President Bush has called Obama and asked him to come to Washington, Obama agreed.

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain

Yes, the financial crisis is important but so is electing a president.  Time is ticking for us to make a decision.  I can't believe that the two of them spending one evening debating is going to make a difference in what the solution is to the bailout.  Besides the matter could already be dealt with by Congress prior to the debate.  Both candidates are on equal footing .. as for as, working for a resolution and preparing for the debate.  So I don't see the problem.  

http://www.midlifeonwheelsblog.com 

I agree. Why isn't Congress settling this? Why are we being left hung out to wonder with all the questions on our minds? I really am starting to wonder.

What we need is less debate and more action.  First and foremost, McCain and Obama are Senators and should be in Washington resolving this crisis.  Their actions will speak volumes more than a 90 second reponse in yet another debate.

Jane Becker, The Dame Domain

http://thedamedomain.blogspot.com

I'm not comfortable with suspending democracy for any reason.  Will we be asked to suspend the election if there is a terrorist attack in the next few months?

Right now, more than ever before, it is time to show that our system of government is intact.  With all the monkey business of the last few elections the voting public will lose all faith in the system if the democratic process does not go forward.

Tacoma Mama

Kitchen Table Issues

because people tend to panic if we 'suspend' during times of crisis.

Politics & News Contributing Editor
Queen of Spain

There is something not right about the whole situation. I agree we are facing a huge crisis, but I think that McCain and President Bush are using this to make the Republican Party look good.

I would not be suprised that when a resolution is in place, it will be McCain who comes out on top. How convenient.

People will move further towards crisis mode, if the candidates send the message that it's bad enough to 'suspend' campaigns and debating.   My absentee ballot will be here Friday.  I assume other absentee voters will be getting or have their ballots already too .. this whole process needs to move forward, debates and all, on time and as scheduled.

As an Obama supporter I was in McCain's corner when he made his statement.  Then I watched Obama's statement he said that a president will have to do more than one thing at a time.  That's it in a nutshell.  If John McCain can't get to Wasington today get his input in and then go to Mississippi on Friday NIGHT for a debate then he is not ready to be president.  There are several things you have to do at the same time as president and this seems to be a time when he can show off his multitasking skills.  Hell if I can make breakfast, do a mock spelling test, sign papers, get a kid dressed, make lunch, pack, get snacks together all while finding pictures of things that begin with D my president should be able to handle a debate after his day on the hill.

Michelle

I blog at http://www.mommycan.blogspot.com/

A debate is part of the solution- if everyone agreed on how things ran, well this would be a boring world.  Yes this is an important issue but there are other ELECTED officals that can tend to this.  McCain and Obama can go on with the election process and tend to the budget crisis.  I have to agree a President must wear many hats and this debate will be a true test to see who can handle the pressure.

~Susan                                                                                                                   

http://lilmomthatcould.com/

I wonder if this isn't a misstep on the part of the McCain campaign.

To suspend his campaign suggests a crisis so serious that it would really give Americans pause, even if they are not directly affected at this point. I would say that the majority already know or believe that it is the GOP policies and opposition to regulation that put us in this mess, so that might give the advantage to Obama.

I could see wanting to postpone the Presidential debate, that seems like a legitimate thing to do,  but moving the VP debate to an undetermined date is suspect.

 -Lisse

@ Home in the World

This doesn't seem right to me.  McCain said that he had to rush to Wash, but instead went to see Katie Couric. This guy can't multi-task, that's a problem for a president. 

The reality is that the House and Senate, both Dems and Reps are close to resolving the deal, they could sign it today. McCain in his own words, "hasn't read the document" he hasn't called Paulson, Bernanke or anyone for updates on progress. Why do they need him again?

 IT"S A STUNT. 

And it's a pre-school stunt. First throw a tantrum, then when you don't get what you want, you take your toys and leave the sandbox. GROW UP ALREADY! 

Given that McCain's dealings with finance and financial regulations led to the melt down of the savings & loan (S&L) industry in the 1980s, I'd personally prefer that he stay on the campaign trail rather than attempt to "fix" our problems. In fact, was he not just saying a few days ago that everything was fine? Do we want someone who can't see a red flag until it is wrapped around his head and suffocating him "fixing" things? The man has absolutely no clue about the economy or economics. He should stay far away from Washington, and I hope that voters in November keep him out of the White House, which is even more terrifying than the prospect of his Senatorial "fixing" of the situation. Yeesh.

Suzanne Reisman, Contributing Editor - Feminism & Gender
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants

in my view.  But I am sure that he will answer the president's call to return to Washington.  I'm going to surf the conservative web this morning to see their take on this.  I cannot see McCain's actions as anything other than an obvious and rather cynical political move.

 Always in trouble...

Who let's their kids stay home because they didn't study for their test?

Buck up, little camper, McCain.  Study your notes, make your unprepared little sidekick study her's, so she doesn't look like fumbling idiot (again) when she is asked a question.  Was it Woody Allen who said "80% of success is actually showing up."?

http://nakedanarchists.wordpress.com

McCain's campaign staff and their attempts to keep Palin out of a debate are mind blowing.  I feel like I'm playing a shell game but I never actually wanted in.  and yet all these people sit there as though nothing is dubious, that McCain and Palin are just operating in their best interests.  

Biden will CRUSH Palin and the Republicans are freaking out.  I will die if they don't debate.  We need to see the "wizard" behind the curtain who it turns out is a dumb, ruthless b#*tch with an axe to grind against anyone who dares to cross her.   

The thing that I find odd is that if there is a national crisis and the Presidential candidates must be called away to deal with it, one would assume that the campaigns would be placed in the hands of their chosen number 2. Clearly McCain has no intention of turning his campaign over to Palin and by not doing so, he has admitted by his actions that even he knows that she is in waaaaay over her head. She simply cannot do the job.

I'm ready for a President who's transparent, available, willing to confront issues as they arise and speak to us about them when the time comes to do so.

That time is 9pm Friday night, 8pm central. 

This is BS on McCain's part and the fact that he jumped on Obama's bipartisan economic solution train at the last minute then tried to declare himself the engineer instead of the caboose speaks volumes. McCain's no leader. He's just pathetic at this point. 

Mom-101

Hmmm....there was a deal.  McCain was on board with it.  The White House was ok with it.  Democrats were ok with it.  There were a few details to negotiate, but basically there was bipartisan agreement.

Now, suddenly McCain appears - the guy who keeps saying he has the answers...he knows how to end the war, he knows how to fix the economy, etc....  Now there's no deal!  

What was the critical contribution that McCain made by flying to DC (eventually...AFTER he made some intermediate stops in NY at various television venues)?  What was it that he did that absolutely no one else could do?  All he did was create artificial chaos so he can make himself look like the savior of the economy.  Gee, thank you Johnny for your wonderful sacrifice!  We couldn't have done it without you!    We needed you to stir the pot and destruct an agreement to keep us out of economic meltdown (that he helped contribute to over his long career of 26 years).  Nice of you to sacrifice our economic well-being for political gain.  You switched overt campaigning to subversive campaigning.  Campaign first!  Country?  Well, somewhere down the list.

The real spectacle today was Chris Dodd talking about a bail out...he's the Senator who took in the most money from Fannie and Freddie and who led the drive to kill the bill that would have regulated Fannie and Freddie 2 years ago. 

A bill McCain voted for.

Letting Dodd and Frank handle these negotiations is like letting the fox guard the henhouse.

Jane Becker, The Dame Domain

http://thedamedomain.blogspot.com

Now now..let's not fight. 40 more days and it may all be over except for the shouting. (I hope anyway but you never know the ways things are going. So much drama). McCain is up to some sneakiness that is so transparent I am sure everyone can see through it. I refuse to talk about Palin anymore.

Obama continues to rise above it all.

I will miss this when it is all over. I will never see this much election excitement in my lifetime !

Dear Shelley,

When the Dems were in the majority, they did nothing to stop the problem.  According to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, Dodd and many other Dems were on the Fannie and Freddie payroll.  SO whether it was 2005 or 2006, they didn't step up to the plate.  McCain did.  The Dems defeated it.

Democratic seigneur Bill Clinton himself went on record today saying it was the Dems who helped cause this mess.

My point is, if they helped cause it they should step away from oversight of it.

Jane Becker

That's my new phrase for the McCain campaign.

Either he thinks what he's doing is correct and appropriate and is delusional or he's covering up because he's not ready for the debate or...my sisers you've handle this topic above with aplomb! 

Tricky-Dick and Jane, I mean, Sarah

blog.candelariasilva.com

Good and plenty!

I've been thinking about this a while now. Where is the REAL John McCain? Is it possible that his personal best was when he was in Vietnam and refused to go home without his buddies?

That was heroic.  That was a great thing to do. But, I fear that he has lost his way. I don't see the hero anymore, and it disappoints me.  Did he make a Faustian deal with the devil?  I wonder.......

i'm sorry John McCain, but I've lost all respect for you after you've pulled one too many stunts that jeopardize the democratic process. 

Does it bother anyone that OBama wasn't going to do his job/

He may be running for President but he is being paid to be a senator.

I believe the priority should be to take care of a situation that needs addressing

Words are cheap and the debates mean nothing if they don't back up their words.

I like to see action.  Going to Washington and doing the job they were elected to before they decided to run for president makes sense to me.

Maybe neither one of the candidates get the idea that we don't have any money for all their pie in the sky ideas and words to get elected by.

Yes I agree we need change-we need to change the faces in Washington.

We need new ones.  Does it bother anyone that we are spending billions of dollars for an election.  Billions of dollars we don't have.  I would be thrilled if a candidate would say here let me contribute to the problem and use my campaign money to do so.

It is sad to me that the candidate that raises the most money and advertises the most(not to mention the mudslinging)wins. I have to live with the amount of money in my checking account.  Don't you?

Presidential candidates or Presidents can't turn this economy around by themselves.

We have to do it.  We have to demand that our politicians use our money wisely.

We have to demand to know where all the money is being spent.

We can't take the spin doctors words for what they tell us is happening.

We need to get to the facts.  I don't think that is happening in this campaign.

I do not believe either party has any less responsiblilty than the other.

Let's show our intelligence and not buy every word that comes out of the mouth of the press or the politicans.  Let's demand to see the facts not just listen to the soothing words that the politicans say to us.

He is a member of Congress too. He blew off the debate commitment, said he must go DC, then did a CBS TV interview in NY instead.

When he got to DC he met with a few folks, sat in on the White House photo op and did what?

I'm asking? What did he do or accomplish?

Last I heard he was proposing a plan that had little accountability to those that got us in trouble in the first place but want to privatize the bail out. I could be wrong.

Now I do agree with you that the President with certain exceptions cannot do it without heavy citizen watching and participation. Same for Congress. We can't just vote. Not anymore.

For non-partisan fact checking you can visit http://www.factcheck.org. They don't accept money from anybody and they bust everyone in lies and quarter truths.

Gena - Out On The Stoop

When a conservative columnist like Kathleen Parker decides that Sarah Palin should bow out, then the tide is turning.  Read her column:

"Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League." 

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MDZiMDhjYTU1NmI5Y2MwZjg2MWNiMWMyYTUxZDkwNTE= 

Her interview with Katie Couric was horrific. It was clear by the look in her eyes that she didn't know what she was saying. Watching it made me cringe. The McCain/Palin campaign is turning into a trainwreck and there is little that can be done to stop the damage now. I'm just waiting for the inevitable "I quit my campaign to help the nation rather than help myself and that's why I lost."

Again, it begs the questions, wouldn't you leave the campaigning to your number 2 if you had to be called away?  Yes. You would. If you had a compatent running mate.

The latest news I hear is that the GOP's efforts yesterday to make McCain the savior did not work. I'm glad the pols are not falling for this bailout stuff. I so want to cuss right about now. I also see that McCain will show up for the debate tonight afterall. I will be watching.

A friend sent this link to me and I am trying to share it with as many as I can. Check it out & share too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojpW-lTn728

Wow. What is gonna happen next !!