Huckabee would still be in Texas attending covered-dish socials.

He's obviously going to get owned in a debate with Obama...he might as well run from all of them.

Just how long are the Republicans going to try and shield Palin from the American people? It's beyond pathetic at this point.

It's smart politics though I guess. She can't even manage a Katie Couric interview without sounding like a complete fool.


This woman has no clue. Maybe the Obama campaign could propose to swap the dates of Friday's Presidential debate with next Thursday's VP debate, it'd be interesting to see how the McCain campaign would respond at least.

No, but mainly because Huckabee and Romney aren't senators with a vote on the package.

I don't know if it's been mentioned before (I've missed some pages) but I thought it was an interesting point to be brought up since Palin gets all the heat for the flip flopping. Obama and Biden aren't any better concerning the same matter, and I still think Biden was a weak choice for Obama.

“I am calling on the President to convene a meeting with the leadership from both houses of Congress, including Senator Barack Obama and myself,” Mr. McCain said in New York on Wednesday afternoon. “It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem.”

A short time later, Mr. Obama appeared at a news conference in Clearwater, Fla., and said that while he agreed “there are times for politics and there are times to rise above politics and do what’s right, ” he saw no need to cancel the debate, scheduled for Friday night at the University of Mississippi.

“This is exactly the time when people need to hear from the candidates,” he said.

He added: “Part of the president’s job is to deal with more than one thing at once. In my mind it’s more important than ever.”

Don't let what Obama says get in the way of your trolling eh?

Obama Rebuffs McCain on Debate Delay

Um... isn't Bucc right and Obama is basically doing nothing, or at least the same thing he planned to do?

Well, Bucc is also suggesting that Obama doesn't know what to do, so that's a little bit different.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

So because McCain wants to change the dates of the debates, perhaps so there is no VP debate (hmmm, now why is that) Obama needs to 'change' or else he isnt a 'change agent'.

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

In wrestling terms.. this is called heel heat. John McCain is standing in the center of the ring, daring Barack to come out, saying he'll rip him apart..

When Barack steps into the ring.. McCain quickly steps out..saying "I'll deal with you at the pay-per-view (the election)"

Learned the tactic from Larry Zybysko, I bet :)

Well, I think that was just a bit of humor embellishment (as he did with the McCain side... remember he didn't just do the Obama side). Though I wouldn't blame Obama if earlier when the news came out he didn't know what to do immediately... I wouldn't (I'd be like, 'what did he say?!')

You honestly believe that McCain is trying to avoid putting Palin in a debate against Joe Biden?

Explain to me, please, what exactly is McCain doing in Washington at 9:30pm on Friday night to stop him from debating?

Do you honestly believe they chose that date for the reschedule, arbitrarily?

Of course not. Some are insinuating that the Republicans are scared to death of seeing Palin debating Biden. I think those people are severely overestimating Biden.

That's why I don't debate anymore here, the Obama fanatics are sooooo humorless and way too sensitive. :)

You don't think he could be helping hammering out the language? After all, he is the de facto leader of the Republicans right now (a lot of Republicans really aren't that great of fans of the Bush administration's plan).

Having listened to the various spins on this while out & about this evening, I'm a little disappointed not to have heard what seemed like the most obvious reality in the whole suspend/don't suspend mini-tempest.

Whether I believe that's his motivation or not, there is at least reason to think that McCain might be of some use in negotiating a compromise. Hell, his willingness to bend when I don't believe he should is one of the things I dislike about him most and he has played that role at times in the past (reportedly, I'm not in the meetings so I can't claim to know first hand with 100% certainty). Obama meanwhile has done little except run for President since reaching the Senate. He'd be as useful in this situation as tits on a boar.

The positions both are taking seem to make a certain amount of sense to me when you consider their relative positions in Congress.

And speaking of things I figured were beyond obvious (as I was in a post before this one) ... it isn't 930pm Friday that would be the problem with the debate, it would be the time not spent prepping for the debate while doing, you know, what a Senator should be doing such as participating in Senate business.

:eek:

Earlier this week:

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/12288...todayinfinance



So perhaps McCain is needed back in Washington, according to Harry Reid at least.

This wouldn't get done without him? For two hours on Friday, night? You've got a lot of confidence in McCain, I see.

He, miraculously, figured this out 2 days before the debate, and since he hadn't attended a senate session since April, and while he's taking a major hit in the polls.


You can't bullshit, a bullshitter.

Apparently Harry Reid does as well (see above).

And are you forgetting to factor in a plane ride and all that it takes to get ready for a debate which is almost hundreds of miles from DC?

so move the debate to Washington DC.. hell.. clear out the Senate and have the debate there.

Didn't know he had to be in Washington to show his support. Especially, since he hasn't been there is so long.

That's like a 2-hour flight, not including time-zone changes. I see, McCain supporters are also grasping for straws. This is political move plain and simple.

Um... obviously he doesn't support the bill as originally presented. So what, you want him to just say "I don't like it" and let it die?

Earlier I heard those comments mentioned ... and in the body of the same story heard where Reid & Pelosi were busy drafting comments to the contrary.

Probably not much of a flip-flop penalty when you're Reid though.

It left me wondering whether Reid was actually trying to set a trap for McCain with the original remarks, hoping that McCain would be foolish enough to show up for a debate unprepared or if for a brief moment honesty overrode his partisanship and he spoke without thinking of the potential consequences ... or even if for some bizarro universe reason he knew exactly what he was saying and was setting Obama up to look bad by failing to do likewise.

I can see it now, McCain wins in November and sometime around Obama's concession speech a smiling Reid rips off his shirt to reveal a "Clinton in '12" t-shirt :D

No, I think they are estimating Palin. It is not that Biden is going to look great. I think it seems the McCain people don't think Palin can be ready by then. It is so easily apparent that you'd have to blind not see this for what it is. Let's go back to the campain offices...

McCain adviser: John, we are in trouble. Palin having real problems keeping the basic facts we are covering with her straight, and is not doing a very good job thinking on her feet. She'll not be ready next week.
McCain: Well, that's not good. How's our poll numbers?
McCain advisor: You might want to sit down for this....
McCain: Well, what can we do? Do we have the money to go real aggressive on TV ads to try to improve our numbers?
Advisor: No, sir. If we spend more now, we are going to be broke by the end of October.
McCain: Hmmmmm....what can we do to get good press and save money?




Obama Advisor: McCain suspending his campain and pulling all his tv adds. He wants to move the debate to next week and put off the VP debate.
Obama: Really? Crazy. How's our numbers.
Advisor: Going up.
Obama: Well, we'd be idiots not to take advantage of this and keep campaigning, right?
Advisor: Yes, sir. Full steam ahead.


BTW, why else in the heck would you pull TV ads unless you're worried about the money? It's not like McCain makes them, buys the time, and puts them on the air. It makes no sense at all.

Er, Flasch seems to have psychic abilities:

Link: CNN: McCain Camp to Propose Postponing VP Debate

Full Text:

And this just in from Barney Frank on MSNBC:

Ummm....actually he doesn't.

Reid to McCain: Don't Come Back to Capitol

September 24, 2008 5:14 PM
A Democrat tells ABC News that, in a phone call late this afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that it would NOT be helpful for him to come back to Washington, D.C., to work on the Wall Street bailout bill.
McCain this afternoon suspended his campaign and said he would skip the first presidential debate in order to return to Capitol Hill to work on the log-jammed Bush administration legislation, which, as of Wednesday afternoon, was in peril.
McCain had phoned Reid to ask about the prospects of him, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and others to sit down and work together on hammering out a bipartisan proposal.
"Sorry," Reid said to him, a Democrat close to Reid says.
Reid then read McCain the statement he had just put out: "This is a critical time for our country," says the Reid statement. "While I appreciate that both candidates have signaled their willingness to help, Congress and the administration have a process in place to reach a solution to this unprecedented financial crisis. I understand that the candidates are putting together a joint statement at Sen. Obama’s suggestion. But it would not be helpful at this time to have them come back during these negotiations and risk injecting presidential politics into this process or distract important talks about the future of our nation’s economy. If that changes, we will call upon them. We need leadership; not a campaign photo op. If there were ever a time for both candidates to hold a debate before the American people about this serious challenge, it is now.”
A source close to Reid said McCain didn't have much to say after that. Reid, the source says, thinks McCain's maneuver is a gimmick born from bad poll numbers and the fact that "debate prep must not be going very well."
- jpt
UPDATE: McCain senior adviser Mark Salter emails: "Yesterday, Harry Reid said that consensus couldn't be achieved without John McCain's leadership. John stepped up and is providing that leadership. Now Senator Reid seems to have changed his mind for reasons we'll let him explain. But what he should understand is that this isn't about Harry Reid or John McCain or Barack Obama. It's about the American people and, in the words of Warren Buffet, the financial Pearl Harbor they're facing. John's committed to doing his part to help avert that calamity. We hope Senator Reid is too."

That just makes Reid looking like he's playing politics... first saying Republicans would defer to him and then saying, oh no, please don't come back!

You know like JIMG already discussed a few posts up (the Reid having a Hillary '12 shirt comment).

ew good one although, it more like he stepped out of the ring and said, "I have more important things to deal with and will get at you later. Oh and that match between our managers? Well we might not have enough time for that to happen now."

So, McCain, in dropping everything to deal with the financial crisis, does a Curic interview, meets with the British supporter, and will stick around until tomorrow in New York to address Clinton's little shindig.

SI

I heard that Obama said today in a speech that what kind of president can't do more than one thing at a time? This si going to boomerang right back at McCain as nothing more than being afraid of debating Obama whether true or not. And anyone here or anywhere's else who thinks the Republican's aren't afraid to have Sarah debate ANYONE is a bigger for than she is. I mean God they won't even let her answer a question from the media unless setup three weeks in advance.:lol:

Brilliant :D

SI

Oops. McCain's spokesperson in Colorado accidentally emailed out the campaign's internal talking points about the suspension to the media.

Colorado Independent » Oops! Colorado McCain camp sends internal e-mail to reporters

That was exactly what I was thinking. It would be a great tactical move by the Obama team, since Biden doesn't really need any prep on the issues aside from having someone hit him repeatedly with a mallet that says "Don't say anything stupid, you idiot!" on it, while from all accounts Sarah Palin is still having trouble identifying the location of Russia's capital.

Yes. If not, they should be. And it doesn't matter if she's debating Biden or a tree stump, it's obvious that she's an idiot.

YouTube - CBS Sarah Palin interview

Well, that's one way of getting the key points to the media I guess.

It's sooo scandalous.

I can't believe people think this was an accident. McCain is simply playing the media to run with his own talking points. By making it seem like a "mistake", McCain just got gleeful liberals to repeat his talking points for 48 hours - somehow thinking they are hurting him ;)

As to the debate, I think it's a wise move for McCain. They will not get postponed, the democrats would storm the capital with torches as they all feel Obama will roll him. He makes it look like both him and Palin aren't ready (also postponing the VP debate) - which once again sets up the low expectations gambit. Then, he will reluctantly take the debate, appear very statesmen-like while Obama ends up looking like the eager politician more interesting in gaining an advantage in the election than helping the country.

Jeez, I'm still amazed at how the media (and many in this thread) have been played like a fiddle by McCain the past 2-3 months. But, if it ain't broke, don't fix it...

you know we're in the opposite sketches (YCDTOTV reference) when the Democrats are frantically trying to slash down the amount of a handout, and the Republicans are trying to inflate it.

I think you're seeing things differently then most everyone else sees it. The problem with having constant low expectations is.. well.. if you never progress to having higher expectations, then you generally lose.

Interesting..

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - CNN confirms: McCain, Obama to meet with Bush about bailout « - Blogs from CNN.com

Bush asked McCain and Obama to come to the White House to fix this and, Obama has accepted! Of course, one could say that Bush is in on this to help McCain (I think Bush thinks he can save his own legacy, but whatever).

Well, not always (2000 & 2004, and in some respects 1980).

I guess if he was doing this for the good of the country in a non-partisan way, then why the need for distributed talking points?

I think both Palin and McCain will exceed their low expectations in the debate and have higher expectations. They've just been playing that hand longer than I thought was possible.

I'm not sure what is more scary...you making a YCDTOTV reference or me not even having to do a double-take on the acronym. Hopefully I'm not the only one.

would you possibly think anything else? this page of the thread is a massive lesson on how badly Arles is spun.


LOLLERS, McCain stood Letterman up and who did Letterman get instead: Keith Olberman. Must see TV.