McCain Refuses To Attend Debate

McCain refuses to debate Obama. Unless the government gives 700billion to Billionaires and lobbyists he refuses to debate Obama.

Will this arrogance hurt McCain in the long run?

Democratic Sen. Barack Obama rejected Republican Sen. John McCain’s dramatic call Wednesday to delay Friday’s presidential debate because of the economic crisis.

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He's running to be the President of the United States and has a chance to take an hour or two out of his time to talk about it with the American people, explain how he would handle it if he was in charge, and debate with Obama. Of course it's going to hurt him, many people see past this and it really does look like he's dodging it.

McCain isn't on any of the committees that are helping put the bill together, so it's a non-issue and why he is trying to push it is beyond me. He's a senator with one vote anyway, all he could do is give his opinion and vote Yes or No, neither Obama or McCain can ride in on a white horse and save the economy.

The government is trying to say that they need to "unite" so they can get ready to pass this horrible bill that will have everyone eating a turd sandwich, the agenda being that since they are masking it in the terms "bipartisan" and "unity" both parties will be to blame instead of one.

I mean, it was Republican's who put together the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 which Bill Clinton signed as a lame duck, and which Phil Gramm (McCain's economic adviser) helped push through with the backing of Enron. We all know what happened there, fraud, the Enron scandal involving the loophole from that very bill which allowed them to be exempt from certain energy markets, and which also allowed products that were offered by banking institutions not to be regulated as future contracts.

The best part about all of this is a couple of weeks ago you had Republican's saying that being a Senator "isn't enough experience to run the country" but now suddenly you have Republican's claiming being a Senator is a godsend and can actually do something about this.

[edit on 25-9-2008 by davion]

he said the economy is sound, now he wont debate unless we pay 700 billion, hmmmmm

Exactly. He said there was nothing wrong with the economy. He said it was strong. Now... he refuses to debate unless we give his friends 700billion dollars. Gah, just heard his campaign handlers were getting money from Freddie Mac just a month before this started. But theres no personal gain for McCain and the Lobbyists running his campaign.

reply to post by GordonJQ


What rubbish. He went to DC to help in the current fiscal crisis. He asked that the debate be postponed.

Originally posted by jsobecky
reply to post by GordonJQ

 

What rubbish. He went to DC to help in the current fiscal crisis. He asked that the debate be postponed.

How do you think he's going to help in the current crisis? He's not on any of the committees that are drafting up the bill.

For that matter why does he suddenly care now when this bill has been in the works for at least a week?

In the end it seems like it's going to hurt him, Obama doesn't appear to be wavering in the fact that he's going to be at the debates and can do both things at once. McCain's campaign is suspended apparently and there's talk that Palin's "campaign" might be suspended, even though she doesn't have anything to do with the Senate.

The only options for McCain at this point are, in my opinion:

1. Go to the debate and potentially look like a fool because he said one thing and did another because he didn't get the answer he wanted from Obama.

2. Not go to the debate and potentially look like a fool because Obama can apparently help in Washington and go to a debate.

3. Do what McCain's campaign is trying to push, which is eliminate the VP debate and push the presidential debate in place of it, which to Democrats and many others looks like they are trying to push Palin out of the picture, which is probably what this is all about anyway, especially after the painful interview with Katie Couric where she couldn't even answer questions.

[edit on 25-9-2008 by davion]

Although i've been more aligned to McCains campaign and policies, i have to say this is pure spin. This isn't the first instance either. I'm very much swaying towards Obama now and not just out of protest. Obama has been very vocal and detailed about his approach to this crisis and all McCain has given thus far is spin... Very disappointing!

reply to post by davion


I don't care about any of that. What I object to is this type of outright lies and BS:

McCain refuses to debate Obama. Unless the government gives 700billion to Billionaires and lobbyists he refuses to debate Obama.

How anyone can distort the truth like that is beyond reason.

McCain is making himself look like a coward. How he could invoke 9/11 over this finacial mess is utterly mind boggling. Fear fear fear thats how they won the last election maybe thats their plan again.

Obama nailed him when he said "the president should be able to do more than one thing at once." McCain may aswell just drop out and hand the presidency to obama.

Originally posted by theblunttruth
... this is pure spin. This isn't the first instance either.

My husband and I were discussing this this morning. When McCain is feeling unsure about his support, he "shakes things up" by surprising the public. He does something that gets the attention of the people on him and talking about him. These "tricks" will only take him so far, though. If he does win the election because of these "stunts", they won't help him after the election. It's almost like his campaign is taking cues from popular Reality Shows to gain and keep the public interest.

Sadly, I'm concerned it just may work.

Once he's president, his poll numbers aren't going to matter, though. That's when the real work is going to start. And manipulating the public isn't going to help run the country. I sincerely hope he doesn't plan to use this strategy of "throw them off guard with a shocker" in his presidency.

I prefer a calm, predictable, stable leader. Not someone who throws a wrench in the works like a defibrillator to get the campaign's heartbeat going again... :shk:

With McCain's unexpected VP pick, delaying the convention, saying he'd fire the head of the FEC, and now suspending his campaign (?) and trying to postpone the debate... I don't feel very sure about this man at all... One week, the economy is strong, next week, he has to drop everything to handle the crisis... This is not a good person for our president.


[edit on 25-9-2008 by Benevolent Heretic]

The US public is pressuring their Congresspeople to NOT support the bailout. The Administration and the PWB want the bailout. Keep in mind, the Administration and the PWB are the ones who had oversight of the situation as it developed. McCain and Bush were among those telling us the entire time the economy was failing that everything was 'sound'. 'Don't worry everyone. The ship is not going to sink' as they pack their bags and get a headstart for the lifeboats.

So now, with the bailout in jeopardy, the PWB are gettiong into the arm-twisting to counter the public's sentiment. Just like the wars, just like the Patriot Act, use fear to get waht you want. They're using McCain to ratchet-up the fear. I loved POTUS last night on TV... referring to HIS plan. Are you kidding me? Who the hell was ultimately responsible for oversight this entire time? What an outright scam. I am apalled at this.

McCain is just another pawn of the PWB. What a joke. There is nothing he can add to the work being done in DC It's a stunt. Sorry if bubbles are being burst. Sometimes it sux when your hero is shown to be less than the packaging. 'Dave, I gotta cancel my appearance on Letterman tonight to get back to Washington and save the economy'. And he heads straight to CBS for an interview. Nice.

It makes me laugh to see all of you talk about "political spin" when that's exactly what this entire thread is. McCain didn't hightail it to Washington to give his "friends" almost a trillion dollars. He suspended his campaigning until this issue which could possibly bring the country crashing down is settled in Washington. Personally, I'm sick and tired of all of the political rhetoric. I think it would be great if these two imbeciles would take a few weeks off and GO TO WORK.

I just got off the phone with my mom, who is a diehard conservative, Faux news, Hannity loving republican.
The wool is pulled way down over her eyes.
Her response to McCain suspending his campaign and debate is that he is doing the job he get's paid to do (notice how she didn't say voted into office to do? Hannity can only spread the lies so thick) Thank the heavens above for McCain, he cares about this country where as Obama only cares about getting elected. The sad part, she actually believes this dribble that is spewed at her. The other sad part is most Americans no longer use their common sense, they believe whole heartily with whomever they see fit to tell them what to believe.



I was watching CNN last night and Dobbs asked some Senator, Financial expert, professional pundit guy what McCain will actually be doing in Washington to help the economic situation? The guy said "VOTE". Dodd asked then why suspend his campaign if all he will be doing is voting? Guy essentially says he doesn't know or understand.

I recall in 2001 we had a crisis and a certain leader was at a school monitoring the situation with the best technology in the world. That leader was heavily criticized for staying in that location and not doing his job despite the fact that he was multitasking. How Ironic that he can be criticized for not doing his job during a crisis but you can can give Obama a free pass for doing the same thing during this crisis. The magnitude of this crisis is just as big as the 2001 crisis. Guess Bush should have said call me if you need me as well.

Here is how Obama described this crisis.

As I mentioned at the rally today, the era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington has led us to a financial crisis as serious as any we have faced since the Great Depression. And there's much blame to go around for causing this crisis.

source

I will give him credit about not suspending his campaign or canceling the debate. But for him not to go back to Washington to do the job he swore under oath he would carry out is a little bit too far. Read his words again...crisis, serious, Great Depression...No excuse in my book.. He could have gone to Washington and see and hear first hand what was really going on.. For people to spin it that he is good at multitasking is absurd. If there were two crisis going on I would buy it but the election is not in a crisis. People have already heard him for a year plus, plenty of material concerning his plans, and on top of that he was still going to have his campaign and surrogates preaching his agenda. As far as if it was necessary to cancel debate, once they both were in Washington they could make the determination if it was necessary or not. Personally, I could give a rats ass about the debates. They use to mean something now it is a popularity contest. People remember Gore Bush debate for what Gore did rather than what he said. On top of that the candidates are so rehearsed they are basically giving a summary of what they have been saying all along. Some of you guys act like your going to learn something new...Like I said Obama is still a Senator. After this I think all future Congressional candidates running for President should be required to give up their seats. This would avoid the issue of whether they are doing their jobs or not. Wasn't too long ago people were criticizing the candidates for being absent for major legislation. Now they want to excuse that candidate...Go figure....

[edit on 25-9-2008 by jam321]

Originally posted by SEEWHATUDO
I just got off the phone with my mom, who is a diehard conservative, Faux news, Hannity loving republican.

I was watching CNN last night...

So let me get this straight, your mom has the "wool pulled over her eyes" because she watches Fox, but CNN is telling it to you straight?

I didn't form my opinion on this matter from Fox, CNN, Hannity, or any other news source. My opinion is solely based on this circus we call the "run up to the presidential election". Do we really need these two idiots running around the country saying the same thing over and over and over for months prior to the election? The entire process is a waste of time and money. They both outta be in Washington doing their job rather than preaching the same old BS for months on end. That's my opinion.

reply to post by BlueTriangle


yes im sure you would like the debates cancelled. America is in its worst state since the depression and its happened on the republicans watch. Thats the real reason he's suspened his campaign and wants the debate cancelled.

mccain already admitted he doesnt know jack about the economy. He will be of no use whatsoever in washington even his supporters are puzzled by tis move www.usnews.com...

why are you comparing 9/11 to a financial meltdown? this isnt an attack by outside enemies. What happened to the market will correct everything? the economy is strong etc etc?

more comment here showing how idiotic mccains move is www.bbc.co.uk...

now mccain looks bad if he pulls out but then if he turns up at the debate it looks like he's been dragged there.

[edit on 25-9-2008 by yeti101]

This is a little out there guys. This is McCain's JOB in case you forgot. He isn't being paid to run for President right now, he was elected to work in Washington and serve the people, so that's what he's doing. I commend McCain for this. It only shows to me that it's true that Obama cares more for his campaign than he does for this country.

And for those of who is saying McCain is afraid to debate Obama, come on now.

Who was it that was begging Obama to attend town halls with him to debate for the last few months? McCain. Who kept refusing to debate? Obama.

reply to post by BlueTriangle


No because she gets her perceptions, views and beliefs from Fox, Hannity et al.
I watch various news sources, read various paper sources and scour the internet and then form my own ideas and beliefs.
Reporting on the 5 minutes or so that I watched Dobbs last night to state the obvious( he is going to vote, right?) is not my view or belief or even perception it is fact.

reply to post by jsobecky


Um, did you not know that the man running his campaign recieved money from Freddie Mac as little as a month ago? Now McCain screams we need to give 700billion dollars to Freddie Mac...

Also, he didn't go to Washington. He was in NEW YORK CITY THE WHOLE TIME! He canceled David Letterman and went to a different CBS Studio for an interview. So David brought it up during his show and yelled at McCain. Because McCain told him he was going to DC, but DIDN'T!

Anyways, how anyone can say "Take my money masta take it I donts needz it." and give it to Bush and McBush's friends is beyond me. How anyone can say "I dont need to pay my car payment, that BILLIONAIRE needs to fill up his private jet!" is beyond me.

They need to reposes everything they own like they would to me if I didn't have the money to pay for stuff, then see if its 700billion.

[edit on 25-9-2008 by GordonJQ]

Originally posted by nyk537
And for those of who is saying McCain is afraid to debate Obama, come on now. Who was it that was begging Obama to attend town halls with him to debate for the last few months? McCain. Who kept refusing to debate? Obama.

Exactly. Any discussion that McCain is scared of Obama is pathetic.


Oh ... and BH ... McCain didn't delay the convention as a 'trick' or a 'stunt' as you said. There was a major hurricane coming down on Louisiana, or don't you remember that? There was a state of emergency in the South East part of the United States and two of the main speakers for the convention had to stay in their respective states (Louisiana and Texas) to take care of the Emergency.

Much like McCain is doing now - taking care of an emergency.


As for the topic - McCain wants to DELAY the debate until after this week in order to DO HIS JOB. Kudos to him. I'm still not voting for him, but I'll give him some KUDOS because he deserves it.

As for dropping the rest of the campaiging - such as TV ads etc - I don't think that's smart. He can appoint people to run those parts of the campaign and he doesn't need to watch that closely. He can afford to let someone else run those things for a week or so.

Either Obama will wise up and claim that he got called to Washington because he was 'so badly needed' or McCain will take a few hours off from Washington and fly down to do the debate and then quickly fly back.