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Absentee Leaders: Obama, McCain and Biden

Posted by JAZZ SHAW, Assistant Editor in Politics.
Sep 23rd, 2008 | Comments

After watching much of the television coverage of the Money Market Meltdown ™ I find it rather depressing to note that I had to go to the L.A. Times to find this story. In the midst of possibly the most critical debate of this year, where are Senators Obama, McCain and Biden? Let’s see…

Profiles in courage? McCain, Obama may skip bailout vote

Here’s a quick one this morning: The website Politico reports that Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama may skip the vote on the Paulson bailout plan — if and when the plan comes to a vote in the Senate.

Hold on here… isn’t McCain on the banking committee? (And was previously the chair, if I recall correctly.) And though he seemed to be confused, didn’t Obama think he was on the banking committee? And Joe Biden often just seems plain confused, but he’s still in the Senate, right? Wouldn’t you think that these three would be leading the charge back to Washington to grill the actors in this play, get their positions out in front of the public and cast their votes before nearly a trillion taxpayer dollars go sailing off to Wall Street? You aren’t even going to vote on it????

Ok… I can see Palin not being there. She’s a state governor and probably isn’t much up on Wall Street matters, (and she’s busy ducking the press while meeting with the first foreigners of her experience) but the Senate needs to be present and accounted for. These three in particular. Hello? Is this thing on? Am I the only one wondering about this? Couldn’t these clowns miss out on one podium appearance in Intercourse, Pennsylvania to sit in on this?

Let’s go back to the L.A. Times for a moment.

This is a chance to show leadership. To date neither of these guys has shown much leadership on the subject — neither bothered to even mention the credit crisis in their convention speech. Were they unaware of it? Forgot about it? Are they afraid to take a stand? Do these guys want to lead, follow, or do they want to get out of the way?

Well said, sir. Well said.

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DLS

It's getting near the peak of the campaign and those other three have tasks on the road to do as well as back in Washington. Also, don't confuse lack of exposure to doing or saying little -- Obama and McCain, and Biden, have had things to say about the current financial issues before us, but the media remain largely obscessed with Palin. (They have particularly neglected Biden ever since McCain chose Palin.)

jchem

I think Harry Reid said it best when he looked straight into the camera and said flatly "we don't know what to do". None of them do. They are simply too afraid of the fallout, whatever it may be. If you vote for it, the other side will label you as raising taxes. If you vote against it, the other side will say you didn't do enough to fix the situation. This is the current political situation. I've said on a previous thread that if you really want to load up the comment box here, then you might as well tag your post with Palin's name, or better yet, put her name in the title. A brief view of Memeorandum shows what a lot of people are really concerned about.

GeorgeSorwell

I agree with Jchem about their fear of fallout. Now, I don't think that's a good thing, but there it is, especially considering Josh Marshall's summary of what seems to be the McCain plan:

The Republican/McCain plan is to get the Democrats to bail out the GOP's Wall Street friends and then run against them for doing it.

I think summary is accurate.

Ron Beasley

I think the best thing they both could do is stay out of the way. At this time neither one of them can do anything about it. Neither one has anything to contribute. And anything they say at this point will be entirely political.

DLS

Far of fallout extends to the presidential contest as well. Anyone showing initiative and being the first to express a position on some issue, any issue, does so with the likehood it will be attacked by the other side.

Actually, George, it's different than what you and Josh Marshall think about the current GOP behavior. They're rushing to bail out the financial institutions not only to help their friends, but to try to put out this economy-related "fire" so as to steal it effectively from Obama before it can harm McCain and the GOP more than it has already. That's a good deal of why there's such antagonism behind the global-warming-at-its-looniest insistence on rushing to act without any thinking or questioning what "must" be done immediately. (The rest of it comes from the farther left, that this is Bush-style driving similar to the buildup to war in Iraq, with which I disagree -- Iraq was slower and less agitated.)

I wish they would just step back and let these institutions fail, as they should, reform themselves (i.e., the federal government) first, then approach the aftermath of the failures with a more learned and mature nature.

nepr

Mr Shaw: A couple of comments...

First, I detect a certain contempt, on your part, for the activity of campaigning for President of the United States. Does this mean that you equate it's being a slogging, mundane, and often absurd process with it's being somehow unimportant?

Next, of all the people who should keep their mouths shut about this, I would single out both McCain and Obama. (I think you have a point about Biden, since I doubt anyone would listen to the guy.) They are Senators (in name, at least, if not in actions), but one of them will, in fact, be the POTUS in a very short time. If this situation shows us anything, it's the childlike ignorance of market traders, those to whom we have foolishly, and unavoidably, entrusted the duty of managing our money. These folks regard panic as a useful and legitimate tool of high-finance. We shouldn't confuse them, any more than they already are, about who they should be listening to.

pacatrue

I agree that they should vote. They're going to have to take high profile individual stands as Prez. Might as well practice now.

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