Let me get this straight...

[lithera]

So, McCain suspended his campaign today to go back to Washington to try to fix the economic situation. (Crisis? Is it a Crisis? Can I get someone to punch time? That would be totally sweet. Or maybe they could punch money... Ooooh. Okay, okay, I'm a geek. I'll stop now.)

He's calling on Obama to do the same.

While I can understand the appeal here, I'm a bit confused by it. When you're President you don't get to stop being President to go and deal with other things. You're going to have to multitask meeting with foreign dignitaries, economic problems, top line decisions about Iraq and Afghanistan... You don't get to call a time out to do something else.

I can see where McCain wants to fix the problem. That's noble. I want someone to fix the problem too. I think the current solution is an awful, awful solution and a stop gap measure at best. We need better. I understand that the dropping everything to fix this response is appealing to people who are frightened and want a solution now.

The idea that we might have a President who can't juggle all of those responsibilities at once, however, is what truly frightens me.

Am I missing something here?

Comments

[ocicat.livejournal.com]

"Am I missing something here?"

The part where all politics is theatrics?

[yellowseptember.livejournal.com]

Um... Nope, I don't think so.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

Am I hoping for too much, then?

[lithera.livejournal.com]

*nods*

Okay.

[elsewhere7.livejournal.com]

Nope. Not missing something. I'm gonna deal with it by, well, not voting for him.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

Well, I wasn't going to do that in the first place...

[julzerator.livejournal.com]

That and he urged the first debate to be postponed...

So, is he scared of the open questions?

[lithera.livejournal.com]

Well, the debate is part in parcel with the whole 'suspending the campaign' part. They haven't been letting Palin do press conferences and the VP debate, as the McCain campaign's request, will have a shorter Q&A period. I think they're uncertain how to handle the fact that Obama and Biden are such charismatic extemporary speakers.

[sepulchrave.livejournal.com]

he's a turd.

[fireballof3.livejournal.com]

Allright, I'll voice the dissenting opinion here.

I think it's right to not have Obama & McCain (who have duties other than trying to win the hearts and minds of voters) try to juggle real work and their dog & pony show in Mississippi right now.

I think that instead of postponement to "some future date", that the debate should be merely moved to DC (or nearby) and that they should push it to a Sat or Sun where Congress doesn't do dick anyway.

I agree with the call of "let's be responsible to our real jobs first"
I don't agree that it needs to be postponed so much as to be effectively cancelled - move it a day or two and change locales.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

I think it is noble and responsible that he wants to fix it but I don't think that he'll have the luxury of being able to do this when he's President. You don't just get to call things off when you're President. And, honestly, I'm not sure how much he OR Obama is going to be able to do by themselves right now unless they have a better plan drafted and ready to go.

Cancelling - bad. Postponement - Also bad unless it is a very, very short one.

Ultimately, I feel that not handling either of these shows a lack of responsibility and management skills.

[futuredirt.livejournal.com]

It would seem Obama agrees with you on this one:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7634455.stm

[lithera.livejournal.com]

Huh.

[jeditigger.livejournal.com]

If McCain (and Obama, for that matter) had already suspended campaign activities to do their jobs in DC, I'd be all for waiting. But he didn't, and it feels like theatrics to me, a no-win scenario for Obama.

But again, neither candidate was back in DC dealing with this. I think they should be doing their jobs.

And then have the damned debate anyways.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

Well, right now, unless either one of them has a solid plan, I don't see where they can specifically be of more help than all of the other Senators and Representatives. Yes, they should be there for the conversations but I don't know what difference suspending the debates will do. Especially since McCain now also wants to call off the VP debate as well. They already shortened the Q&A period and have not allowed Palin to hold press conferences.... so why not go for not allowing the public or the press to ask her questions until after the election.

Oi.

[jeditigger.livejournal.com]

Yeah, oi.

I think they should, with the rest of Congress, be in the Capitol working on the bailout plan. But like I said...I also think they should suck it up and do the debates around working in DC. They're both Senators...HAVE the debate in DC. :P

What, does McCain fear not having two more days of prep? It's dumb.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/24/ole-miss-officials-debate_n_129057.html

[jeditigger.livejournal.com]

I think that solves that question, then.

[ocicat.livejournal.com]

Was just about to post that.

Obama: ‘It is going to be part of the president’s job to deal with more than one thing at once.’

[wanderingfey.livejournal.com]

This is my cynical view of things, but I'm thinking that the crisis is conveniently timed, and is being used as an excuse to back out of a presidential debate against someone who's beating him in the polls, gaining more of a lead, and is a solid debater.

He's trying to find a convenient way to change the topic at hand (the debate) to something else. If Obama goes, McCain has the advantage of momentum, if Obama doesn't, McCain can try to smear him about being unconcerned with the suffering of those affected by the crisis. (Read: "middle america and republicans who are on the fence")

[wanderingfey.livejournal.com]

don't reschedule it, just hold it in DC.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately Ole Miss has already spent $5.5M on getting this thing set up, which they can't recoup at all if they back out of the debate.

[wanderingfey.livejournal.com]

bill the candidates.

Hold the debate in DC.

[slick_nyc.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I think Obama is doing the right thing by not suspending his campaign and going back to DC.

Firstly, neither he nor McCain sit on the committee that'll largely be overseeing the fine tuning of the bailout.

Secondly, even if they suspend their campaigns, they're still presidential nominees. Everything they say or do is pounced on by the media, as well as members of other parties. No matter how they intend it, they will bring the campaign circus with them right into the middle of this, and that alone will detract and distract from everything. Not to mention their motives will always be questioned; is it for the good of the nation, or for a photo op?

Thirdly, the President will have a dozen crises to deal with on any given day. You can't just drop everything during an emergency.

[lithera.livejournal.com]

I'm right there with you.

[elscoobysnacko.livejournal.com]

I agree with you and Obama about all of this. MaCain seems to be wanting to chicken out. This and right now how exactly are he and Obama supposed to not only stop but make a good jump towards correcting the problem? They're just two men... they alone can't fix the problem by their selves, and does anyone truly think that this will be solved in a short amount of time? At least Obama has recognized that who ever does get elected will have to deal with this as president. Anything decided right now isn't going to fix everything. Also at least Obama said hey, I'll fly back to DC if i'm needed... Until then, I'm going to be doing my best to win this election.

[slick_nyc.livejournal.com]

...and now Obama is going.

President Bush requested his presence.

He's not suspending his campaign or agreeing to postpone the debates, though.

[xnbach.livejournal.com]

You are taking McCain at his word far more than I am.

Maybe it's the way Palin isn't allowed to talk to the press, like she just married Tom Cruise or something, but my first reaction to hearing McCain's statement was to think that he doesn't want to do the debate because he knows Obama is going to gain points from it, so he is just coming up with an excuse to put it off. Who knows, if he plays his cards right, he just may get elected without ever having to debate at all.

This way, he can pull a bullcrap move and pretend to be all noble and caring. I just don't buy it.

[silentclarity.livejournal.com]

What kind of work do you actually think McCain and Obama can get done in DC?

Buffet..

[echoeversky.livejournal.com]

already cockblocked Bush/McSame's "oh look lets have a meeting at the Whitehouse which will produce no REAL effect or work product on the problem" meeting.

Meeting at the big house will do NOTHING for the economy.

Buffet purchased 11% of Goldman Sachs. The Market (Warren Buffet) SET A PRICE for the SHIT THAT NO ONE WANTED TO BUY and thus BOOTSTRAPPED the economic engine by settting a VALUE on shit no one wanted. We now have a line in the sand that the systems of arbitrage will restart themselves.

Give $700B to ONE MAN (Paulson) to fix what he was apart of breaking? FUCKNO.

LET IT BREAK.

Take it slow, put out the necessary fires, and let the market eat itself.

and eventually I'll figure out how to not use all caps.

E. /rant