PrintMcCain Suspends Campaign to deal with Economic Crisis (Updated)
In remarks made in New York City today, John McCain announced that he would suspend his campaign on Thursday in order to go back to Washington and work in a bi-partisan manner to solve the economic crisis.It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the Administration's proposal. I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time.
Tomorrow morning, I will suspend my campaign and return to Washington after speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative. I have spoken to Senator Obama and informed him of my decision and have asked him to join me.
I am calling on the President to convene a meeting with the leadership from both houses of Congress, including Senator Obama and myself. It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem.
We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved. I am directing my campaign to work with the Obama campaign and the commission on presidential debates to delay Friday night's debate until we have taken action to address this crisis.
I am confident that before the markets open on Monday we can achieve consensus on legislation that will stabilize our financial markets, protect taxpayers and homeowners, and earn the confidence of the American people. All we must do to achieve this is temporarily set politics aside, and I am committed to doing so.
Following September 11th, our national leaders came together at a time of crisis. We must show that kind of patriotism now. Americans across our country lament the fact that partisan divisions in Washington have prevented us from addressing our national challenges. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country.
Secondly, this is bold, decisive leadership - and McCain thought of it first so he gets the cookie. Obama is eating his dust right now and is no doubt kicking himself he didn't think of it first.
Third, this kind of surprise move will make the voters sit up and take notice. Some who may have been moving away from McCain will give him a second look. After all, we now have proof that in this race, there is one guy who talks about bi-partisanship and another who actually does something about it.
The last 8-10 days have not been good ones for McCain. He has slipped dramatically as his fortunes have matched those of the economic slide into crisis. With this decisive move, he gains back some of the momentum he lost and puts Obama on the defensive - exactly where he was when McCain was making so much headway after the convention.
For those who cynically see this as nothing but politics, I would disagree and say its about 75% politics and 25% vintage McCain. And while we won't know for a few days, it could very well be that John McCain has once again - for the 3rd or 4th time - redefined the campaign and given himself a fighting chance to win it.
Not sure how this is going to play but Obama has refused the offer to suspend his campaign:
However a senior Obama campaign official said Obama “intends to debate. The debate is on.”…
Obama is willing to return to Washington “if it would be helpful.” But Obama intends to debate on Friday, an official said.
In other words, Obama refuses to cede the issue to McCain although let's see how much pressure builds for him to call off the debate over the next 24 hours.
Allah actually points out why this move is bad for McCain:
He’s trying to siphon off some of Obama’s strength with voters on the economy, obviously, but er … at the expense of a debate on foreign policy that would have played to his own strength? What does McCain gain by steering the campaign towards an issue for which the public blames his party?
Good point. And if people think about it, they may give McCain the credit for being selfless that he is seeking.
Update from Thomas Lifson:
Several poeple have written in suggesting that McCain offer Palin as a substitute. I think this would be a mistake. Obama would dismiss it as a gimmick and imply McCain is not brave enough to face him. Palin may not be the person to face Obama right now anyway. Foreign policy is not her long suit, though she is studying rapidly. Her instincts on the economy are sound, but shje is no expert in the markets either. In 4 years she would be able to handle such a debate fine, but right now?
