McCain Suspends Campaign: The Analysis
When the news first broke, this had every appearance of being sincere. It thoroughly looked legit. How bipartisan and patriotic does it look to postpone your quest for the highest office in the land to deal with the immediate crisis facing the country?
Now wait just a minute…
We’re supposed to sit here and “ooh” and “ahh” over this stunt and forget that he’s a Senator and is therefore supposed to be doing this anyway? I’m sorry, but I wasn’t aware that running for president was a reason to neglect the duties you were elected to carry out, and the same goes for Barack Obama.
But somehow McCain deserves a pat on the back for doing his job? Color me speechless.
With that in mind, let’s look past all the polished crap surrounding this unexpected news and look at what’s really going on.
First off, there’s some definite posturing going on here. Today, John McCain was reported to be doing worse in two polls, including a FoxNews poll (down 6%) and a Washington Post poll (down 9%). It has been reported and confirmed that Barack Obama called John McCain at 8:30 this morning to discuss a joint statement on the economic crisis.
Initial reports stated “John McCain suspends his campaign to deal with the economic crisis and invites Obama to do the same!”
Doesn’t this look a wee bit political to you? I didn’t hear shit about the phone call from Obama to McCain until McCain announced he was suspending his campaign. This accomplishes two things:
- It unfairly bestows upon McCain the “bipartisan” mantle, even though Obama was the first to reach across the proverbial aisle, something the Republicans are bound to flaunt.
- It takes advantage of the initial proposal by putting the ball in Obama’s court and sticking him in a tough position, changing the dialogue to “Will Obama accept this generous and selfless offer, or will he be an elitist and put the election above what’s best for the American people?”
Already, you can see the negative undertones in public perception. Don’t believe me? Look how the McCain camp is already trying to capitalize on this announcement.
From the Washington Post:
McCain said he is calling on President Bush “to convene a meeting with the leadership from both houses of Congress, including Senator Obama and myself. It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem.” (emphasis mine)
Another Post article states:
“John McCain’s leadership and experience credentials outrank Barack Obama’s,” said Sarah Simmons, a McCain campaign strategist, this morning. “[We are] walking through a crisis and people are looking to see how it is going to be handled.”
Nancy Pfotenhauer, a senior policy adviser to McCain, echoed that sentiment in an interview moments ago with Fox News Channel. “Senator McCain’s entire life is a testimony to putting his country first and that’s what he is doing right now,” said Pfotenhauer.
Apparently the Associated Press agrees with me:
McCain’s statement was an effort to show leadership on an issue that has spread economic fears across the country and overshadowed the presidential campaign just six weeks from Election Day. The economy has not been McCain’s strongest suit, and his move was an attempt to turn it into an opportunity to show he’s the candidate of bipartisanship and action. Recent polls showed Obama with an advantage with voters in handling the economy.
The move put Obama in a bind. Rejecting the idea would allow McCain alone to appear above politics, but agreeing to suspend campaigning and the debate could make Obama look like he’s following McCain’s lead.
The bottom line: this move has the distinct appearance of being a political maneuver. I will be following this very closely over the next few days. Believe me, McCain knew the exact effect he was trying to create when he made these statements:
“Following September 11th, our national leaders came together at a time of crisis. We must show that kind of patriotism now. Americans across our country lament the fact that partisan divisions in Washington have prevented us from addressing our national challenges. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country.”
Oh for fuck’s sake. We just had to go there.
Funny. The way I remember it, Congress panicked and didn’t think things through before acting. I’m in no hurry to repeat those colossal mistakes.
In all honesty, I hope he is being sincere about this. I hope he’s interested only in the good of the country. I sure as hell hope they devise a plan to get us out of this mess. But he still won’t get my vote. Not as long as he has an extremist nutbag like Palin on his ticket, nor while he continues to run a sleazy campaign and rely on extremist rhetoric to win the election.
Remember folks, there was a time where centrist Democrats said they’d vote for McCain. Instead, we ended up with Bush. I’d rather not repeat that mistake either.
Tags: 2008 General Election, McCain
September 24th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Uh, Presidents should be able to do more than one thing at a time. :)
Most of the public agrees.
SurveyUSA. 9/24. Adults. MoE 3.2% (No trend lines)
The first debate between John McCain and Barack Obama is scheduled to take place in two days. Should the debate be held as scheduled? Should the debate be held, but the format changed to focus on the economy? Or, should the debate be postponed?
Hold as scheduled 50
Hold with focus on economy 36
Postpone 10
Is the right response to the turmoil on Wall Street to suspend the campaigns for president? To continue the campaigns as though there is no crisis? Or, to re-focus the campaigns with a unique emphasis on the turmoil on Wall Street?
Suspend 14
Continue 31
Refocus the campaign 48
If Friday’s presidential debate does not take place, would that be good for America? Bad for America? Or would it make no difference?
Good for America 14
Bad for America 46
No difference 35
September 24th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
That’s what I keep hearing from the bloggers. I agree.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Should we start talking about a McCain withdrawal?
September 24th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Even viewed through my ever so slightly partisan colored glasses…it reeks of a stunt. There, I said it. No, I’m not switching parties.
September 24th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
It does! But this time I truly, honestly, genuinely want it not to be a stunt. I actually feel kind of deflated by all of it. Just, I dunno, let down. Normally I’d be gleeful over pointing out this kind of thing, but it’s just not there tonight.
Mahkno - Heh, as much as it would be a landslide victory for Obama, even I wouldn’t want that. Who would they pick to take his place? Moosemeister Palin? :P
September 24th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Obama said he doesn’t want to stop the debate, and that he thinks this whole situation just gives more of a reason for them to debate so America can see how they both feel about it (as our next potential leader, this is extremely important). The only reason McCain is pulling this “hold” routine is because he supports Bush’s 700 billion dollar plan and KNOWS that the American public doesn’t, and he will lose voters as a result. Of course it’s a stunt. It’s the same stunt Bush has been using, hiding from the public and refusing interviews.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
What came to my mind was the revelation that some people on the McCain campaign were still getting paid by Fannie Mae as of a month ago. Couple that with FBI investigations, you have to wonder how involved his staff was. Throw in poor poll numbers… Palin is way more popular than he is, but she is sinking too. Yeah McCain needs a time out… a time out to shake up his team.
September 25th, 2008 at 7:26 am
tapeworm - gotta admit, it’s an effective strategy. You might have noticed they’ve also done this with Palin as well. What needs to happen in order for their strategy to work is 1) limit access to the candidates; 2) let the pundits do all the work for you.
However, the press has recently started growing balls and asking McCain WTF he went from having open press sessions to hiding behind his own proverbial iron curtain. I think it’s smart for them to limit access to the press, because they keep fucking up royally. Last week, McCain said the economy was strong. Then the Dow Jones Industrial Average tanked around a thousand points (out of 12000, this is huge for a single week) and is now spiraling towards 10000. He’s been backtracking ever since. Also, look up the Charlie Gibson interview with Palin and include the term “Bush Doctrine,” Then head over to http://blueollie.wordpress.com/. He has a video of her latest shitty interview with Katie Couric.
This is why they’re doing it. Whenever they talk, they end up looking like clueless morons. Hopefully the media keeps reporting on/interviewing these candidates so we can see what we’re getting.
Compare that with the Obama team who has more of a “take me as I am” approach. Joe Biden has had a string of misspeaks and flubs lately, but they’re not hiding him. With that man, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Mahkno — I’m treading carefully on that one. While blaming the economy on McCain might seem like a dream ace-in-the-hole for the Democrats, I think this best illustrates that A) McCain is entrenched in lobbyists and Bush-era politics and B) he and the GOP at large are still quite out of touch with… well, with most things, it seems, doesn’t it?
September 25th, 2008 at 10:07 am
I am not blaming McCain on the economy. Just wondering if his campaign staff might have been involved or associated with fraudulent activities being investigated by the FBI. Saying your man was no longer involved with Fannie Mae end then finding that only a month ago your man was still pulling a paycheck from them, smells funny.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
When I got back from an all-day, closed door meeting in DeKalb yesterday, I turned on CNN to see this, and I said to Lady Di, “crap, they’ll turn him (McCain) into some kind of hero for doing this.”
So far, I’m glad to say I was wrong. I’ve talked to three staunch Repubs this morning who feel that this is a HUGE blunder on McCain’s part, and they’re NOT happy about it.
Further, when McCain spoke on Clinton’s “Global Initiative” this morning, he started with some warm words about President Clinton, and then, before talking about what he was there to talk about, he launched into a stump speech about our current economic crisis. I am finding out from those same three Repub friends that they’re upset about THIS, too, and are extremely frustrated with McCain today.
So, maybe this stunt from the McCain camp will backfire completely. It has the appearance that it might. And yes, I also at first thought he was sincere, but upon further review, I think not.
He needs to show up at that debate tomorrow, or he risks losing even more votes, in my estimation.