John Nichols: The Bush-McCain September Surprise

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http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/364328/the_bush_mccain_september_surprise

The Bush-McCain September Surprise
posted by John Nichols on 09/25/2008 @ 10:57am


Did everyone notice how quickly the Bush White House placed its stamp of approval on John McCain's attempt to freeze a presidential campaign in which Republican poll numbers on Wednesday had gone into a freefall?

Desperate to renew his image as a functional player in an economic debate around which he had stumbled for days -- and frightened that an Obama proposal for the Democratic and Republican candidates to issue a joint statement on resolving the crisis would make his rival appear even more presidential -- McCain tried to postpone not just one debate but a campaign that was going awry.

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Was former White House political czar, Karl Rove, an informal adviser to the McCain campaign, invited into the discussion that developed after Obama proposed this morning to make a joint statement?

It also begs questions of those who would criticize Bush and McCain?

Were we wrong to wait for an October surprise, when Republican strategists were busy scheming up a September surprise?

One thing is certain: Taking two candidates who -- no matter what McCain says -- will still be in full campaign mode and inserting them into struggle to resolve the economic crisis is not going to help achieve consensus.

"It would not be helpful at this time to have them come back during these negotiations and risk injecting presidential politics into this process or distract important talks about the future of our nation's economy," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. "We need leadership, not a campaign photo op."

Reid was right.

But we got a photo, thanks in no small measure to a coordinated move by the Bush White House and the McCain campaign to (again) turn a crisis to the political advantage.