Even assuming John McCain's move of "suspending" his campaign to become involved in trying to resolve the financial crisis was not basically a political ploy, it raises questions about what prompted it, what its purpose was, and what it could realistically, soberly hope to accomplish. It's hard to see what any thinking, reflective, experienced person would hope to accomplish by very visibly, ostentatiously, "suspending" a presidential political campaign with its countless considerations of all scale and carefully (we assume)crafted and cultivated momentum less than two months before the election.
McCain's move was destined to be futile or at most peripheral. He was only one individual among many, and clearly not the most powerful or best informed at that with regard to the situation. Aside from the number of individuals seeking a solution to the crisis, the situation was complex and required satisfaction of manifold, and in some cases competing considerations and concerns. Any resolution would obviously be a complex compromise reflecting constituencies, values, and goals of no single faction. No one person would be able to take credit for any resolution. McCain could only get lost in the crowd and be seen as one of a number of negotiators and legislators--this at a time when he was trying to project an image of exceptional leadership required for the presidency of the United States.
Along with the improbability of any solution being brought about from his presence and the certainty that even if any solution came about during the time of his presence, McCain would only in the most general way be associated with it. McCain took an inadvisable risk by appearing to trifle with the scheduled first presidential candidate debate only a few days off. Many Americans count on such debates to not only become informed of details of a candidate's policies, but to size up a candidate as a person. By not showing up, McCain would at least have disappointed many voters. Whatever reaction among the public from disappointment to disgust, by not showing up at the debate no matter what reason or explanation, McCain would have been seen as out of touch with the American public. As it was, it appeared he was slinking back to the debate after a futile venture back to Washington.
Whether simply staged or heartfelt, McCain's leadership moment fell flat. His attempt to demonstrate leadership accomplished the opposite. Some commentators saw the "suspension" as a naked political stunt to take center stage. Others saw it as a diversion to draw attention from Palin's poor showing in recent interviews and from recent poor poll showings . Others saw it as an attempt to avoid having to face Obama. But one doesn't have to try to figure out what was behind the suspension to apprise it. McCain showed himself to be prompted by characteristics he hardly understands and cannot control into a situation he poorly grasps.
Just like Bush.
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Comments: 14
Look at the polls: even the exciting "Palin bounce" is now waning, and the old man's campaign is beginning it's final tail spin.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/us/general_election_mccain_vs_obama-225.html
http://www.gallup.com/poll/110740/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Moves-50-42-Lead.aspx
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/
Thanks for your thoughts.
"McCain, who's limited on his campaign funds, suspended a few days of campaigning for the betterment of our country. He was top in the news, free of charge, for the last week because of it. I'd say he's genius. This is the kind of thinking we need to be in the White House. He's a practical statesman and should be commended in my opinion. "
1. He did NOT suspend his campaign. He only SAID that he was. There was NOTHING suspended, except reality, which is typical for today's republicans.
2. Virtually all news coverage about his fraudulent "campaign suspension" was negative.
3. Genius would be something that resulted in POSITIVE, not NEGATIVE effects.
4. We've already suffered for 8 long years under this type of disastrous "thinking."
5. McCain is neither practical nor a statesman. He's pathetic, and his campaign is a national disgrace and insult to every American, past and present.
The financial mess--as Obama usually calls it, rather than crisis--is so vast and complex and took such a long time to develop and will take such a long time to clear up even minimally, it's hard to blame either party or any individual or group. I think homeowners contributed to the problem as well as Wall Street markets--there was a mania and prevailing dishonesty among many persons in many areas of the economy and the society. But anyway--I didn't need the financial crisis--as Bush and his crowd usually calls it--to have a low opinion of Bush, or to be worried over a McCain presidency. The more I see of McCain, the more I see him as a mirror of Bush. While McCain is trying to carve out--more or less expediently and erratically--policies and directions to distance himself from Bush, I see them both as basically the same type of swaggering, needlessly provocative, aimless type of person. McCain may have different policies and directions than Bush, but I don't see they will be improvements in getting the U.S. back on some sort of pathway of decency, respectability, wisdom, prudence, admirability; this latter to some degree because of a forthrightness, courage, and fortitude in dealing with the country's faults.
You will see more desperation on his part the closer the election gets.
America should not tolerate slander from a President. Slander to criminally gain power is the act of a despot. Casting sly innuendo to trigger untrue suspicions is just as unconscionable.