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Is There a Cowardly Lion Running for the White House?

Posted by TONY CAMPBELL, Columnist in At TMV, Politics.
Sep 25th, 2008 | Comments

Panic. It is something that happens to the best of us for different reasons. I have a fear of heights and small places. Put those two fears together, in an airplane for example, I have experienced panic attacks that are intense and thankfully brief.

Several times in this campaign, John McCain has made decisions one could explain as motivated by panic. The decision to name Sarah Palin as his running mate has been questioned by many people on the left and the right of the political spectrum. However, as I said before, I think the Palin decision has political merit because the Republican base has been energized in a way that John McCain was not able to accomplish on his own.

McCain has made three decisions within the last forty-eight hours that are more problematic and may signal a trend that I am not comfortable with – avoiding direct confrontation with the press and Barack Obama. The McCain campaign shuts down press access to Palin and then blows off David Letterman for Katie Couric. McCain has been on Letterman’s show before so the only reason I can think of for this change in schedule is that his staff saw a bias of Letterman towards Obama during the Chris Rock interview of a few days ago.

McCain’s decision to postpone the presidential debate because of the financial crisis is a complete smoke screen. Two members of a 535-member national legislative body are not going to make a difference in any plan that is authorized by Congress. In fact, McCain and Obama will be more of a distraction than a help in putting together a bi-partisan deal. Simply put, the handlers of McCain / Palin are afraid to debate Obama / Biden and they are buying time.

McCain has to debate Obama so I am confident that will happen eventually. If Obama agrees with the proposed timetable of replacing the V.P. debate with the first Presidential debate, will a Biden / Palin debate take place? If that debate does not happen, I can’t wait to see the reaction of CNN’s Campbell Brown…it will make her last response seem like a walk in the park.

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RevDave

Here's another theory - McCain is nuts and increasingly losing his faculties every day. How else do you explain some of his actions - desperation? immaturity? political cynicism? bold political posturing?

Do you really expect us to believe that the guy who hasn't cast a vote in the Senate since April 10th and as of Tuesday hadn't even read the bailout proposal (all three pages of it!!!) now wants to engage in the process.

Doesn't pass the smell test.

DLS

All the attacks against McCain so far about this have been ridiculous to downright scummy and they offend Americans, the same way the scummy attacks on Palin have -- Americans defend McCain and Palin against such misconduct and worse.

McCain's move was shrewd, and while too many losers on the Left may be incapable of realizing it, Obama now has a chance to make a shrewd move himself. Yes, Obama should suggest the VP debate be replaced by a Presidential debate. That takes Palin out of the national spotlight (and reduces the chance she will be wrongfully attacked again and more Americans move to her, the GOP, side in response) and removes Biden from a situation where he could make yet another silly gaffe or statement.

But is Obama smart enough to do it? (Oh, I'm sure if he does, lefties will be greatly surprised and consider it an act of brilliance rather than cowardice, et cetera.)

ChrisWWW

All the attacks against McCain so far about this have been ridiculous to downright scummy and they offend Americans, the same way the scummy attacks on Palin have -- Americans defend McCain and Palin against such misconduct and worse.

I'm sure you've got the poll data to back that up. Right? :-)

jchem

"That takes Palin out of the national spotlight..."

She's in the national spotlight? I'm not sure Obama would want to take her out of it if she is. She seems to be doing Obama more of a favor than McCain (i.e. her appearance with Couric)

Manchester2

Sen. McCain's campaign slogan is "country first." He went back to the Hill, and will help negotiate a plan that puts...country first. How complicated is that?

ChrisWWW

Manchester,
McCain's presence will make the negotiations harder. And since he's a lightweight in terms of economic smarts, what value is he adding to the discussions?

This is a political gamble nothing more. McCain/Palin: Politics first.

Silhouette

Well McCai is both a chicken and a fox.

He truly is afraid of fielding Obama's questions right now. You don't go into a prize fight with both hands tied behind your back. But also, they're laying a trap for Obama, as usual. They're trying to call him to their turf, to make any decision "his fault" if it goes wrong and "to their credit" if it goes right.

If Obama and other dems go to the Whitehouse, they will be un-lameducking GW Bush and essentially shifting the power of Congress to GW Bush in the eyes of americans. This discussion belongs on the floors of the halls of Congress and nowhere else. To go to the Whitehouse suggests then that GW will either be part of the remedy or allow him the convenience of placing the blame on democrats should anything go wrong.

This undoes the checkmate I talked about yesterday.

I think Congressional leaders and Obama should tell GWB to piss off. If they don't meet there, they will do more good than harm. They should insist that presidential politics stay out of it and that they don't go to presidential politics either.

That's the trap that's being laid for them/Obama.

RevDave

"He went back to the Hill, and will help negotiate a plan that puts...country first. How complicated is that?"

well not quite, he went to CBS New York studios to chat with Katie Couric (covering up disastrous Palin interview) and stuck around New York this morning to give a speech while the bailout negotiations and planning were going on. But he will get back to Washington for the very important photo op today at 4pm - not very complicated to see his motives.

Silhouette

In other words, the GOP knows it is covered with dookie on this financial mess.

Inviting dems to the whitehouse, while dems could otherwise stay clean and far away from associating what Americans perceive as "the problem" (The GOP), the GOP is trying to rub dookie on democrats by making them look allied with the Whitehouse.

I say it's a trap and dems should stay clear the hell away and come up with their own solution that will continue the rise in the polls.

Turning down the presidential invitation to The Whitehouse politely but firmly, and holding a press conference explaining that Pres politics has no place in this important congressional decision would win the hearts of the viewing public and not elicit their disdain. Believe me, people en masse are PRAYING that Congressional democrats snub GWB. It could only result in good for dems.

It also would make McCain look allied with GWB if he's left there standing alone with him at the Oval Office! A thing that would be like the final nail in McCain's political coffin.

That and McCain not showing up for the debate....death for his campaign..

Dems should
1. Turn down GWB's invitation at the last minute (why not? McCain turned down the debate after having first accepted it)

2. Hold a press conference explaining their actions to a receptive american public (why not? McCain did the exact same thing)

3. Staunchly INSIST that McCain's highest and best service to the american people is to show the americans, via the debate, where he stands on the issue. What? Like members of Congress won't see that debate and know where McCain stands? Dems should paint out that McCain is snubbing the most important leaders of this nation (the people) in favor of GWB, a man who he ostensibly wants to distance himself from..

Don't go. Don't go.. Don't go.

It's a trap. Keep that football and keep running AWAY from the GOP until you make a touchdown.

Don't say I didn't warn you dems...

elrod

The only trap here is if McCain goes to Washington and convinces all the Republicans to oppose the bailout bail.

I'll say this again: There is no use for John McCain in these negotiations right now. He can help rally the GOP caucus. But he has NOTHING to add to the substantive negotiations between Dodd, Frank, Shelby, Bachus, Bernanke and Paulson. He is a distraction.

CStanley

Uh, apparently Paulson felt otherwise, elrod:
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/09/25/did-mccai...

Per CBS's Bob Scheiffer:
I am told, Maggie, that the way McCain got involved in this in the first place, the Treasury Secretary was briefing Republicans in the House yesterday, the Republican conference, asked how many were ready to support the bailout plan. Only four of them held up their hands. Paulson then called, according to my sources, Senator Lindsey Graham, who is very close to John McCain, and told him: you’ve got to get the people in the McCain campaign, you’ve got to convince John McCain to give these Republicans some political cover. If you don’t do that, this whole bailout plan is going to fail. So that’s how, McCain, apparently, became involved.

RickTaylor

"McCain has been on Letterman’s show before so the only reason I can think of for this change in schedule is that his staff saw a bias of Letterman towards Obama during the Chris Rock interview of a few days ago."

No, he interviewed with Katie Couric because it was imperative they take the focus off the disastrous interview with Palin ealier. It worked; the main story became McCain's interview instead of hers.

jchem

"They should insist that presidential politics stay out of it and that they don't go to presidential politics either."

Riiight, Sil. The Dems haven't playing any politics with this have they?

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/pelosi-wont...

"Both sides have their eyes on the looming election and are trying to determine which is worse: voting for a $700 billion bailout for the pinstripe set, or taking the blame for the doomsday scenario that Paulson laid out for congressional leaders last week."

I cited this article the other day. To think that politics isn't involved with the biggest amount of spending EVER is just plain silly.

Massachusetts54th

I am an ardent Obama supporter, but to call McCain cowardly is just idiotic.

timr

The first part of the Letterman show last nite was absolutely hilarious. K. Olbermann was the last min sub for McCain. Letterman was so so so, pissed that smoke was coming out his ears. McCain -in person, not thru a flunky-flat out lied to Letterman. That, I believe will prove to be a mistake. If the sy john camp thought that Letterman favored Obama before yesterday. Hoo Boy, you ain't seen nothin yet. Jaw tightly clinched, face red. He was pissed. I think, watching the program, that he only found out that McCain was in the building after the first commercial, because that is when he really got started.

parmenides

m

lurxst

I think the Letterman cancellation last night was rather telling. Why did McCain have to lie to Dave about his motives? Couldn't he have just said, "Sorry Dave I got bigger issues on my mind and yukking it up with you on the show just isn't a good idea right now."
There.

Instead he lies to Dave. Doesn't get on a plane to DC to do important "economic type stuff" and is ridiculed by Dave as he sits in an interview with Couric. Thats what his straight talk has become. And I think Letterman retains enough "average Joe" credibility that people are going to take note. If he is comfortable lying to Dave about a minor thing, do you really think he is going to be upfront with the rest of us when the issues are really important?

When the chips are down and things look grim, McCain panics.

He has covered it up his whole career through bluster and hot-headed aggression but its pretty evident now that he doesn't have the stability of character to lead. His visit to DC is just that, a Photo OP that the media sees through and seems more comfortable to comment about now.

PWT

It seems to me that the Barack-straps are unable seperate the notions of campaigning and governing. All the discussion here is about campaign decisions rather than governing decisions. To my mind, probably my mind only, it is like comparing the pre-super bowl press conferences of Tom Brady and Eli Manning. Yeah, Brady gave a better press conference, but Manning won the game. Not really an apt comparisson to the election, Obama is no Brady; i.e., Brady had a record on the field whereas Obama has a limited to non-existant record of governance.

FlaLady

Yes! The cowardly lion ran away from Hillary the first time and from numerous Town Hall debates with McCain the second time. Now that he has been boning up with his 'debate prep team' here in Florida, he wants to hurry up and have the debate before he forgets the answers! Apparently, he also doesn't know how to prioritize a national fiscal crisis and wants to 'multi-task' with our country's long-term economic future.

AustinRoth

Glad to see the level of discourse from the left side of this board is maintaining its high level of integrity, and avoiding the malicious, personal attacks they deride the Republicans for supposedly being the exclusive practitioners.

I guess the maliciousness is in the eye of the beholder, huh?

SteveK

AustinRoth said: "I guess the maliciousness is in the eye of the beholder, huh?"

I don't know Austin... Maybe you should ask "Barack-strap" PWT.

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