But- postpone the debates?

[PrincessFiona]

Re: But- postpone the debates?

Obama's statement is streaming live right now online....he sounds pretty good.

[Rapunzel]

Re: But- postpone the debates?

I doubt he has something up his sleeve...congress knows it has to act soon, so maybe he is banking on that? I think McCain will have a hard time making it look like it isn't a political stunt because he and Obama didn't come out with it together. What I'm reading is that Obama asked him to make a joint statement and instead, McCain came out with his own statement today first. :huh: I actually think that makes McCain look a little snake-like. Maybe McCain was already planning to come out with this or he and Obama disagreed on what to do?

It seems strange.

Am I wrong?

No, I agree. It's strange and seems very bad on McCain's part if he agreed to do something with Obama and then went back on it. Gah. I dislike that man so much (McCain, that is).

[Rapunzel]

Re: But- postpone the debates?

Now that I have actually taken the time to find out what each candidate has said on the topic of the crisis I have to say the ball is in Obama's court.

McCain has offered an immediate, workable, realistic solution to the mess.

Obama has said he will refrain from offering any solutions - he'll only blame various entities at the moment.

So, it would seem to me that McCain would WANT to debate Obama - especially on the economy. Because Obama is just empty finger-pointing at this point (although it apparently makes angry people feel better to hear him ranting) while McCain can actually say he supports/offers a real-world answer.

My head hurts. I dislike both of them.

Re: But- postpone the debates?

Obama was praised by pundits from the Right and Left on the Sunday morning shows precisely FOR stepping back and waiting, rather than rushing out, making foolish statements ("The fundamentals of our economy are strong!" - ring a bell for anyone?), and then calling for rash firings and flip-flopping on original statements.

I don't think he's doing any more finger pointing than the rest of the country. McCain can hardly participate since he was a huge deregulator and has said that he didn't see the housing bubble / sub-prime mess coming. Obama is on record from early this year talking about an issue like this coming 'round the bend.

But back to the original topic - I don't think they should postpone the debates (if they haven't already).

[Rapunzel]

Re: But- postpone the debates?

Obama was praised by pundits from the Right and Left on the Sunday morning shows precisely FOR stepping back and waiting, rather than rushing out, making foolish statements ("The fundamentals of our economy are strong!" - ring a bell for anyone?), and then calling for rash firings and flip-flopping on original statements.

But, in the end, he just agrees with McCain.

It looks like he stood back to see what the other guy would say first.

[Rapunzel]

Re: But- postpone the debates?

You added this exactly when I posted:

I don't think he's doing any more finger pointing than the rest of the country. McCain can hardly participate since he was a huge deregulator and has said that he didn't see the housing bubble / sub-prime mess coming. Obama is on record from early this year talking about an issue like this coming 'round the bend.

But back to the original topic - I don't think they should postpone the debates (if they haven't already).

But, unless Obama voted something other than "Present" or introduced his own helpful legislation he has no room to talk. He and his fellow Democrats are as much part of the problem as any of the Republicans. It's a mess. And, Obama is playing to an angry crowd right now. He seems good at that.

Re: But- postpone the debates?

Again - "Present" is not a vote in the Senate. That is a vote from the Illinois house.

[Rapunzel]

Re: But- postpone the debates?

Well, this article lays out a tiny bit more why McCain would take this step (and, it is VERY reassuring to me that he's got Romney literally at his side through this - now THAT man could fix this situation):

McCain seeks to delay debate to focus on economy
Sep 24 02:58 PM US/Eastern
By BETH FOUHY
Associated Press Writer

McCain Suspends Campaign, Calls on Obama to Return to Washington

NEW YORK (AP) - Republican John McCain says he's directing his staff to work with Barack Obama's campaign and the debate commission to delay Friday's debate because of the economic crisis.

In a statement, McCain says he will stop campaigning after addressing former President Bill Clinton's Global Initiative session on Thursday and return to Washington to focus on the nation's financial problems.

McCain also said he wants President Bush to convene a leadership meeting in Washington. Both he and Obama would attend the session.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

NEW YORK (AP)—Republican presidential candidate John McCain met Wednesday with a panel of business executives to seek their opinions on the Bush administration's proposed $700 million bailout of U.S. financial markets.

McCain said he wanted to discuss "how we can make sure that the American people regain confidence on Main Street so that they can regain their confidence in Wall Street and in Washington."

McCain renewed his insistence that the bailout deal have greater transparency, oversight and CEO accountability to make it acceptable to voters.

"Most Americans feel very strongly this isn't their fault. It's Wall Street and Washington and the cozy insider relationships that have caused a great part of the problems," he said.

Flanking McCain were former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, his one-time rival for the GOP presidential nomination, and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. Others in the meeting were John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, and John Thain, the CEO of Merrill Lynch before it was acquired by Bank of America earlier this month for a much-reduced value.

A survey by The Associated Press found that Thain was the best-paid corporate executive in the U.S. in 2007, receiving approximately $83.1 million in salary and bonuses that year.

McCain has stated repeatedly that the bailout package should not allow large payouts, called "golden parachutes," for executives at failing firms like Merrill Lynch. Asked whether he believed the panel of business titans agreed with him on that principle, McCain said, "I think this group of people are as knowledgeable on the financial status of America as any group of Americans that I can find."

McCain planned to meet later Wednesday with foreign leaders in town for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. His running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, was set to join him in a meeting with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko.

McCain was also scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and with Bono, the lead singer of U2 and an activist on global poverty and AIDS. He was scheduled to tape an appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman."

McCain scheduled a session with Lady Lynn de Rothschild, a former supporter and fundraiser for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential run who announced last week that she was supporting McCain.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id ... _article=1


It also looks like, from the article, that McCain is just ceasing any bickering with Obama. He seems to still have a busy schedule.

Re: But- postpone the debates?

I just found this (from the NYT) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/us/po ... &emc=pola1

But Mr. Obama disagreed on the need to cancel the debate, scheduled for Friday night at the University of Mississaippi. “This is exactly the time when people need to hear from the candidates,” he said.

He added: “Part of the president’s job is to deal with more than one thing at once. In my mind it’s more important than ever.”

Mr. Obama noted that while Mr. McCain brought up the possibility of canceling their debate during a phone conversation, no agreement had been reached.

...

“At 8:30 this morning, Senator Obama called Senator McCain to ask him if he would join in issuing a joint statement outlining their shared principles and conditions for the Treasury proposal and urging Congress and the White House to act in a bipartisan manner to pass such a proposal,” said Bill Burton, the spokesman for the Obama campaign.

“At 2:30 this afternoon,” he added, “Senator McCain returned Senator Obama’s call and agreed to join him in issuing such a statement. The two campaigns are currently working together on the details.”

and then apparently McCain changed his mind and made his own announcement.

ETA: a little disheartening to read that the person who typed this article and uploaded it to the website neglected to notice that they'd misspelled Mississippi.

[Rapunzel]

Re: But- postpone the debates?

Mr. Obama noted that while Mr. McCain brought up the possibility of canceling their debate during a phone conversation, no agreement had been reached.

So, they did talk about it (canceling the debate - and maybe suspending campaigning as well) in advance of McCain's statement.

That gives credence to what Kris stated earlier.

So, Princess Fiona, your ears apparently were NOT deceiving you!

Hmmm....

[Sheherezade]

Re: But- postpone the debates?

With two key differences.....McCain brought cancelling the debates up and it was 2:30 in the *afternoon* during a phone call addressing a separate proposal for action on the issue.

[Rapunzel]

Re: But- postpone the debates?

With two key differences.....McCain brought cancelling the debates up and it was 2:30 in the *afternoon* during a phone call addressing a separate proposal for action on the issue.

Then what is really curious is if Obama agreed to it (and, is backtracking) or not. In that case it's a he said/he said issue. I wish I could hear that conversation - it sure would shed some light on today's events.

[Rapunzel]

Re: But- postpone the debates?

What is curious to me is that McCain seemed to be acting with the idea that Obama was doing the same thing:

Republican John McCain says he's directing his staff to work with Barack Obama's campaign and the debate commission to delay Friday's debate because of the economic crisis.

Quotes such as that make me wonder what Obama said to McCain during that phone conversation. McCain was obviously under the impression that Obama's staff would be working with his own staff in a joint effort.

[Rapunzel]

Re: But- postpone the debates?

Well, according to this article on CNN Obama DID agree to suspend campaigning and forgo the debate.

He says that he thought they would issue a joint statement first. McCain obviously claims otherwise.

So, is Obama still going through with the debate after making the decision with McCain NOT to debate?

Here's the article:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/24/ ... index.html

McCain, according Rogers, suggested that the two presidential candidates have a meeting in Washington "to lead a bipartisan effort to solve this problem" and that they both suspend their campaigns and hold off on Friday's presidential debate.

Obama said his intent was focused on issuing a joint statement first.

But shortly after the call ended, Obama said, his rival appeared on television announcing the suspension and the subsequent debate no-show.

"I think the only possible miscommunication that might have been how quickly there was an announcement and someone was on television. I think my assumption was that the joint statement would go out initially," Obama said.

I think the both of them are lousy.

[DCJenn]

Re: But- postpone the debates?

I love Obama only slightly less than I love Keith.

I may have to start having random reasons to go to NYC to see KO.

But seriously did anyone catch the Libertarian dude on Mattow's show tonight? He was really interesting. I might just order his book after payday.

J