Certainly the most unusual US presidential race in my recollection

[rachelmanija]

McCain is refusing to debate Obama as scheduled unless a bailout deal is reached by Friday.

My reaction: ...what? WHAT?! Boggle boggle boggle... WHAT?!

More considered reaction: WHAT?!!!!???!!!

Very considered reaction: Either political grandstanding in a poorly thought-out manner, or McCain REALLY doesn't want to debate Obama, or he hopes that by postponing the Pesidential debate he can entirely evade the VP debate because he REALLY REALLY doesn't want America to see Palin speaking live and unscripted.

My guess is political grandstanding. Possibly with a side of wishing to avoid his or her debate.

The debate is an hour and a half (okay, plus lots of prep time.) There is no reason why they can't help with the budget crisis and debate. We held presidential debates in 1944, for God's sake.

Also: oh noes! My debate party!!!

Comments

[branna.livejournal.com]

You were having a debate party?

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

I hope Obama sits there and talks to the American people for half an hour. Fuck McCain.

[trasnochadora.livejournal.com]

Trying to buy time to prepare Palin to mulishly regurgitate the same old lines speak unscripted during her neutered debate with Biden so as to appear plausible as a VP candidate, maybe? Yeah, I can see how he'd need more time to pull off that feat...

Ugh.

[rurounitriv.livejournal.com]

It doesn't surprise me that he doesn't want to find out what would happen if Palin actually had to answer questions. I mean, seriously, the woman didn't even know what the VP does when she got tapped to be McCain's blow-up doll.

McCain is just being a chickenshit and hiding behind the crisis that he didn't even admit existed a month ago.

[liviapenn.livejournal.com]

You know, don't we actually have elected officials whose *actual job it is* to be dealing with this crisis? Like, I get that one of these guys will be president 4 months from now, and it's not really like I *want* the current president or administration to be in charge of ANYTHING that could possibly concern me (or, well, ANYONE really, but selfishly: me.) But is McCain really trying to argue that Obama would be seriously irresponsible to not drop everything and attack this economy problem 110% right now? Why? He's not actually the President YET.

[kateelliott.livejournal.com]

The latest proposal from the McCain camp is to move Friday's postponed debate to take the place of the VP debate. Ha. Seriously. Then, of course, the VP debate would never be re-scheduled (I figure), and the electorate would never ever see Palin in an unscripted appearance (even as tepid as the debates these days are as unscripted appearances) before election day.

However, Obama has already stated he is going to show up on Friday.

Meanwhile, Bush has called Obama to Washington DC to attend a meeting on the financial crisis.

This is officially the weirdest election I've ever witnessed.

[dawnybee.livejournal.com]

Very considered reaction: Either political grandstanding in a poorly thought-out manner, or McCain REALLY doesn't want to debate Obama, or he hopes that by postponing the Pesidential debate he can entirely evade the VP debate because he REALLY REALLY doesn't want America to see Palin speaking live and unscripted.

My guess is political grandstanding. Possibly with a side of wishing to avoid his or her debate.

I’m with you on the grandstanding. It makes him seem as if he so invested in this debacle and he wants to be part of the brain trust. Never mind that all this time he has gone on about how little he knows about economics.

I really think he’s trying to buy some time and using this as the perfect excuse. I find it curious that he could’ve announced this on Monday—it’s not like he didn’t know there were hearings going on. But after the no-talk express mess with Palin, he has to do something to draw away from the negative attention.

[ewein2412]

I thot this typo Pesidential say "Pestidential" which just about sums it up!

[firesprite1105.livejournal.com]

You know what I would love to see? I wish with all my heart that the Obama camp would issue a statement to the effect of, "McCain knows nothing about economics and this is just a front because he knows that if he debates Obama, he's gonna lose."

I mean, McCain's economics adviser is PHIL GRAMM, who's got quite a responsibility for starting this whole mess by pushing for deregulation in 2001, which McCain voted for! I really wish the Obama people would shout this from the freakin' rooftops and say, "Hey, we've got Paul Volcker! Remember him?!!" God, if McCain wins, it's going to be a disaster. I am seriously freaking out about this election.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

He's explicitly said that he'd be happy to postpone the VP debate. I do *not* think that's an accident.

He really doesn't want to answer straight questions about the economy, but much more than that, he doesn't want Sarah Palin to do so.