What the Hell?

McCain is suspending his campaign because of the financial crisis? He wants to cancel Friday's debate?

What?

This is arguably the most desperate and pathetic move in the history of American presidential campaigns. Seriously. #1. It's even more weird since it is a foreign policy debate, supposedly McCain's speciality in a format that is not Obama's favorite. Huh. Sounds fine to me.

As many others have pointed out already, including Obama--part of being president is dealing with multiple things at once. I guess the Republicans are saying that McCain really cares about the economy--more than being president. But this is both absurd and is not going to work. I think Americans want actual leadership. They want someone who can deal with a financial crisis and take care of Iraq and deal with Russia and health care and a bunch of other things. All at the same time. McCain is showing that he either can't or won't do these things.

Barney Frank said this about McCain's stunt: "It's the longest Hail Mary pass in the history of either football or Marys." Yes. This is true desperation. It's badly thought out and shows him to be entirely incapable of the office.

The first thing I was thinking was that there have been lots of presidential campaigns in US history. They have happened in good times and they have happened in bad times. And no my knowledge no one has ever actually called for suspending the campaign. Then, Eric Rauchway did my homework for me. He points out that on September 24, 1864, we were in the middle of the Civil War. Campaigning was intense that year and did not stop for a second. On September 24, 1932, we were dealing with the Great Depression, a crisis more serious by like a magnitude of 400 to this one. Yet FDR, Hoover, and their surrogates were trading blows left and right. And On September 24, 1944, in the middle of World War II, Thomas Dewey was attacking Franklin Roosevelt. I'm sure David Horowitz would call this treason....

See, this is how you campaign. You talk about the issues at hand. You try to demonstrate how you will deal with them. You don't stop campaigning and try to cancel the upcoming debate.

Commentary on this from around the intertubes has been pretty interesting. Aimai picks up some good stuff from The National Review. This guy gives McCain some advice:

I think McCain should show up for the debate looking reluctant and disheveled. He could apologize for this condition, saying he had to rush back from doing the nation’s business. He could be like Grant having to apologize to the impeccably dressed Lee at Appomattox for showing up all muddy and in an old private’s coat. There was, after all, a war that needed winning.

Huh. I thought all NRO readers supported the Confederacy. Learn something new every day.

Meanwhile, David Letterman of all people really nails what I think the public response to McCain's stunt is going to be:

"You don't suspend your campaign. This doesn't smell right. This isn't the way a tested hero behaves."

Yes, indeed.

The 2008 presidential campaign may well go down as one of the 2 or 3 most bizarre in American history.