Given the trouble he gets in every time he opens his mouth on the stump, getting him off the campaign trail for a while makes outstanding sense.

The whole thing makes no sense. There's simply no reason why McCain and Obama couldn't have put out a joint statement of economic principles that both support – they aren't far apart on the bailout – and then move on from there. It would send whatever message needs to be sent.

Now with McCain suspending his campaign and going to Washington he has actually politicized the crisis even worse by using Democrats as props for his “maverick” game.

This is the most transparently dishonest political maneuver I've seen in a long time.

You won't see it or learn of it if the media continue their present Obama campaign.

Two smart moves. McCain can do little more but gain at Obama's expense by this latest move. Let the chumps say he's a coward trying to evade the first debate due to the economy favoring Obama currently (which McCain may turn around now).

* * *

“IMO the best thing for the country right now would be for Obama and McCain to work together on this.”

Next step is to pull Palin and Biden into this as well.

I never would've guessed that he'd hire the scum responsible for the “McCain's illegitimate black baby from an affair” whisper campaign in the 2000 primary race to run his presidential campaign this time around, yet here we are.

If McCain wants to watch it on television instead, then Obama should have his campaign send a glass of buttermilk, a plate of cookies, and an electric blanket for a man who is too old, tired, and confused to be president.

IMO the best thing for the country right now would be for Obama and McCain to wor together on this. They'd both be demonstrating a credible bipartisan spirit, and they can bypass criticism from the extreme wings of their parties by talking about the seriousness of this crisis (comparing it to the bipartisan spirit that prevailed for a short time after 9/11.)

And how to work together? Figure out how to get the best financial minds convened – those who don't have serious conflcts of interest, though there are bound to be Wall Street ties but preferably not incestuous ones- and have those experts convene to come up with alternate proposals and brief Congress. We simply can't have senators like Reid throwing up their hands and saying that no one knows what to do, nor people going around pretending that they DO know what to do but not making any sense because they have no expertise on the economy.

Wall Street jitters will ease if we get a brain trust going to come up with a real solution to replace the fire drill that's going on now.

“In a statement, McCain says he will stop campaigning after addressing former President Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative session on Thursday and return to Washington to focus on the nation’s financial problems.”

Amazing. McCain stops campaigning to go to work in Washington . . . AFTER he appears with the former Democratic President's session (symbolizing McCain's bipartisanship, natch).

Pure political calculation and excellent optics.

I wonder if Clinton will glad-hand McCain and give him a beautiful photo-op? Can you imagine? Clinton will continue forgetting Senator Obama's name, I am sure.

“The New York Times” editorial board must be spitting blood when this came down the wire.

It is classic McCain . . . like the Palin pick . . . playing a maverick wild card that changes the game. Sounds like Obama had an idea for a joint statement that would lock McCain down, so he couldn't go after a Democrat-approved plan negotiated with the unpopular Bush.

McCain took the ball, and is now running down the field with it.

The Democrats will cry foul . . . the MSM will howl in outrage like a stuck pig . . . but it might work to eliminate Obama's advantage on the economy.

Having McCain seeming to work in Washington, while Obama is trolling for votes, would look VERY bad. How could Obama not return to Washington as well?

McCain has just unilaterally rewritten Obama's campaign schedule.