Yesterday, Republican Presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain decided to suspend his campaign and called for a cancellation (note: not a postponement) of his upcoming debate with Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama so that he could return to D.C. and help solve the financial crisis. (READ THE NEWS HERE)
OK, I have several issues with this decision.
First, the decision to “bailout” or “fix” the economy this time around is clearly not in the hands of the Senate. Bush’s Administration and Sec. Paulson are directing everything. Therefore, no one Senator can expect to return to Congress and help to fix everything. Furthermore, McCain is already in the Bush camp, which means he’s returning to D.C. to say “yes” to Bush’s ideas. I’m sorry, but that’s not “work,” that’s time off from your campaign.
Speaking of time off, I think we have to look at some other reasons why McCain might want to suspend his campaign. The first, of course, is that he’s playing politics, but I’ll address that in a minute. The second would be his health. Stories are coming out, though slowly and often hidden by stories about Palin, that McCain is old and McCain is tired. He needs more make-up than Ru Paul to look fit for the public and some times he has trouble standing on his own. Under any other circumstances, we’d would see a suspension of his campaign as a concession of his weariness. Honestly, I want a President who is fit enough to juggle listening to the American people and dealing with a crisis.
As to the whole “playing politics” aspect. Obama and McCain are both running for President so any decision they make on this is going to be considered “playing politics.” The way I see it, each have two options: suspend campaign and return to Washington or continue to listen to what the American people actually want. I’ll take the latter, thank you. If this decision isn’t really in the hands of the Senate, then neither McCain or Obama have any reason to turn their attentions away from us and towards something that would not be useful. There are two ways to be a “maverick” in this scenario. Return, cape secured tightly to help all your friends in D.C., or stand alone, be the change, and help everyone else in the country, everyone who’s acutally suffering.
Overall, I’m not denying that we’re in a financial crisis. Trust me, I’m feeling it and I’m currently living on a different continent. However, I firmly believe that McCain has made the wrong decision, especially if he wants to be accountable to the American people. Obama is not “missing in action” in this crisis. He’s by your side, at the kitchen table at night, when you’re trying to decide what groceries you’re not going to be able to buy this week. He wants to know how much you’re really hurting. McCain’s returning to D.C. smacks of “Oops, I might have done something or voted on something to contribute to this crisis so I better return and cover my tracks.” Plus, Hillary Clinton made it very clear this summer that “suspending my campaign” does not mean “I have more important things to do.” It means “I concede.”
[End morning rant.]
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
On this topic, I’d be interested to hear more of your thoughts on the “bailout.”
I’ve already got one friend who’s soundly against the plan, and wondered what kind of reasoning you’d provide.
Also, acutally is an interesting word. >.>
Sort of reminds me of the old movie “Stop the World: I Want to Get Off”
I have no words:
http://music.msn.com/music/galleryfeature/superstar-dolls/?GT1=28102