McCain's campaign gambit deserves national derision (Virginia Tech Collegiate Times)

[struggle4progress]

by CT Editorial Board
Wednesday, September 24; 11:01 PM

In the midst of this compelling presidential season we may be sometimes wont to forget that both parties' nominees are serving U.S. Senators ...

McCain starkly reminded us of this state of affairs yesterday when he announced that he was suspending his campaign so as to be able to fulfill his congressional duties during the ongoing financial crisis. In addition to suspending his campaign so that he could better play his current, elected role, he also called for the postponement of Friday's first presidential debate with Obama. Obama rebuffed the senior Arizonan Senator on this latter suggestion ...

Perhaps it now strikes us as strange to suggest that if a senator, or any other elected official for that matter, is running for another office he should not neglect the duties of the office he currently holds by devoting all his energies to the future rather than the present. But this isn't so bizarre, one could easily imagine a norm that required presidential candidates to resign their current positions upon receiving their party's nomination, but this is not the system we currently inhabit and if McCain is truly so troubled about his split responsibilities, perhaps he should push for reform of this nature. After all, he has missed plenty of votes this election season.

But perhaps McCain truly believes that the current crisis in the nation's economy is so pressing as to require only a momentary shift in the way we campaign, rather than a permanent one, and so his temporary campaign suspension should be viewed as the exception rather than the rule. There can be no doubt that the turmoil facing the country is tremendous and that wisdom is presently needed to do our political best to remedy the situation. However, McCain, who spoke to Obama a few hours prior to his announcement, called for the postponement of the debate without first talking to Obama about the matter. This is the mark of a cheap political shot ...

http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/2008/09/24/editorial__mccain_s_campaign_gambit_deserves_national_derision

[ladjf]

1. He thinks that the Nation is his personal plantation and that he is

the "master".