Talk about political posturing. I thought McCain picking Palin was a political stunt … but his latest move is even more outlandish. As everyone has heard by now, McCain announced that he’s going to suspend his campagin to focus on the economy.
My head is swirling with reactions. A stream of random reactions:
- McCain’s economic plan is Phil Gramm’s economic plan. Isn’t that what led us to this disaster to begin with? Why would we want McCain anywhere near this? According to a February article from Fortune:
McCain’s chief economic adviser – and perhaps his closest political friend – is the ultimate pure play in free market faith, former Texas Senator Phil Gramm. If McCain follows Gramm’s counsel, and most of his current positions are vintage Gramm indeed …
- McCain has admitted the economy isn’t exactly his strong suit. Again, why do we want him putting this plan together? Shouldn’t the best and brightest economic minds get together? Not just the ones looking to score political points?
- It’s not like this economic disaster is new. Why didn’t McCain have a sense of urgency on Sept. 14, when Merrill Lynch sold itself to Bank of America; on September 15 when Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy; on (or before) September 16, when the government spent $85 billion to bail out AIG? Oh, wait … new polls are out. McCain was ahead or even with Obama last week … now he’s down in the major national tracking polls.
- Does McCain not understand the logistics that go into a debate of this size? Postponing is isn’t as simple as just picking a new day. Not that I believe television should dictate policy, but all the networks set aside time, are flying reporters to Mississippi (it’s not like the debate is held in NY, where many media are already stationed!), etc. Plus, just imagine all the security-related issues that went into pulling this off.
- If McCain knew how to email (or video-conference) he would know that much business can be accomplished between people in different locations. Thanks to modern advances in technology, people can work from anywhere!
- And, most importantly, if McCain can’t handle managing his campaign and one economic crisis — granted, it’s a major deal, but still … — how does he think he can be president? Do you think the president deals with one issue at a time? McCain needs to learn to multi-task … delegate … be more efficient, etc. Sure, cancel some campaign appearances to participate in shaping the bailout, but at least show the country that you can manage more than one big thing at a time.
- CNN is reporting that Obama called McCain’s campaign at 8:30 this morning to discuss putting out a joint statement. So, this whole bipartisanship stuff was OBAMA’s idea to begin with. Apperently, McCain called Obama at 2:30 to agree and then released his own statement. That’s just slimy. Is that who we want leading our country??
This is a political stunt –plain and simple. Voters have already fallen out of love with Sarah Palin — realizing that her nomination, too, was just for political gamesmanship. Hopefully, they’ll also realize that this is nothing more than McCain trying to find any excuse to slow Obama’s momentum.
