John McCain's Farce

The following from the New York Times account of yesterday's White House meeting should put to rest any doubt that McCain's dramatic campaign "suspension"* and return to Washington to deal with the financial crisis was anything but a political ploy:

"Mr. McCain was at one end of the long conference table, Mr. Obama at the other, with the president and senior Congressional leaders between them. Participants said Mr. Obama peppered Mr. Paulson with questions, while Mr. McCain said little."

That's all you need to know. McCain pushed for this meeting and then sat there and said nothing while the conservative House delegation effectively scuttled the bailout framework** that Congressional leaders had been negotiating for days. By all accounts, McCain didn't even offer up a personal opinion as to whether he preferred the negotiated deal or the conservative alternative proposal. He just sat there and let the process unravel. Note that Obama, once again, comes across as the reasonable, responsible, adult in the process. He's engaged, wants information, but refuses to inject presidential politics into delicate negotiations he has not been at all involved in.

So, McCain announces Wednesday night that he's "suspending" his campaign and immediately returning to D.C. Except that he first must tape an interview with CBS (designed, I think, to limit fallout from Palin's disastrous train-wreck of an interview with Katie Couric). Then, yesterday morning, McCain finds the time to tape interviews with all the major networks and personally attend the Clinton Global Initiative. The financial crisis, evidently, can wait for his personal involvement. A bipartisan framework and set of principals is announced prior to his arrival in D.C. Then, he says nothing at the meeting he insisted upon having at the White House. The deal falls apart. McCain does interviews for all the major networks, blames Obama, and doesn't offer up any proposals or alternatives.

Yup. That's exactly the kind of leadership the situation demanded and required. Rather than provide any real leadership, McCain has injected himself and gummed up a process that was progressing along just fine without him. All the while without clearly expressing what he wants. Way to go, John!

*I use fun scare quotes because it's clear McCain never suspended his campaign. Advertisements were up an running (yes, it's a bitch to take down nationwide advertising), he was still conducting interview after interview after interview, Palin held a rally at the Philly airport, his surrogates were all over the news attacking Obama, etc, etc, etc.

**I'm not expressing an opinion on the merits of the negotiated framework. I think that any plan generated in response to the crisis will be flawed. The key is to limit the flaws as much as possible and implement as many provisions for transparency, accountability, and tax payer protection as possible (say strong oversight and an equity stake in the companies that participate in the bailout). I'm only commenting on the absurd and transparently political actions of McCain in response to the situation.