The debate is on
On Wednesday John McCain announmced the suspension of campaigning, campaign ads, and that he'd skip the debate tonight if a deal hadn't been reached on the bailout. Well, a deal hasn't been reached, but McCain realizes that he can't not attend the debate so he's going, and he'll return to DC after the debate is over:
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) ended three days of suspense on Friday morning and announced that he will leave bailout negotiations in Washington and fly to Oxford, Miss., for tonight's opening presidential debate.
McCain had previously said that he would suspend his campaign—and so would not attend the debate—until an agreement was reached on the administration's $700 billion mortgage proposal.
No such agreement has been reached, but Republicans said the standoff was hurting McCain's campaign and that he would look terrible if he didn't attend the nationally televised, eagerly anticipated debate, while Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was ready to go on stage.
McCain was headed from his campaign office to the airport to fly to the University of Mississippi for the 9 p.m. Eastern debate.
In a statement, McCain's campaign said: "Senator McCain has spent the morning talking to members of the Administration, members of the Senate, and members of the House. He is optimistic that there has been significant progress toward a bipartisan agreement now that there is a framework for all parties to be represented in negotiations, including Representative [Roy] Blunt as a designated negotiator for House Republicans."
The statement acknowledged that little progress had been made, but said McCain had tried, arguing that at Thursday's White House summit, he had "listened to all sides so he could help focus the debate on finding a bipartisan resolution that is in the interest of taxpayers and homeowners."
I had said on Wednesday I didn't think it was smart for him to duck out of the debate, no matter the excuse, save a serious health problem. I still believe it would be wrong to skip the debate especially with the Plan B proposed by Ole Miss if McCain had decided he wasn't going to show. It would have been a townhall format with the audience submitting questions to Jim Lehrer, and then he'd present them to Obama. So instead of a debate, we'd witness a 90 minute lovefest.
Captain Ed doesn't think much of the debates, and while he may have a point about them being nothing more than some sort of kabuki show, I disagree to a point. Labor Day marks the day where much of the electorate begins to pay attention to the campaign. This is why the debates are slated AFTER Labor Day, and they represent the best time to see what each candidate has to say. Sure, there are comeback lines and gotcha moments, but they both get to lay out their visions for the nation. That's what the debates are for.
Given the fact that Obama isn't predicted to do well tonight, this debate may be his Waterloo. On Wednesday we heard his reaction to McCain ceasing his campaigning. We heard the statement he had about going back to DC. He royally screwed the pooch then, and tonight will not make him look any better. Yes, we need a solution for the financial crisis, but the public needs to see these two square off.
Publius II
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) ended three days of suspense on Friday morning and announced that he will leave bailout negotiations in Washington and fly to Oxford, Miss., for tonight's opening presidential debate.
McCain had previously said that he would suspend his campaign—and so would not attend the debate—until an agreement was reached on the administration's $700 billion mortgage proposal.
No such agreement has been reached, but Republicans said the standoff was hurting McCain's campaign and that he would look terrible if he didn't attend the nationally televised, eagerly anticipated debate, while Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was ready to go on stage.
McCain was headed from his campaign office to the airport to fly to the University of Mississippi for the 9 p.m. Eastern debate.
In a statement, McCain's campaign said: "Senator McCain has spent the morning talking to members of the Administration, members of the Senate, and members of the House. He is optimistic that there has been significant progress toward a bipartisan agreement now that there is a framework for all parties to be represented in negotiations, including Representative [Roy] Blunt as a designated negotiator for House Republicans."
The statement acknowledged that little progress had been made, but said McCain had tried, arguing that at Thursday's White House summit, he had "listened to all sides so he could help focus the debate on finding a bipartisan resolution that is in the interest of taxpayers and homeowners."
I had said on Wednesday I didn't think it was smart for him to duck out of the debate, no matter the excuse, save a serious health problem. I still believe it would be wrong to skip the debate especially with the Plan B proposed by Ole Miss if McCain had decided he wasn't going to show. It would have been a townhall format with the audience submitting questions to Jim Lehrer, and then he'd present them to Obama. So instead of a debate, we'd witness a 90 minute lovefest.
Captain Ed doesn't think much of the debates, and while he may have a point about them being nothing more than some sort of kabuki show, I disagree to a point. Labor Day marks the day where much of the electorate begins to pay attention to the campaign. This is why the debates are slated AFTER Labor Day, and they represent the best time to see what each candidate has to say. Sure, there are comeback lines and gotcha moments, but they both get to lay out their visions for the nation. That's what the debates are for.
Given the fact that Obama isn't predicted to do well tonight, this debate may be his Waterloo. On Wednesday we heard his reaction to McCain ceasing his campaigning. We heard the statement he had about going back to DC. He royally screwed the pooch then, and tonight will not make him look any better. Yes, we need a solution for the financial crisis, but the public needs to see these two square off.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 10:56 AM
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