Top Items:
Jennifer Parker / Political Radar:
McCain: Scrap Friday Debate for Bailout; Obama: The Debate is On — ABC News' George Stephanopoulos and Rick Klein report: Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Wednesday said he would “suspend” his presidential campaign to come to Washington to help negotiate a financial bailout bill …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, TPM Election Central, The Gun Toting Liberal, Weekly Standard, Townhall.com, Gawker, Open Left, Firedoglake, Agence France Presse, The Campaign Spot, Right Wing News, Political Machine, Donklephant, The RBC, Taylor Marsh and The Anonymous Liberal
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
McCain's gambit — McCain suspends his campaign, and asks to postpone Friday's debate, to address the financial crisis. — Both candidates have been marginal players; McCain, though, seems to have the potential to make himself a major one, and his move is a mark, most of all, that he doesn't like the way this campaign is going.
Fox News:
McCain Suspends Campaign to Help With Bailout — John McCain will suspend his presidential campaign Thursday and has asked to postpone his debate Friday with Barack Obama so the two senators can return to Washington to help negotiate a Wall Street bailout, an approach that Obama promptly rejected.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs, Michelle Malkin, MSNBC, Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, You Decide 2008, The Impolitic and Atlas Shrugs
Drudge Report:
MCCAIN SUSPENDS CAMPAIGN TO FOCUS ON ECONOMY; WANTS DEBATE DELAY — MCCAIN: America this week faces an historic crisis in our financial system. We must pass legislation to address this crisis. If we do not, credit will dry up, with devastating consequences for our economy.
New York Times:
Obama Rebuffs McCain on Debate Delay — Barack Obama said that Friday's debate should go ahead after John McCain issued a call to delay the event to deal with the financial bailout package.
Joe Klein / Swampland:
Gimmicks ‘R’ Us — McCain suspends his campaign because of financial crisis? Oh please. Given today's poll numbers—even Fox has him dropping—it seems another Hail Mary (like the feckless selection of Palin) to try make McCain seem a statesman, which is difficult given the puerile tenor of his campaign's message operation.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Fox News:
FOX News Poll: Obama Reclaims Lead Over McCain, 45% to 39% — Barack Obama has recaptured the lead — 45 percent to 39 percent — over John McCain in the presidential race, according to a FOX News poll released Wednesday. — As majorities of each party's faithful back their party nominee …
Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Behind McCain's Decision to Suspend His Campaign — John McCain's decision to suspend his campaign comes as two new polls show him slipping in the head to head matchup against Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) — Sen. John McCain's surprise announcement that he would temporarily suspend …
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, Hullabaloo, Salon, BAGnewsNotes, AMERICAblog News, Outside The Beltway, Democratic Strategist and Political Machine
Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
McCain taking ads down — Aiming to prove how serious he is about addressing the financial crisis, John McCain has instructed his staff to take all his campaign commercials off the air, a spokesman tells Politico. — “As John McCain said, now is the time to put partisanship aside …
Discussion:
Weekly Standard
Washington Post:
McCain Calls for Debate Delay to Focus on Financial Crisis — NEW YORK — The financial crisis on Wall Street overwhelmed the 2008 presidential race today, as Republican presidential nominee John McCain this afternoon said he would suspend his presidential campaign tomorrow to return …
Beth Fouhy / Associated Press:
McCain Asks To Postpone Friday Debate Due To Economic Crisis — NEW YORK — Republican John McCain said Wednesday he wants to delay Friday's debate with Democratic rival Barack Obama and temporarily put aside their partisan campaign to resolve the nation's financial crisis.
Beth Fouhy / Associated Press:
Obama rejects McCain's call to delay debate
Obama rejects McCain's call to delay debate
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com, Associated Press, Mercury Rising, Lynn Sweet, Gateway Pundit and Martini Revolution
CNN:
McCain suspends campaign, Obama says he's continuing
McCain suspends campaign, Obama says he's continuing
Discussion:
politickerco.com, The Caucus, Balloon Juice, The New Republic, Althouse, Kevin Drum, The Raw Story, Reason and Colorado Independent
Think Progress:
Breaking: McCain Proposes Suspending Campaign To Focus On Financial Crisis (Updated)
Breaking: McCain Proposes Suspending Campaign To Focus On Financial Crisis (Updated)
Tahman Bradley / Political Radar:
Ole Miss Official Says Debate Cancellation Would be ‘Devastating’
Ole Miss Official Says Debate Cancellation Would be ‘Devastating’
Discussion:
Eunomia
Drudge Report:
EXCLUSIVE: LETTERMAN MOCKS MCCAIN CANCELLATION — David Letterman tells audience that McCain called him today to tell him he had to rush back to DC to deal with the economy. — Then in the middle of the taping Dave got word that McCain was, in fact just down the street being interviewed by Katie Couric.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs, Emptywheel, TIME.com, MyDD, American Street and Lawyers, Guns and Money
Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
Palin gets question, looks to McCain, demurs — This is what happens when campaigns let reporters into photo ops. They get all uppity and ask questions. — From the pool report account of what happened after McCain and Palin's meeting with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvilli and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko:
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CNN:
McCain camp to propose postponing VP debate — (CNN) — McCain supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham tells CNN the McCain campaign is proposing to the Presidential Debate Commission and the Obama camp that if there's no bailout deal by Friday, the first presidential debate should take the place of the VP debate …
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
A non-emergency meeting — The McCain campaign's new urgency about the financial crisis didn't entirely clear his schedule this morning. — My colleague Amie Parnes reports that he made it to his scheduled morning meeting with Lady Lynn de Rothschild, a Clinton backer who recently came out in support of him.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Matthew Yglesias, Spin Cycle, The Daily Dish and Oliver Willis
Kathryn Jean Lopez / The Corner:
The Debate Debate — Obama is on TV right now. — Some of this is a lot of nonsense, but if I'm just getting home from work and I only pay casual attention to these debates, Obama sounds reasonable and less gimmicky than McCain. — He says that there is no reason why we can't do more than one thing at once.
Discussion:
The New Republic
RELATED:
National Enquirer:
SARAH PALIN LOVER REVEALED! — In a world exclusive The NATIONAL ENQUIRER names GOP VP Candidate Sarah Palin's secret lover! — No less than three members of the man's family including one by sworn affidavit have claimed that Sarah Palin engaged in an extramarital affair with husband Todd's former business partner, Brad Hanson.
Martina Stewart / CNN:
Florida congressman points to Palin to rally Jews to Obama — (CNN) - Rep. Alcee Hastings told an audience of Jewish Democrats Wednesday that they should be wary of Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin because “anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks.”
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
WAIT ... WAIT — What's changed today in the financial crisis other than John McCain's poll numbers tanking? Isn't this the campaign equivalent of faking an injury when you're down late in the 4th quarter? Note too that McCain was in the midst of debate prep when he made this decision.
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com
RELATED:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED.... When the crisis on Wall Street began …
IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED.... When the crisis on Wall Street began …
Discussion:
LiberalOasis