McCain has said that he won't show to the debate tomorrow unless there is an agreement in place on the bailout, but now it's looking like there's a good chance that there will be an agreement by then.

I thought I'd read that the debate was off - that both candidate would be meeting with the prez? Hmmm.

The website for the debate location says it's still on.

I wanted to write my rep in congress about the bailout plan. What do you suppose it means when the page won't load? Perhaps I'm not the only one.

https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

Sceagles, not necessarily. But I do not see Obama avoiding the issues at hand. At least he has been in contact with the various Committe Chair, showing some semblance of interest in what is going on in DC. Unlike McCain who contacted them only yesterday.

Frankly, what I read in McCain's actions of yesterday was nothing more than a ploy, be it to buy time, deflect from his dropping poll numbers (whatever they really do mean, not much to me). He had a deer in the headlight look on his face, just as Dubya did in his speech last night. I know he (dubya) was concentrating deeply on the teleprompter, but I saw real fear flickering in his eyes. Course, that's just me.


Sceagles, not necessarily.

I am sure that if elected, Obama will do lots that may be wrong. Let's face it, he will be inheriting a huge sh!tstorm and the largest steaming pile of doo-doo in decades. He's not perfect, he's not a saint and he's not a miracle worker. I am more than willing to give him a chance.

I can't speak on Obama being in anyone's back pocket, I simply do not know. I'm sorry, I can't forget Keating Five, that much I do know.

Oh....the Keating Five is only one of my big issues with McCain.

I wasn't very clear....in some thread or another ISM went on about Obama, touching on points of his involvement with the banking industry and other things, can't remember all exactly, maybe including his advisors and campaign contributions, etc. That's what I was referring to in terms of if anyone has responded.

And make no mistake. I know it's a ploy on behalf of McCain. I don't think McCain is fearful at all, though.

Perhaps… But maybe because if Obama did say it first that he’s much more likely to be genuine about it, and not transparently desperate like McCain.

It may have been a "foreign policy" debate but there is no way they were getting out of there without the economy being brought up. And the perception among the viewing audience is that McCain is stumbling on handling the crisis. He was most certainly fearful. Fearful of the reality that 99% of the time, debates don't change anyone's mind they just reinforce whatever opinion trends are happening. An on air confrontation about the financial crisis would not have gone in McCain's favor. So he tried the nuclear option, bail out and make it look like he's pulled himself together and is all over this financial thing. It's not a surprising move, it's even an understandable move, but it was not a move done with particular cleverness or subtlety. Pretty much everyone has seen right through it for what it is, a last ditch attempt to fix his image on the economy and, if he was lucky, dodge being put on the spot at the debate.

But it's going to backfire. Where before he could easily have taken control of the debate by keeping it on the official topic of foreign policy, where he for no good reason maintains his advantage of perception the same way Obama maintains his advantage on economic issues. But now that he'll likely put his tail between his legs and show up for the debate having declared from the hilltops that the crisis is the most important issue since 9-1-1 Emergency Number Day, he won't be able to dodge it.

Whether or not McCain is being fearful, only McCain can answer that. But this situation is playing out like something is not right in the McCain camp. Word from CNN is that the McCain camp is now going to see if the VP debates can be delayed as well. I find that odd.

ETA: Meaning that the McCain/Obama debate should be placed in the VP debate slot. And the VP debate to be held at another time. All this is based on whether or not an agreement can be reached...

Maybe he's just coming to terms with the fact that come November he's going to be returning to his job in the Senate full time and wants to start remembering people's names again.

I guess I could try and second guess what the candidates are trying to do, but instead, I'm just going sit back and enjoy watching this whole debate strategy play itself out.

Last week, there were arguments that Palin would do well in a debate that is structured the way the Veep debate was agreed to be - and that Joe Biden would have to be careful as to not appear to be a bully. Now, the McCain campaign has decided that should Friday's debate not happen (a unilateral decision, by the way), they want to postpone it to the time set aside for the Vice Presidential debate.

I already know who I'm voting for, and most of my friends who are both pro-Obama and pro-McCain will almost definitely not be swayed by anything that might be said in these debates, but I can't help but think that there's some amazing back-room stuff going on right now.

I can't wait for the book.

The thing is, this might not hurt McCain at all in the long run. November is over a month away. People's memories are short. Which is why I watch some of these poll numbers and then think they don't mean a whole lot at this point. The only ones this might affect are the people that are voting early...