Suspending Campaign

Okay, and the economic shock has reached a new pinnacle point: McCain suspends his campaign to work on the solution (the "shock treatment" if you will). This move is surprising, and everyone calls it "bold," but there are a few things that it does politically that should be fully examined.

First, suspending the campaign shows the country (and it needs to be mentioned explicitly...because a lot of people don't care about this very important point) that John McCain still considers himself a SENATOR. Both candidates share a job, being members of the Senate of the United States of America, and NEITHER has actually done the job they were elected to do and are paid to do for almost 2 years. This is John McCain's attempt to call to the attention of everyone in the country that he is still committed to the task for which he actually is responsible currently, rather than just the task he aspires to take on.

Secondly, this will play well with his slogan, "Country First." He'll now be able to say, "I supported the surge when it might cost the election, and now I suspended my campaign to fix the country's economic problems. So I would rather lose an election than lose economic prosperity." (Too bad that the socialist bail-out will eventually destroy the country's economy anyways). However, it gives more credence (as if we needed it) of his commitment to the US. It also makes Obama look insensitive to the problems when he refuses (especially now that Bush has personally asked him to return to Washington).

Third, a postponement for the debate, or even a cancellation, will remove the possibility for Obama to "gain credibility" in the realm of foreign affairs. Obama has nothing to lose, because the media is setting his standard so low that it will be impossible not to meet and exceed. However, the media is also placing undue pressure on him to perform -- even though it is demonstrable that he is stronger in all senses on this front, especially on his stances against terrorism and negotiating with leaders of countries like Iran (that tiny country that isn't a threat at all -- sarcasm on my part, but Obama's actual words...).

Fourth, now, no matter what happens, McCain will take credit for bringing the Republicans together into a bipartisan agreement. His personal presence, regardless of what role he plays, gives him the ability to claim a large role in whatever happens (most likely a hugely socialist bail-out of companies and loans that have yet to fail... begging the question as to who will gain free houses at taxpayer expense).

Fifth, and finally, it will completely ruin Obama's travel schedule. Obama has noticeably been following McCain's travel route behind by about two weeks. The Obama campaign will not know where to go anymore if the McCain campaign is suspended. I do find it funny though that Obama gets smaller crowds than McCain and Palin now...

However, there are some negatives to consider with this course of action. For one thing, Obama has already said that "A President should be able to do many things at once." This "lack of multi-tasking" by McCain is already under attack (and will be more heavily attacked in the very near future... probably when Biden says "FDR could use television and defeat Otto von Bismark at the same time"). However, to counter this should be statements that Obama is not the President, and should actually do the job he currently holds.

Another negative is the fact that Obama is being given the offensive. He now has a few days of free reign on the campaign trail, not having to respond to attacks but able to freely make them. Although I doubt the campaign will cease responding to the ongoing distortions, nor will they stop appearing on news programs, there will be nothing but positive about Obama for the next few days (because there were only 54 "negative" stories about Obama on CNN in the past 19 months - compared to 22 anti-Palin stories in 3 weeks). This shift will likely give Obama a slight lead in the polls (mind you, I don't trust ABC's skewed poll that intentionally sought black voters (90% of which are for Obama) and gave Obama an huge lead... Rasmussen and Gallup still have them essentially even with a slight Obama lead (47% to 44%... still with-in margin of error)), unless of course they attack Sarah Palin some more. The media will essentially give Obama a free pass until McCain puts out an ad that they can attack ineffectively. I mean really, even news parody is in the tank for him...and totally against Palin. The Onion put out essentially a real attack story today, with a joke response (available here). The Onion writes essentially a New York Times editorial and then creates a "joke" as a response to what they really think. I can't believe no one brings up the fact that Bill Clinton essentially the same amount of experience (and a sex scandal) when he was running for the first time. Governors of States DON'T MEET WITH FOREIGN LEADERS....EVER. I mean, even if they come to the state it's unlikely... but I digress.

A large negative is that McCain is essentially tied to a plan now. He has gone to Washington to straighten it up, and he has to come out in support of a plan. Which means... there will be a socializing from McCain. The question is how socialist will we become. I said that the Palin decision would give him my vote on the condition that there was no mistake made in the coming weeks. There is ample opportunity for mistake in this... especially if tax money goes to buying houses for people. That itself would lose my vote pending something really good happening in the coming weeks (and McCain isn't really known for doing things that I like...). Obama is not an option for me, so I might leave the President field blank on election day if it comes to it. I cannot support someone who, as Palin put it, "rewards bad decisions" on the part of both lenders and buyers.

Well, I've praddled on enough for today. I think the good may outweigh the bad in the long run, giving McCain a new set of attacks and a chance for speech-writers to come up with new material. However, that really depends on the quality of the action that he's promoting. We'll see how it develops, and I sincerely hope that many if not all foreclosures are allowed to go through.