Obama Calls McCain’s Bluff On Debate
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Debates, McCain
If McCain won’t show up, he’ll simply do it himself.
That’s right. According to the Huffington Post, he’ll take the 90 minutes worth of free television and either conduct a town hall meeting or answer questions from moderater and NewsHour anchor Jim Lehrer.
Or…he’ll do both.
Also, the Republican governor of Mississippi said earlier today that he expected the debates to go forward.
And let’s remember, both SurveyUSA’s and Marist’s polls showed Americans want the debate to happen.
So…do you think McCain would let the debate happen without him?
Yeah, me neither.
Game on.
This entry was posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2008 and is filed under 2008 Election, Barack, Debates, McCain. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 25th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
My personal hope is that McCain shows up naked.
September 26th, 2008 at 6:11 am
The 1992 Presidential Debates with Ross Perot were not dull. His warnings have now come true. Replace John McCain with Ron Paul. Add Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney. Barack Obama must earn his victory, not win by default.
September 26th, 2008 at 6:29 am
Game on is right. McCain’s oh-so-public statements about transcending politics show that he’s not. He’ll be there, one-line patriotic quips in hand.
September 26th, 2008 at 6:50 am
i want O. to start doing the thing himself, take questions, then McCain show up (outta breath) about 45 minutes late. it would perfectly cap off his last 2 weeks of ridiculous behavior. at the bottom of the screen it’ll say “Breaking News: McCain is spotted running from the bus station. Blow-up doll in tow.”
September 26th, 2008 at 7:08 am
Maybe Dave Letterman can give him a ride from the airport
September 26th, 2008 at 7:14 am
bubbles,
I’ve been seeing ads for a movie called Blindness in which something causes everyone to go blind and now you say that…
September 26th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Let me get this straight. We can presume that the economy continues to teeter on panic, and that John McCain stays in Washington to try to work it out while democrats and republicans grandstand and fling pooh at one another over side show issues like exec compensation and homeowner bailouts.
Meanwhile, Barack Obama shows up by himself for a foreign policy debate instead of working in the senate. And you think he DOESN’T look like a complete douche-bag? OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-kay!
This is leadership HOW exactly?
IMO, Obama is misplaying this very badly from the PoV of what actions a responsible leader would take. But maybe I just think that because I care way more about stabilizing the economy than a foreign policy debate.
Of course, he probably gets away with it. I think at this point it’s safe to presume that Wall Street’s collapse hurts the party that is far more well known for being cozy with it, the GOP. By staying out, Obama gets to blame those involved for all the flaws, and that’ll play well given the massive quantity of sustained popular anger we’re going to see over the next decade at least.
September 26th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Oh and BTW, I wonder whether McCain is “bluffing” as you suggest. I don’t think he is. He’ll stay in Washington if no deal is done. But what if he shows up?
He apologizes for being tired and a bit unprepared, and says he didn’t want to stand Obama up on their date. And then he looks right at Obama and says “we missed you in the Senate, where were you?”
What’s Obama’s answer that doesn’t make him look like a weasel?
September 26th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Hey Kranky -
By all accounts, McCain has done nothing but hinder any progress made. There are 433 senators and representatives who can work on this. If McCain can’t take a few hours to debate and head back, maybe he can’t handle the presidency.
If Lincoln could debate during the Civil War …
If FDR could debate during WWII …
Why can’t McCain debate during a crisis he, just 10 days ago, denied even existed?
Watch though. This stunt is designed to give the McCain campaign a reason to cancel the VP debate. There’s only one. It’s next week. They’ve already suggested scrapping it. Wonder if that has anything to do with the disastrous Couric interview Palin just had?
September 26th, 2008 at 9:42 am
——– Original Message ——–
Subject: CNN Breaking News
Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:32:09 -0500 (CDT)
From: CNN Breaking News
– Sen. John McCain will participate in tonight’s presidential debate.
kranky kritter: Do you think Obama has been in Oxford all week or something?
Keep drinking the Koolaid, kranky…
Agnostick
agnostick@excite.com
September 26th, 2008 at 9:44 am
His answer is,
“John, I was busy preparing to be president while you were standing outside the door where the negotiations were taking place because no one in there wanted you there because you– a man who has repeatedly said you don’t understand this economy stuff–have nothing to offer.
“When and if a vote needs to occur, I could get back there in plenty of time.
“Since neither I nor you are involved in these discussions as members of the administration or the various committees charged with hammering out a deal, and since it is clear to anyone who is paying attention that our presence was a distraction and may have actually impeded the process, it was wise and presidential to stand back rather than political grandstanding like you were attempting to do.
“Oh, by the way, did you ever get around to reading the whole three page proposal that you admitted you hadn’t read Tuesday night–you know, so you could have had at least had a small understanding of what the discussions were based on?”
That would be his answer, and only a blind partisan would disagree with any of it.
September 26th, 2008 at 9:47 am
@Kranky
First off, Obama was there, second, McCain going back to D.C. was just a big distraction. He doesn’t actually have any say in what goes down, and by all reports didn’t say much while he was there anyway. Lastly, the deal -was- about to go through before McCain and co showed up, and then it fell apart. So who was right? Obama who didn’t want to go because he knew it would inject presidential politics into a delicate debate. Or McCain?
September 26th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
McCain getting back into the debate is a purely political move, like everything else he does… it’s not that he wants to inform Americans or demonstrate his know-how, he just thought thought not showing up to the debates would make him look bad