Slog

Looks like they must not be done fitting him for his new hearing-aid (ear-piece/live feed to people that can tell him what to say).

Well that's an easy one.

"No"

You're right, it's unbelievable. First they decide to hide Palin from the media, now McCain cops out of the debate.

Looks like the campaign is tacitly admitting that their candidates will make jackasses of themselves if they're allowed to speak freely in front of a camera.

"Because of the financial crisis"???

Um...really? That's the best excuse the Repugs could come up with? Where is your chicken costume when you really really need it???

He can run, but he can't hide.

John McCain: Not ready to debate, not ready to lead.

@1 - I would think they're even more worried about getting Sarah's all fitted up. Because as charmed as she may think she is, I don't think she can try that "in what respect?" angle more than once.

I think the idea is to puff up his economic credentials while negating Obama's. By doing this, he strengthens his "Country First" message, and if Obama goes for it, he gets to link Obama to the "failed policies" of George Bush.

It's win-win for McCain. He doesn't have to debate and he gets to say Obama puts politics over the needs of the American people.

Pretty shrewd if you ask me.

Jesus, POW and still a pussy. I guess that argument doesn't fly anymore.

with all of the crap they gave obama for not agreeing to mccain's town hall debates, they better get some of it throw right back at them. this is ridiculous.

eli's right. if mccain can't work during the day and debate at night, how the hell is he going to manage running the country?

if mccain drops out, obama should go ahead and answer questions on his own.

Obama should not let that coward, McCain off of the hook. He should announce that he will be at the debate sight prepared to discuss foreign policy or the economy. This is weird as I think about it because McCain has been cast as being strong on national security issues. Speculation: maybe McCain knowns something we do not yet know about a pending foreign crisis and thinks a debate would not be appropriate.

Yes of course the McCain campaign has to be suspended -- campaign manager Rick Davis has been caught selling his influence to Freddie Mac for $2 million.

McCain needs a reboot (or the R's need a new candidate) but that is no reason for Obama to stop.

Contact your congresspeople and stop the bailout! It won't help and the government needs to keep the money to back up the FDIC.

This is the really fucking horrifying part:

"According to the source, McCain wants to create a "political free zone" until a deal is reached on legislation for a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry."

In other words, he wants this to be rushed. And here I was hoping that, if a bailout is created, it would be crafted over the course of months, not days.

Well, Palin doesn't need to be anywhere, so the Dems should insist she debate Biden on Friday instead if they let McCain off the hook. It will show whether or not she can step up in the event of a crisis.

As for McCain, this is a very political move and may well prove a benefit to his campaign. He gets to avoid being questioned about his past voting record on the issues that got us into this present financial mire. Obama can at least claim that he hasn't been around long enough to be responsible for this mess.

15: Great idea.

I agree with @8. This sounds like a terrible move for McCain, but is really pretty brilliant if he can pull it off (big if).

I must say that this will backfire on McCain. It's a gimmick in the long run, no matter how you slice it. Not having the debate will not speed up Congress on this bailout fiasco. Rushing on this within days is not necessary, and it actually erodes consumer confidence by embellishing the crisis with yet another layer of hyperbole and confusion.

The number of people who don't trust McCain -- and particularly don't trust him with the economy -- is growing literally every day. This won't change that, except to accelerate it.

Nobody will buy that the guy who should be elected President is the guy who won't run for President. People will want the guy who knows that the only real change will come once he's in the Oval Office.

Let McCain run away from the campaign, unlike any other candidate in the history of the country. If you think this will propel him into the White House, you're in for a big surprise.

Prescient post. We're gonna win this one.