Fox: McCain Halts Campaign Over Financial Crisis
(no pic)

MSNBC: Crisis engulfs debate politics
(pic of McCain)

BBC: US rivals at odds on debate delay
(pic of McCain)

If Obama and McCain get into a public feud over this, Obama is at a greater risk of losing the argument than McCain, because he can't possibly accuse McCain of using this situation to dodge the debate (if he did, he'd be bombarded by howls of sanctimonious 'How dare you', and that sort of response can carry a lot of weight).

[Deckard]

Good to see that already the BBC are making it known how this is being handled.

The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Washington says Mr McCain billed his dramatic move as a gesture above party politics at a moment of national crisis.

But, our correspondent says, it was smart tactics too because it conveyed a sense that Mr McCain was taking the lead on an issue where so far voters appear to have been finding Barack Obama more convincing.

[kagenaki koe]

is being a general, showing leadership, being a man of action really all that great if one doesn't have a plan or clue on solving the issue at hand? it's like CHARGE! CHARGE! CHARGE! or DRILL BABY DRILL! all over again

[Deckard]

is being a general, showing leadership, being a man of action really all that great if one doesn't have a plan or clue on solving the issue at hand?

No.

And the more I'm reading, the less pessimistic I am about the way Obama will come out of this. Seems people are already speaking out.

From CNN

McCain announced the suspension of his campaign shortly after their conversation, Obama said, adding that both campaigns still were working on the joint statement.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said McCain's move was "just weird."

"We haven't heard hide nor hair of Sen. McCain in these negotiations," said Schumer, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. "He has not been involved except for an occasional, unhelpful statement, sort of thrown from far away, and the last thing we need in these delicate negotiations is an injection of presidential politics."

And a good initial analysis from the Guardian's Michael Tomasky:

McCain's debate ploy

He sums up just how bad it was looking for McCain earlier today....