I just got home from work and heard the news that John McCain has suspended his campaign and has asked the Obama campaign to suspend Friday night’s debate. Here is the CNN.com story, and the video of McCain’s announcement. Here is the video of Obama’s counter-announcement.
My immediate breaking opinion: What? The?
I see what McCain is doing here – he wants to be seen as putting America first, and setting aside his desire to become President to address America’s needs. McCain might be advancing this message by suspending his campaign, but he’s making a huge, Tyrannosaurus-sized mistake by asking the debate to be postponed. This is a mistake from the perspective of McCain’s strategy, and should be a major disappointment to voters. It’s a strategic mistake because this is a foreign policy debate, and foreign policy is McCain’s strong point. As I mentioned in my last post, having a debate about foreign policy will allow McCain to change the subject away from the economy, and seize control of the conversation again.
McCain’s request is a disappointment to voters too. In Obama’s response, he makes a glaringly obvious point – a point that occurred to me even before I saw Obama’s response. Right now, during this financial crisis, this is exactly the time voters will want to hear from the people who want to be their next President! Both McCain and Obama have a real opportunity to show leadership and tell American voters like you and me what they will do about this financial crisis. If McCain really backs out of the debate two days before, he’s missing this opportunity.
Let’s hope there is a debate Friday night. If there is, we’ll be here at 8:45 ET to cover it.
