yesthattom's likely <a href="http://yesthattom.livejournal.com/

[barking_iguana]

For those who haven't heard, McCain's suspending his campaign and calling for a postponement of the debate. There are several reasons why he might do that.

1. It might compress the debate schedule enough to eliminate the VP debate.
2. His campaign is short of money.
3. With the economy now the primary issue, the longer the active campaign period, the worse McCain will do.

But I doubt any of those are worth the predictable flack he will take for this. More likely, he needs to get away from TV cameras, pronto. Maybe it's just for nose surgery to treat skin cancer. But it could easily be something more serious.

Comments

[chemoelectric.livejournal.com]

If what I read was true, that the cable networks were showing a recorded statement rather than a live one, then maybe they edited out a new blemish on McCain’s Jolly Roger.

OTOH if he were on the verge of one of his rage explosions, he might have needed multiple takes, and so for that reason, and an inability to take questions, couldn’t go live.

Either way it’s a medical matter, though more so in the former case.

[chemoelectric.livejournal.com]

Maybe he had a minor stroke like the one that helped kill Ed Koch’s re-election.

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

I didn't know about that. Is it truly known and acknowledged?

[chemoelectric.livejournal.com]

Ed Koch’s stroke? Sure, it was the biggest thing in the local news then. We got to see before and after pictures showing that Koch’s face was sagging, and we were told that otherwise he was fine. Nevertheless it was another straw in the basket on Koch’s camel’s back.

So Dinkens became mayor.

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

Oh, it wasn't a secret that came out later. Searching my brain for campaign events, rather than revealed secrets, I vaguely remember it. I guess I forgot it because it seemed to me a fairly minor factor in the race.

Also I might not have gotten the visuals. I moved back to the area from Maryland at the end of September.

[cinema-babe.livejournal.com]

I usually pooh-pooh internet rumors but I've got to admit that this one seems much more plausible than most *and* it's actually very relevant to the election itself (as opposed to Palin's academic record.)

I also suspect that there's some kind of pressing health issue and he needed the break away from the spotlight. If this is true, it makes him an even less suitable candidate (if that were possible.) My question is, did the powers that be who selected him know how sick he was and run him anyway?

If the answer to those questions is yes, than the Palin pick takes on an ominous tinge.

[chemoelectric.livejournal.com]

But the powers that be didn’t select him; they didn’t select anybody. McCain won the nomination mainly because the other guys running were a stunning pack of clowns.

I mean, imagine how wacky this campaign would have been if September-Eleventh-Man had been the nominee, or Mr. Strap-the-Dog-to-the-Roof, or Reverend Huckleberry.

The Republicans simply didn’t have anyone to run, and McCain had name recognition and a burning desire. The election looks close mainly because of cultural inertia.

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

It's really remarkable how weak their field was. They were hurt by many of their potential leaders having been part of a deeply unpopular administration. But surely there were folks outside the administration with a stronger pulse than Thompson who could have run. Even Gingrich would have been at least as strong as McCain, I think. But everyone figured this would be Hillary's year and stayed away.

[chemoelectric.livejournal.com]

When I say ‘stunning’, I mean it. I still fondly the remember the day that Randi Rhodes couldn’t stop laughing. I think it was after one of the comedy bits that the Randi Rhodes show people do; I think Randi gets to hear it for the first time when you do. So there was this bit, and it was about Giuliani, and it got her started belly laughing, and she just couldn’t stop, as she struggled to speak into the microphone, going through the lengthy tally of Rudolph Giuliani surpassing loserhood; stuff like the Kerik disaster, putting his emergency center in exactly the wrong spot, etc.

[bugsybanana.livejournal.com]

Another friend of mine conjectures that it's about getting the Biden/Palin debate off the schedule, as you suggest. I can believe that, and I can believe it has to do with McCain himself as well. There may well be multiple motivations.

Why the money or lack thereof would factor into this, however, I don't understand.

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

If he doesn't have enough money to spend at a reasonable clip for 6 weeks, why not suspend the campaign for a week and spread the money over 5?

[chemoelectric.livejournal.com]

It worked for Dave Wottle, and he pushed it to the limit. :)