BlargenBlog

So my co-worker pointed this out at CNN.com:  John McCain suspends campaigning to work on economy, requests postponing Friday debate; asks Obama do the same.

Is this the old John McCain saying hello?  Is this a turning point for the sleaziest campaign in history?  Or is this just the latest Rovian ploy??  I’m still trying to find out more info, but this is apparently breaking news.  Check back for more info, with analysis to follow.

UPDATE 1:  After checking around, I can’t seem to find diddly squat on this.  CNN has updated their page to say the full story is coming soon, but I haven’t seen anything in the News or Press Releases on McCain’s website.  Hell, Google News doesn’t even have it in their top stories yet.  Naturally, no response from the Obama campaign has yet been issued.

UPDATE 2:  Finally!  According to CNN, the campaign is being suspended to deal with the looming financial crisis as McCain heads back to Washington DC.  This comes immediately after Vice President Dick Cheney was spurned by House Republicans over Paulson’s 700-billion dollar bailout plan.  Apparently the outcome of that was less-than-friendly towards ol’ shitbrick.

Apparently the campaign will officially be suspended tomorrow morning, which is especially untimely since the first of the presidential debates is scheduled for this Friday.  He has asked that Barack Obama join him in Washington to work towards a solution.  Still no response from the Obama camp.

UPDATE 3:  Oh-ho, not so fast!  While John McCain may be raking in the recognition right now, it turns out the process was initiated by Senator Obama.   The Raw Story has the scoop:

The Republican candidate’s dramatic proposal Wednesday afternoon came after Obama approached him earlier in the day about issuing a joint statement on the economic crisis, an Obama spokesman said. Congress is debating a potential $700 billion bailout package, and the two senators had remained mum on their plans until Wednesday.

“At 8:30 this morning, Senator Obama called Senator McCain to ask him if he would join in issuing a joint statement outlining their shared principles and conditions for the Treasury proposal and urging Congress and the White House to act in a bipartisan manner to pass such a proposal. At 2:30 this afternoon, Senator McCain returned Senator Obama’s call and agreed to join him in issuing such a statement. The two campaigns are currently working together on the details,” Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in an e-mail to reporters sent immediately after McCain spoke.

McCain strode in front of television microphones just after 3 p.m. to announce suspension of his campaign.

Indeed.

UPDATE 4:  MSNBC reports that in response to McCain’s request to postpone the debates, Obama campaign strategist Robert Gibbs suggested there would be “no better way to shed light [on] this crisis than to debate it,” but said they would first talk to the debate commission before proceeding.

Also, the McCain campaign is requesting political ads be suspended while they’re working on a plan, but the article did not make clear whether they’d be pulling their own ads as well, creating a temporary cease-fire.  They’re also denying that this is a political maneuver in responds to losing ground in the polls.

UPDATE 5:  From MSNBC:

McCain Senior Adviser Mark Salter briefed reporters just now off camera on the decision. He told us the following:
–McCain will suspend airing all ads and all campaign events pending obama agreement
–McCain called President Bush today and told him of the plan. He would not characterize Bush reax.
–McCain talked to colleagues on the Hill during last 2 days and learned that passage of the Paulson plan was going to be next to impossible
–McCain would partake in debate if they passed agreement by Friday morning
–Salter will get back to us on whther mccain is suspending fundraising
–Salter says they are confident if all parties get together–they can agree on a plan by Monday.

UPDATE 6: Obama will meet with McCain in Washington, but said he plans to continue preparing for Friday’s debate.

Tags: Breaking News, Economy, election, McCain

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at 1:17 pm and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.