http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26872907/

I'd probably want to cancel too if I had to defend my positions that have been failures.

Personally, I hope the debate moves forward, because what this country needs is more debate on the issues we will be voting on.

This is just another form of McCain's "gorilla dust" that he will rely on from now until the election.

Which network is going to air the debates?

There has been concern that having the debates on a Friday night is going to mean low viewership. I think that in this era of multiple time-shifting options, that shouldn't be an issue, but people who are smarter and wiser than I think otherwise. On the other hand, the idea of a Friday night Presidential debate watching party sounds like a lot of fun.

Who doesn't see through this charade?

The debate can be seen on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS, CSPAN, CNN, Fox news, and MSNBC.

McCain says he is "suspending" his campaign. Not sure if it is a charade, a shrewd political move, or a big blunder. We'll see.

Since he took Federal Funding, why doesn't he just give it back to help the bail out and just give up the election now.

I had the same concerns about a Friday night debate since that's not a big TV night for a lot of people. However, I saw on CNN or MSNBC (can't remember which) that they would be replaying the debate both on Sat and Sun, so anyone that really has an interest should be able to tune in at some point.

He can't take a couple hours to explain what he would want to do about this? He should be able to do both. It's not like he's scheduled a round of golf that has to be cancelled. The debates are important too.

I think it's all a big ass stunt.

Didn't the Fed just buy AIG without all this noise?

Can't they do it again?

(yes, but that requires printing money, and the fat cats don't want to see things devalued on their fault, neither do Republicans)

So, we've got this crisis that HAS TO GET DONE RIGHT NOW. Bull.

One thing I've learned over time is that there is always, always time to do it right.

So, we need to take that time and do it right, if at all, letting the FED take the shorter term pressure, which they make money (literally!) to do. Additionally, the financial market could use a little firm pressure to fully consider all their options and suck it up and take some losses and own up to this crap.

Any of us would, so why are they different?

Obama should just call out McCain and flat out state that Presidents need to multi-task and that the debate can continue right on time while details are being worked out.

This folks, is the surprise. Terror wouldn't work, starting a war wouldn't work, so they blow this market crisis up in an attempt to have that work for Republicans and give McCain an edge he seriously needs.

I smell wag the dog big time. Don't want any part of it. Not this election, not this time.

God damn, Republicans work their asses off this crap. Can you imagine how much good they could be doing, if they didn't have to spend so much time covering their asses?

This is purely a stunt -- McCain is weak on economic matters -- he's said so himself and the polls indicate as such.

If the debate does go forward, they should change the topic from foreign policy to economic policy.

Doesn't all this attention McCain is putting on the economy shine an even brighter light on the failings of the Republican administration and its and McCain's advocacy of deregulation? To me it amplifies the question we should be asking McCain, which is: "why should we elect another Republican to clean up the mess that was made by the Republicans?"

The Republicans in Congress seem to be screaming the loudest against the bailout. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Its a stunt and smart all in one. Obama can't even touch him for doing this right now or he would look foolish politically. Now, whether this will bring McCain back up in the polls, who knows.

The city of Oxford , MS has spent millions on this debate, to say nothing of all the arrangements to house , literally , the media renting rooms in people's houses, cause there isnt enough Hotel/ Motels. The venue is at Ole' Miss, the University of Mississippi, and the debate had to be arranged around an away Football game. Its a relatively small town , under 19,000 in population. So this is a big deal to them down there, postponing this debate. There are already a lot of pissed off people in MS. over this.

Unless John McCain can find a way to convince Senate Republicans to support a bailout, he's going to look pretty stupid trying to play president. Senate Republicans seem tepid at best about a bailout.

Maybe they'll give the whole 90 minutes to Obama while an empty chair represents McCain.

Obama made the first move, although in a slightly more statesmanlike direction. According to Fox News, Obama called McCain to suggest the two work out a joint statement containing the elements of a bill that would be acceptable to both, since the Paulson blank check is DOA.

There's no reason not to debate. We're a little over a month away from a hugely significant election, and so far the campaign has been embarrassingly trivial.

I think it would be reassuring to the nation and to the world to see that both candidates are head and shoulders above the incumbent.

"both candidates are head and shoulders above the incumbent."

All the second graders at the elementary school down the street are above the incumbent.

They should debate the economy.
McCain is running away scared.

McCain is lying about his reason to postpone. He's falling in the polls nationally and in several key battleground states.

The latest news says Obama wants the debate.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080924/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_29

"It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess," Obama said.

He added, "I think that it is going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once."

Damn Right!!

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/24/obama-fridays-debate-should-go-o n/

As well the Paulson blank check SHOULD BE DOA. Most reasonable people agree to that, Democrat or Republican I believe.

I think the 'three musketeers" in the Executive Branch knew that Congress would never approve a 3 page proposal for a 700 billion dollar Govt sponsored hedge fund administered by one person ! They now have insulation and deniability for what ever else is 'Christmas Treed" or earmarked on this bill. Remember, Treasury Secty. Paulson is a former CEO of Goldman-Sachs. Fox in charge of the henhouse ?

And to the debate. Just look at the scheduling nightmares this would create for the Networks if the debate were cancelled !

Naw, NBC would just plop on Howie Mandell, and ABC would be swapping wives again.

Unfortunately, how true !

Why would the Fox Network care about the henhouse?

Oops, slipped that one in there. I think the bailout could pass today if there was a minimal financial market fee for commodity transactions and stock transactions.

Paulson from Goldman Sachs doesn't want it as it will reduce the daily volume in the stock market and reduce his future pay when he goes back to Wall Street.

Paulson said if the fee was put into place many of the Financial Firms that are in need of the bailout won't participate.

If they won't participate then there must not be a problem, or Paulson is just letting the GOP greed show up and we may be looking at all of the GOP going home in two months for their continued greed that they want everybody in America pay for.

Obama is so perfect, he is always right and does the right thing. Liberals all the way on this board. If Obama was a white man would you love him so much?

The problem is a big one. The solution is unclear. What is clear is that I do not believe anything that comes out of the White House, George Bush, or anyone in the administration. Period.

I just don't see what calamity will occur that hasn't already. Businesses that need to keep borrowing money just to stay in business don't deserve a handout any more than I do. Why not just give the taxpayers their share of the trillion (about $4,300 if you count children or something on that order) so I can make it a few more months while I work on a strategy/miracle that may work once the Shrub and company are just a rotten memory instead a major impediment to prosperity.

If Obama was a white man the race wouldn't even be close.

"Obama is so perfect, he is always right and does the right thing."

Not clear on why you would say that other than your obvious frustration at the thought of someone with intelligence and concern for the common man will soon be the country's leader.

"Liberals all the way on this board."

Don't like it? Take a hike.

" If Obama was a white man would you love him so much?"

He's not, so what's your point? If George Bush had half a brain he'd not be in the running for the most destructive administration this country has ever had.

Wasn't just last week that McCain was saying the "fundamentals of the economy are strong". And now he's saying we're on the verge of an "historic" economic crisis.

There is one thing I do agree with John McCain about: he doesn't know much about economics.

Itsvern: Obama is so perfect, he is always right and does the right thing. Liberals all the way on this board. If Obama was a white man would you love him so much?

Vern, that's about the most ignorant thing anyone has posted here since Herb left. What exactly does this have to do with McCain's decision to pull out of the debate? Or the banking crisis? Instead, you come up with a cheap insult. Nice!

Andrew

Vern, welcome to the club, I guess.

Let me just flat out ask you and see if YOU can answer a straight forward question. Your predecessors rarely could. Let's see if you are cut from the same cloth;

Do you truly believe what you wrote above? Or are you just trying to get a reaction?

In the meanwhile, and while you likely ignore my question, blow me.

vern sez: Obama is so perfect, he is always right and does the right thing.

Who here said this?



Might as well join the pile on.

A new ABC News-Washington Post poll gives Obama-Biden the advantage as the economy becomes the front and center issue of the 2008 campaign.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/23/AR2008092303667_ pf.html

"If Obama was a white man would you love him so much?"

This is now the leader of the stupidest comment ever posted here competition.

Congrats Vern.

You know Joe Biden has one advantage, a talent for revising history. The gaffmeister strikes again !

CBS asked him about this bailout crisis and how G.W.B is handling it all, so he answered Katie Couric something like " After the stock Market Crash of 1929, President Franklin Roosevelt came ON TELEVISION and talked about ...blah blah...Biden is a disaster ! Of course Herbert Hoover was president in 1929 and THERE WAS NO TV anywhere , except in some RCA Labratory in NYC or in Farnsworth's basement ! Judahs H. Priest on Horseback !

Had Sarah Palin said that, the MEDIA would have hounded her out of the entire McCain campaign and McCain would likely have had to REPLACE her on the ticket under declarations of being an uniformed MORON. Palin would have been with out mercy, hounded and beat over the head relentlessly. And probably skewered instantly by Katie Couric in the interview, which she didnt do to Biden . She gave him a pass, because she knew who the President was in 1929 from the expression on her face in the Video clip.

Entertaining , nevertheless !

But I'm sure Joe Biden knows how to spell potato.

Why don't they just hold the debate on the floor of the Senate Friday night?

In addition McCain's people are trying to eliminate the VP debate by postponing Friday's debate until the date of the VP debate.

Looks like McCain believes he has choosen an Albatross for a running mate.

This looks to be one plane crash McCain isn't going to survive.



Captain McCain has already crashed several military planes to date. He might actually be a worse pilot than Bush, but that's another thread.

In one sitting, Geraldine Ferraro took questions from the press for nearly two hours when discussing her family's finances and other matters as she ran for vice-president in 1984.

I could easily see the McCain camp try to cancel the Biden/Palin debate early next month. Unless Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly does the questioning, there is no doubt the McCain camp will do what it takes to keep expectations as low as possible -- or move to cancel the debate outright.

David Letterman Reacts to John McCain Suspending Campaign

Way to go Dave!

Guess he still has a little left in him yet.

>>Joe Biden knows how to spell

actually both spellings of potato and potatoe are correct.

Ya, and if you believe that , you would also believe the line in one of those old Henry Weinhard Beer TV commercials :

( Old men sitting on a cattle ranch house porch somewhere in Texas drinking beer )
( Old guy with no teeth heavy stubble on face leaning back in his rocking chair pontificating)

" YEP, WE USED TO RUN HENRY WEINHARDTS DOWN AROUND SARAGOSA"

...............Joe Biden..........

Debates dont matter.

Bush never won one and looked how that turned out.

Debates do matter, just ask the Reagan folks about 1980. And President Ford didn't serve himself well in 1976 debating foreign policy against Jimmy Carter. Ford made a major blunder which helped seal the deal for Carter. Plus there is the famous question CNN's Bernard Shaw asked Michael Dukakis in 1988. Dukakis' answer didn't do him any favors with most voters.

OK Broadway, refer me to the dictionary that spells potato with an "e". I've looked and have found nothing to indicate spelling potato with an "e" is correct.

John McCain desperately wants a nap on Friday. If his schedule stays full, he will have to miss his nap. Johnny is cranky and forgetful without his nap. Naturally, he is petrified of the potential pitfalls when he will be forced to discuss domestic economic ties to foreign policy. He has precious little knowledge of the global connection to our financial crisis.

Friday night could be a disaster. McCain was hoping to condescendingly eviscerate Obama for daring to embrace diplomacy, roll out the big terror drums, and rattle off "axis of evil" and "harm innocent Americans" a dozen times. Now, all those stale plans are in ruins and he is cramming as hard as his running mate.

Neither McCain, nor Palin have the stones to face Letterman.

Guess he still has a little left in him yet.

He sure does, Missing. On the eighth of September, David Letterman waxed eloquently on the subject of global warming: "We Are All Dead Meat!"

Of course, Talpdx is right. One potato never has an 'e' in it, but a bushel of potatoes does.

Vern, I hope you enjoy this tune.

"Debates dont matter."

Then why do all Presidential candidates participate in them?

We don't suspend democracy just because we have a problem.

So, what then? We have the elections later, or something? That's where this is going.

The democratic process is absolutely required of us, or we have no union for the people, by the people and of the people.

We just don't do that here. Americans don't bow to fear and bend the rules. The Republicans really, really want us to start doing that, and have had some success at it and that sucks huge.

We can have those debates. We need to have those debates and the elections and all the other stuff that goes with picking our next President.

Frankly, this shows McCain isn't up to snuff. Obama is prepped and ready, McCain isn't. I want my President prepped and ready. I want my President to be able to do more than one thing at a time. And I want my President to not try to bully me with fear to get his way.

This is an American thing. I have to deal on my side of the social contract, meaning McCain and the Republicans can sure as hell deal on theirs.

Damn straight!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/25/obama-will-make-debate-a_n_129250.html

This is a President to be, who isn't taking any shit on his watch.

Personally I'm more impressed by Obama's level headed approach. He rightly said this is exactly the time the country needs to hear from the candidates who are vying to be President. McCain's extreme reactions to what has been going on is not the calm I'd like to see in the leader of this country. Last week he was saying the economy was strong, and now he's saying we're on the brink of an historic crisis. Talk about from one end to the other, and it doesn't exactly instill a sense of confidence in him that he really knows what is going on, let alone do something to fix it.

> Liberals all the way on this board. If Obama was a white man would you love him so much?

Well, if you had been paying attention, you might have noticed that I am not taking part in the Presidential pep rally that is unfolding on this board. I don't know who is going to win, and I'm happy to leave it at that. In regards to the second part of the above statement, I think that the answer amongst most if not all of the Obama supporters I have heard from is YES. They don't want John McCain or possibly any of the current crop of Republicans in the White House.

McCain still doesn't want to go to Mississipi for the debates.

Mississippi still has racism, does anybody else get the feeling that McCain isn't going there to Mississippi since there might be a possible atempt made on Obama's Life?

"If Obama was a white man would you love him so much?"

If Obama was white, there wouldn't even be a contest.
There are bigots of both parties that will just never vote for a black guy.
Fortunately these dinosaurs are a dying breed.

From Wikipedia:

The term Bradley effect, less commonly called the Wilder effect, refers to a frequently observed discrepancy between voter opinion polls and election outcomes in American political campaigns when a white candidate and a non-white candidate run against each other.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_effect

" Mississippi still has racism, does anybody else get the feeling that McCain isn't going there to Mississippi since there might be a possible atempt made on Obama's Life?"

No. Nobody else gets that feeling. Do you think that's the reason?

Are you saying that McCain is somehow doing Obama a favor in that McCain would be saving the life of Obama because there are racists in Mississippi who may try and kill Obama? That's the reason why McCain wants to not participate in the debates?

If so, gee, you might as well say something like " McCain has a peanut allergy. Therefore Obama would be wise and has some kind of moral high ground and a duty to reschedule the debates somewhere else because Mississippi has peanuts."

Please tell me you were kidding and I somehow missed the sarcasm.

There. There is your out. I suggest you take it.

Now that there is a bailout, I mean "rescue", proposal in place, still no word that McCain will attend the debate. I don't see how he can dodge it now. Not attending after an agreement in principle has been made will make McCain look like he's running away. My bet is he will be in Mississippi tomorrow night.

McCain will be a huge loser out of this whole thing if he doesn't show up.

And I agree that Obama has shown the steadiness and poise I want to see in a President during tough times. McCain is all over the board and seems flustered.

> Mississippi still has racism, does anybody else get the feeling that McCain isn't going there to
> Mississippi since there might be a possible atempt made on Obama's Life?

If this was meant as a serious comment, I think that you're really stretching things here, guy. You can find racists everywhere and anywhere in the country.

I say if Obama shows, let him speak. I still want him to explain as many things as he can. I don't know what the format was planned to be, But let them at him. Who knows? Maybe he'll get to spell out his solutions uninterrupted. What are we gonna watch instead? Heidi?

But, I believ, realistically, this is all a smokescreen to eliminate the VP debate.
And what exatly did McCain suspend with regards to his campaign? Not ads. Not interviews...well, they did take Palin off the trail and shut her up. Too much of a liability, I guess,

Gee. Thanks. Neato.

We have a lawyer friend who's M.O. is to show up late for negotiations he's not directly involved in, mess things up by grandstanding and then take the credit for the terrible solution he wants implemented. Nobody likes HIM either.

People that act like that have deep issues. They are blowhards who think their timing is impeccable. Cape and all. Yet it never comes at the right time. You can set your watch to these kinds of people throwing a political monkey wrench into the gears and then feign frustration with the other team because everyone is now pissed off at them. They play to the retards who respond to " Well, if they are talking about me, I must have done some good. My work here is done...don't slip on my chunks of shit I am leaving behind. You'll never get the smell out."

McCain will debate tonight. Don't think he had any choice in this one.

Funniest prediction I saw on a blog yesterday;

John McCain will show up for the debate...
In his underwear and a beekeeper's hat.

This has been a terrible week for McCain. His erratic decision making in regards to the bailout has really shown that he is not a steady leader ready to tackle our problems. Not to mention, I just saw John Rafferty on CNN absolutely skewer Palin after showing some clips of her interview with Katie Couric. No wonder they are hiding her from the press.

Wheres a Biden gaff when you need it...

Who cares about a gaffe from Biden? At least he's qualified.

Palin's far beyond gaffe's. She's straight up ignorant and not very poised in answering questions.

I think my prediction may come true. She may have to be replaced.

Yes, and the mystery from one other thread is :

Why is his left eye lid drooping? I wonder if it will still be drooping tonight?

One of my email buddies calls Sarah Palin

......The Praying Mantis Woman..........

He thinks she looks like a female praying manits
who bites off the head of her lover to increase the amount of ejaculate during mating. \

I read this and laughed for a long time on and off in bed trying to go to sleep the other night