# McCain suspends campaign, asks Obama to do the same. What?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 24, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040 "2008-09-24T19:04:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/381 "2008-09-26T02:54:39Z")
> [@Rachm\_Qoch](#): > > I think that’s the plan. Given the fact that McCain’s buddy Lindsey Graham had a large part in scuttling what looked like a done deal, I fully expect the Republican counterproposal now tabled to be entitled the “McCain-Lieberman Act of 2008.” I would not want my name on that piece of legislative giveaway. They have gone to the fear politics one time too many. I just do not buy it. Apparently few do. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/382 "2008-09-26T13:44:32Z")
[Still uncertain whether McCain will attend the debate.](http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/26/2375553.htm?section=justin) Fuck it. Obama should just say, “If I have to debate an empty lectern, I will be there. And if, on the other hand, Senator McCain decides not to show up, I will be there then, too.” ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/383 "2008-09-26T15:11:29Z")
My opinion is that this will go down as the major blunder that cost McCain the election. Nothing he is doing is showing any kind of leadership; mainly he’s displaying confusion and poor judgment. FAIL. I should say, the _second_, but biggest, major blunder. Picking Palin was the first. John McCain, War Hero. Senator. **Dumb ass.** No, he’s not _truly_ stupid, but wow is the mismanagement of his campaign becoming painful to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/384 "2008-09-26T15:26:46Z")
CNN says McCain is leaving for Mississippi shortly. How lovely. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/385 "2008-09-26T15:29:14Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > CNN says McCain is leaving for Mississippi shortly. How lovely. MSNBC too. McCain will debate despite not being close to a bailout deal. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/386 "2008-09-26T15:30:17Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > CNN says McCain is leaving for Mississippi shortly. How lovely. Of course he is. And the statement is another example of doubletalk. Apparently since “politics weren’t put aside” as a result of his little stunt, that means that he is now free to “go back” (he never stopped) to normal campaigning. Did anyone really think he’d bail? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/387 "2008-09-26T15:30:36Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > My opinion is that this will go down as the major blunder that cost McCain the election. Nothing he is doing is showing any kind of leadership; mainly he’s displaying confusion and poor judgment. FAIL. > > I should say, the _second_, but biggest, major blunder. Picking Palin was the first. > > John McCain, War Hero. Senator. > > **Dumb ass.** > No, he’s not _truly_ stupid, but wow is the mismanagement of his campaign becoming painful to watch. A seasoned politician making these kind of embarrassing, stupid, no-chance-of-recovery mistakes…there’s something amiss upstairs, I fear. He missed his window of opportunity by at least 4 years. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/388 "2008-09-26T15:35:14Z")
Jim Lehrer says he’s going to start the debate by asking about the bailout, even though it’s supposed to be a foreign policy debate. I hope he asks McCain specifically what he thinks his role is in the negotiations and specifically which plan he supports. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/389 "2008-09-26T15:35:38Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Of course he is. And the statement is another example of doubletalk. Apparently since “politics weren’t put aside” as a result of his little stunt, that means that he is now free to “go back” (he never stopped) to normal campaigning. Did anyone really think he’d bail? Actually, if Congress didn’t effectively run him out of Washington as nothing more than a grandstanding distraction, I truly believe he’d have stayed so he could take credit for the fix. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/390 "2008-09-26T15:38:03Z")
So he vowed to halt the campaign and not debate unless and until a deal was struck. A deal is not struck, but he’s going to the debate. How do the McCainonites spin this? ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/391 "2008-09-26T15:41:34Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > So he vowed to halt the campaign and not debate unless and until a deal was struck. A deal is not struck, but he’s going to the debate. How do the McCainonites spin this? That’s what I want to know as well. Anyone have the weasel words from the campaign yet? Shall we take a guess? “We had hoped Senator Obama would see that this is a time to step above politics and partisanship, but he’s demonstrated that he’d rather lose our economy than lose an election. Senator McCain has reluctantly agreed to proceed with the debate, as he feels it’s critical that the American people see clearly what choice needs to be made on November 4.” In other words, classic McCain so far. Belittle your opponent, and steal his ideas. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/392 "2008-09-26T15:44:10Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > So he vowed to halt the campaign and not debate unless and until a deal was struck. A deal is not struck, but he’s going to the debate. How do the McCainonites spin this? _Buh buh buh buh… Jesus said so!_ He’s using a classic Republican strategy. Stating that he’s succeeded and then pompously marching away from the fire he’s caused. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/393 "2008-09-26T15:56:15Z")
Suspension of BOTH campaigns was essential to permit McCain and Obama to bridge the gap between BOTH parties. McCain did his best to “go it alone” without Obama to move the GOP forward with the bailout, as a good Maverick does, but Obama’s failure to rise to the occasion by suspending his campaign sabotaged the bailout negotiation. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/394 "2008-09-26T15:57:54Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > So he vowed to halt the campaign and not debate unless and until a deal was struck. A deal is not struck, but he’s going to the debate. How do the McCainonites spin this? Noun, verb, POW. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/395 "2008-09-26T16:03:25Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > Suspension of BOTH campaigns was essential to permit McCain and Obama to bridge the gap between BOTH parties. McCain did his best to “go it alone” without Obama to move the GOP forward with the bailout, as a good Maverick does, but Obama’s failure to rise to the occasion by suspending his campaign sabotaged the bailout negotiation. The problem with that (aside from the fact that Obama was right there in the room with him) is that McCain never really suspended his campaign. He still aired ads and he and Palin went right on making campaign appearances. Even the White House meeting was a campaign photo op (albeit a photo op that went horribly wrong). ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/396 "2008-09-26T16:05:28Z")
I think I just saw McCain say “I’m confident there will be a deal” on the bailout. So, perhaps he’s just going to ride on his “increased confidence” of a deal. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/397 "2008-09-26T16:14:12Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > John McCain, War Hero. Senator. > > **Dumb ass.** > > No, he’s not _truly_ stupid… I think you got it right. I always saw a “dumbass” as not somebody who is truly stupid but one who should know better but does something that is contrary to logic, good sense, the advice of others, and his self-interest. This qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![Dumbguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dumbguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dumbguy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/398 "2008-09-26T16:51:28Z")
While watching that Palin-Couric interview, a really perverse and nihilistic part of me thought it would be fun to see that woman as the leader of the free world. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040/399 "2008-09-26T17:12:10Z")
> [@Dumbguy](#): > > While watching that Palin-Couric interview, a really perverse and nihilistic part of me thought it would be fun to see that woman as the leader of the free world. It’s a reality show where the prize is total annihilation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-suspends-campaign-asks-obama-to-do-the-same-what/465040.md?page=19)