Another McCain Sneak Attack

I know, I know. Yesterday I chastised the media conglomerate for trying to paint John McCain's "suspension" of his campaign as politics. I will agree with Bill Clinton who says we should not overly parse it. But, now that the details of the congressional and administration level meetings about the financial bailout have started to come out, I see how it could be both responsible and political. For the record, I do think both Obama and McCain attending these meetings was a responsible choice. Harry Reid today criticized the injection of "presidential politics" into the process, no doubt a calculated political statement all of its own. News flash, Harry: one of those two is about to be President, and will have to wade through the mess Congress is most likely to make of it. No one liked Bush and Paulson's plan as-is, no one. But, it was going to get rushed through Congress anyway because of the panic surrounding the issue. Enter John McCain, who rallied (of all factions) Conservative Republicans to present a new plan, essentially forcing a new debate. Yes, it's a delay. But it is also the most blatant rebuke of a sitting President by his own party in recent memory.

With a dismal 75% disapproval rate, Congress has everything to lose, and Republicans in particular know they are about to get the pink slip unless they do something. Likely, the quickest and dirtiest way to make sure Obama stays ahead in the polls is to link John McCain to George Bush, and that got a lot harder today. McCain spearheaded what I would consider an open coup against Bush, who has so little political capital right now, he has had to be at the Bully Pulpit non-stop for the last week just to get his voice heard. McCain can hold this up as proof-positive that he is a) not Bush III, and b) not afraid to stand up to anyone, including the President. If he manages to steer the dialogue toward himself being the "voice of reason" that allowed critical time for further refining of the bailout... more danger in Changeland.

I keep saying it. Don't underestimate John McCain. This is another McCain sneak attack, and he will probably come out smelling like roses, again. Interesting, after the fact, they are saying both candidates were invited by Bush. I doubt it. More likely, Bush had to extend the invitation to avoid seeming as though he had totally lost control of the situation. McCain had already floated the idea a day before, and although Obama's campaign issued a fairly flimsy statement saying they thought he was only considering it, I doubt it. Obama was the one who initiated a plan with McCain to issue a joint statement on the bailout, and the two campaigns were in negotiations at least by Wednesday. This was a race to see who could get hold of the reigns of the economic debate in the big picture, and McCain got both that, and a very nice boost to his "maverick" image by leading a Republican mutiny against the current administration. It looks like the real deal to me, in every spectrum.