McCain Suspends Campaign

[Steff]

So, aside from heading back to washington, choosing Couric over Letterman, and trying to get the VP debate canceled, what has Senator McCain done to actually suspend his campaign? His ads are still running. None of his campaign offices have different instructions from what they had yesterday. The Senator still made his Clinton Global Initiative speech this morning. The Senator will still (Along with Senator Obama) appear on all 3 national newscasts tonight.

What exactly does "Suspending one's campaign" entail?

 

 

Just on the regular news or will they screw up the shows? The link isn't clear.

 

 

ETA:

 

NVM.. it says they are taping so I assume it'll just be on the regular broadcasts. Better not screw up my Tivo stuff...

[HuskyCaucasian]

Obama's camp, after sniping at McCain's "suspension," dismisses it this evening as a stunt in a memo to the press:

So make no mistake: John McCain did not “suspend” his campaign. He just turned a national crisis into an occasion to promote his campaign. It’s become just another political stunt, aimed more at shoring up the Senator’s aimed more at shoring up the Senator’s political fortunes than the nation’s economy. And it does nothing to help advance this critical legislation to protect the American people during this time of economic crisis.

[mr_genius]

Obama's camp, after sniping at McCain's "suspension," dismisses it this evening as a stunt in a memo to the press:

 

the Obama campaign is a train wreck. they just blew a huge chance to appear to be presidential; they went with the petty stuff.

 

I mean really, McCain is pretty much putting the ball on a T to hit and they are missing. Obama just needed to get to Washington, have his meeting with the president, engage in talks (give the impression of being on top of things). Then if asked about the McCain ditching the debate? Make it known that he will be at the debate, if McCain doesn't show up, take the time to grab the headlines and give his detailed plans with no rebuttal. McCain would come out looking too old to handle more than one thing at a time during a crisis. Obama's youth and energy would have been big here, it's an advantage for him.

Edited September 26, 2008 by mr_genius

[lostfan]

the Obama campaign is a train wreck. they just blew a huge chance to appear to be presidential; they went with the petty stuff.

 

I mean really, McCain is pretty much putting the ball on a T to hit and they are missing. Obama just needed to get to Washington, have his meeting with the president, engage in talks (give the impression of being on top of things). Then if asked about the McCain ditching the debate? Make it known that he will be at the debate, if McCain doesn't show up, take the time to grab the headlines and give his detailed plans with no rebuttal. McCain would come out looking too old to handle more than one thing at a time during a crisis. Obama's youth and energy would have been big here, it's an advantage for him.

Obama is still doing all those things, at least he's been giving that impression from watching the news today (I've been watching since like 5 pm because today's news cycle is f***ing hilarious to me, I don't know why). The campaign memo is just garbage background noise, I don't think anybody's going to notice it.

[mr_genius]

Obama is still doing all those things, at least he's been giving that impression from watching the news today (I've been watching since like 5 pm because today's news cycle is f***ing hilarious to me, I don't know why). The campaign memo is just garbage background noise, I don't think anybody's going to notice it.

 

I haven't been watching, thats probably a good thing. I really think McCain ditching the debate would be a disaster for him. Reminds me of a quote by Winston Churchill "Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide". If McCain wants to ditch debates because he needs a nap after working in the Senate, thats his problem not Obama's.

 

If it was a total political stunt, McCain was really rolling the dice. If the deal doesn't get done and he shows up he obviously went back on his word. If the deal doesn't get done and he ditches he looks bad while Obama goes on the offensive with free national TV coverage to get his message out and communicate with the American public (assuming they would go on with the "debate" as they stated even without McCain) He didn't leave himself much of an out.

Edited September 26, 2008 by mr_genius

[Texsox]

BTW, I would totally have supported Obama suspending his campaign to focus on the White Sox playoff run. That's a good reason, not this bulls***.

[mr_genius]

BTW, I would totally have supported Obama suspending his campaign to focus on the White Sox playoff run. That's a good reason, not this bulls***.

 

now THAT is a good excuse

 

[lostfan]

I haven't been watching, thats probably a good thing. I really think McCain ditching the debate would be a disaster for him. Reminds me of a quote by Winston Churchill "Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide". If McCain wants to ditch debates because he needs a nap after working in the Senate, thats his problem not Obama's.

 

If it was a total political stunt, McCain was really rolling the dice. If the deal doesn't get done and he shows up he obviously went back on his word. If the deal doesn't get done and he ditches he looks bad while Obama goes on the offensive with free national TV coverage to get his message out and communicate with the American public (assuming they would go on with the "debate" as they stated even without McCain) He didn't leave himself much of an out.

All of the things you've said have pretty much been the Obama campaign's strategy for the last 24 hours or so, at least judging off Obama's actions and how he says he's going to the debate with or without McCain. Most of the talking heads are talking about "WTF is going on on Capitol Hill, WTF is McCain doing?" Obama had a press conference too and he really only took one mild jab at McCain "the fundamentals of our economy are not strong" and the rest he was speaking in a bipartisan tone. His campaign memo has gotten very little mention, if any, they're preoccupied with other issues. On a slow news day it probably would've been the main focus of the day though.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Well, everything will be fixed by Saturday apparently:

So how long is the McCain campaign really yanking its ads for amid McCain's "suspension" of his campaign to deal with the financial crisis?

 

Well, until Saturday, it appears -- whether or not the financial crisis is resolved.

 

Obama spokesperson Bill Burton tells us that the McCain campaign is specifically instructing TV stations to start re-airing McCain's ads on Saturday.

 

The Obama camp would presumably be getting such info from its own media buyers, who are in touch regularly with the TV stations.

 

So, either McCain knows something about the bailout compromise that we dont, or his "suspending" was nothing more than a shame.

 

I vote shame.

[southsider2k5]

http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmart...ure_builds.html

 

McCain camp raising town halls again as pressure builds

 

In what could be groundwork for the possibility that they have to skip tomorrow's debate, both John McCain and his top aide used similar rhetoric tonight to downplay the importance of the first presidential forum.

 

If Barack Obama had agreed to McCain's summer proposal to do joint town halls, the candidate and Steve Schmidt said, this would only be one more of many sessions featuring the two major party nominees.

 

"I understand that there is a lot of attention on this but I also wish Senator Obama had agreed to ten or more town hall meetings that I had asked him to attend with me," McCain told ABC's Charlie Gibson when asked in an interview broadcast on World News Tonight whether there would be a debate Friday in Mississippi as planned. "Wouldn't be quite that much urgency if he agreed to do that, instead he refused to do it."

 

Talking to the campaign pool reporter later, Schmidt said McCain hoped to make it to Oxford before shifting the conversation.

 

"He had actually hoped this would be the 11th debate of the campaign, not the first," Schmidt said. "He's very disappointed in Sen. Obama about that because this could have been the 11th debate. Sen. Obama said he would debate anywhere, anyplace, anytime. He refused to do that."

 

McCain's campaign recognizes the danger in skipping a long-agreed-to debate when the host, debate commission and their opponent is going forward as planned. The rhetoric tonight from McCain and Schmidt reflects a search for some measure of political cover, something that can muddy the waters.

 

Schmidt said McCain would be on the phone tonight, cajoling colleagues and trying to get closer to a deal.

 

"He's working very, very hard to try to get majority votes," Schmidt stated.

 

And now there is no longer just a policy imperative but increasingly a political one.

 

McCain needs at least consensus on the framework of an agreement to declare victory and jet south. To attend the debate without a deal in place just days after saying he would not do so could well undermine his entire gambit.

 

But missing the face off is hardly a preferred option, especially if McCain is not seen as aiding progress towards a deal. McCain's camp had hoped to put the onus on Obama by effectively forcing him to return to Washington for a high-level White House meeting. But if the GOP nominee, who has used his ability to get stuff done as a signature talking point, can't deliver after returning to the capital to do just that, his ploy could boomerang.

 

The good news for McCain is that he isn't the only one who wants to quickly get a deal done.

 

My Hill colleagues report that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chair Ben Bernanke are both heading back up to Capital tonight to try to end the impasse.

[HuskyCaucasian]

oh, guess he wasnt serious about suspending his campaign and the debate. McCain is leaving for Mississippi as reported by CNN just now.

 

First he said he wouldn't leave until there was a deal, then it was "significant progress", now... well, hell it's good enough. I can leave.

 

When you add this to the fact that McCain was ONLY pulling his ads for Friday and was going to run them again starting on Saturday... this was a 100% political stunt.

Edited September 26, 2008 by Athomeboy_2000

[BigSqwert]

... this was a 100% political stunt.

 

It took you this long to figure that out? I thought it was obvious the moment the news came out.

[lostfan]

http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmart...ure_builds.html

I would take McCain more at face value here if it wasn't an obvious strategic ploy for him to demand this from Obama (not that he is necessarily wrong to do that, this is a campaign after all). It would be like Obama coming out and saying "if McCain had agreed to my proposal to have a speech-a-thon, we wouldn't be having this problem."

[Rex Kickass]

McCain suspension creates serious discord in the GOP.

 

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/26/hu...a-huge-mistake/

 

MOBILE, Ala. — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Thursday that Sen. John McCain made a “huge mistake” by even discussing canceling the presidential debate with Sen. Barack Obama.

 

McCain’s campaign has said the Republican wouldn’t participate in the Mississippi debate Friday unless there was a consensus on the financial crisis, but Obama still wants the debate to go on.

 

Huckabee defeated McCain in the Alabama GOP primary in February.

 

Huckabee said Thursday in Mobile that the people need to hear both candidates. He said that’s “far better than heading to Washington” to huddle with senators.

 

He said the candidates should level with the people about the financial crisis and say the “heart of this is greed.”

 

Huckabee said he still backs McCain’s candidacy, but said the Arizona senator should not have put his campaign on hold to deal with the financial crisis on Wall Street. He said a president must be prepared to “deal with the unexpected.”

 

“You can’t just say, ‘World stop for a moment. I’m going to cancel everything,”‘ Huckabee said.

[lostfan]

As a commentator, I actually really like Mike Huckabee.

[Rex Kickass]

As a commentator, I actually really like Mike Huckabee.

 

Better there than in office.

[Rex Kickass]

McCain is suspending his campaign suspension to debate.

 

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13970.html

[kapkomet]

McCain is suspending his campaign suspension to debate.

 

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13970.html

 

It's funny, actually.

[Rex Kickass]

So was this all a stunt to begin with?

 

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/20...ins_debate.html

 

Although the fate of tonight's presidential debate in Mississippi remains very much up in the air, John McCain has apparently already won it -- if you believe an Internet ad an astute reader spotted next to this piece in the online edition of the Wall Street Journal this morning.

 

"McCain Wins Debate!" declares the ad which features a headshot of a smiling McCain with an American flag background. Another ad spotted by our eagle-eyed observer featured a quote from McCain campaign manager Rick Davis declaring: "McCain won the debate-- hands down."

 

[StrangeSox]

As a commentator, I actually really like Mike Huckabee.

 

Huckabee seems like a genuinely nice, likeable guy. He just has some crazy ideas is all.

 

McCain is suspending his campaign suspension to debate.

 

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13970.html

 

 

It's beginning to remind me of Dwight's shunning of Andrew on The Office.

Edited September 26, 2008 by StrangeSox

[BigSqwert]

Perhaps a hostile crowd in Mississippi tonight?

[Heads22]

I'm another Dem that really likes Huckabee.

[BigSqwert]

According to MSNBC's David Shuster, McCain Aide Mark Salter has confirmed that last night John McCain spent two or three hours preparing for tonight's debate.

 

So in the middle of this financial crisis, as he was claiming to have stopped campaigning, John McCain was doing debate prep.

 

Just another example of McCain's unsuspended campaign.

 

LINK

[DukeNukeEm]

Perhaps a hostile crowd in Mississippi tonight?

Ugh, cant let people start sympathizing with him.

[BigSqwert]

Appropriating Wanker of the Day

 

by dday

 

I hope Atrios doesn't mind, but this qualifies for serious wanker status:

After declaring he

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d return to Wa

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hington to help with the bailout negotiation

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immediately after la

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t night

’

s

debate,

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en. John McCain (R-AZ) never went to Capitol Hill today. In fact, McCain

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tayed largely holed up in hi

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Arlington apartment, leaving only to go to hi

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campaign headquarter

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ju

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t around the bloc

k

, the New Yor

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Time

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report

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:

 

A

s

k

ed why Mr. McCain did not go to Capitol Hill after coming bac

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to Wa

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hington to help with negotiation

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, [McCain advi

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er] Mr.

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alter replied that

“

he can effectively do what he need

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to do by phone."

So this diva gets the cameras assembled on Wednesday and gravely intones that he has to jet to Washington to save the economy. By Thursday he's blown up the negotiations, by Friday he's unsuspended the suspension, and he shoots back to Washington to continue the swashbuckling, which consists of cleaning out the refrigerator and puttering around the house.

 

And then there's that coup de grace comment by Mark Salter, that "he can effectively do what he needs to do by phone." Um, then why couldn't he have done that on, you know, Wednesday?

 

I wonder what exciting reality stunts The John McCain Show will have in store for us next week? Maybe he'll eat a live scorpion to grab himself immunity!

 

UPDATE: I think we have our answer!

In an election campaign notable for it

s

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urpri

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e

s

,

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arah Palin, the Republican vice- pre

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idential candidate, may be about to

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pring a new one

—

the wedding of her pregnant teenage daughter to her ice-hoc

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ey-playing fianc

é

before the November 4 election.

 

In

s

ide John McCain

’

s

campaign the expectation i

s

growing that there will be a popularity boo

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ting pre-election wedding in Ala

s

k

a between Bri

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tol Palin, 17, and Levi John

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ton, 18, her

s

choolmate and father of her baby.

“

It would be fanta

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tic,

”

s

aid a McCain in

s

ider.

“

You would have every TV camera there. The entire country would be watching. It would

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hut down the race for a wee

k

.

”

 

There i

s

already

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ome urgency to the wedding a

s

Bri

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tol, who i

s

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ix month

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pregnant, may not want to wal

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down the ai

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le too clo

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e to her date of delivery.

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he turn

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18 on October 18 . . .

 

. . . McCain i

s

expected to have a front-row

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eat at Bri

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tol

’

s

wedding and to benefit from the outpouring of goodwill that it could bring.

“

What

’

s

the down

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ide?

”

a

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ource in

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ide the McCain campaign

s

aid.

“

It would be wonderful. I don

’

t

k

now that there ha

s

ever been a pre-election wedding before.

”

As usual in the McCain campaign, a good idea is described as an idea that's never been tried before.