John McCain's Integrity . . . Or Just A Political Gamble
It's the economy, stupid.
The sentiment was echoed yesterday by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) when he said, “We need the Republican nominee for president to let us know where he stands on what we should do . . . . We all understand the seriousness of the financial crisis . . . We have a Republican proposal they've given us. And we now need some Republican votes to help us with this.”
But the echo died today and Reid had a different take when John McCain called his bluff and planned to suspend the Republican presidential campaign so he could return to Washington to help push a plan through the clubfoot congress (with apologies to any clubfoot readers). Apparently Reid no longer needs McCain, now saying that McCain's presence would "distract important talks about the future of our nation's economy."
Needless to say, Obama will not suspend the most aggressive campaign since Hitler lined up his boys for a visit to Austria and Poland.
Was McCain showing political integrity as a presidential candidate in planning a Washington trip to provide leadership and a potentially critical vote before the Congress leaves the hill on Friday for a season of book signings and beachfront tax evasion? Or was this just a political gamble pulled by a candidate who has lost ground on the economic issue?
The bottom line is that the economy is the issue on most American minds. The Congress has been about as ineffective as a congress could be. If McCain's presence, or even the threat of McCain's presence, can get the do-nothing congress to negotiate a palatable solution to this economic crisis then McCain made the right call. If nothing else, his move will keep at least some of the focus on Congress, which may even embarrass them into accomplishing something before they head out of town. And if Wall Street rebounds, McCain wins this round.
3 comments :
Why would we expect Obama to do anything? He hasn't done anything yet, so why start now?
I take it back, Obama has done something...campaign. He's done a lot of campaigning. That's basically his experience in a nutshell.
So, I fully expect Obama to campaign about the economy...but not actually do anything.
McCain is a leader, and he is trying to lead. However, I'm not sure how this is going to fly for McCain, because we know the media will put a negative spin on it.
McCain's inteegrity and leadership in a crisis is a political gamble. that's what leaders do - they go with their gut and roll the dice.
Whether making a strafing run on North Vietnamese military targets or taking a 3 day hiatus from a poli campaign to lift a finger - instead of pointing them.
m.a., good point. But I at least figured he want to cast a "present" vote to show he at least cared enough to be there.
gsg, and that's exactly what defines leadership -- the ability to make decisions and live with the outcome. Got that, B.H.O.?
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