Patterico's Pontifications

9/24/2008

Obama Wants The Debate To Go Forward — Fine. Here’s What McCain Should Say.

Filed under: General — WLS @ 6:34 pm



Posted by WLS:

“Dear Senator Obama:

Our first Presidential Campaign Debate is scheduled for Friday, September 26, 2008, at the University of Mississippi.  I asked you first, in light of the current events happening in Washington, to postpone this debate until after congressional action could be taken on the bipartisan financial rescue plan now being considered.  You have declined my request.

Here is my reply to your position. 

I agree to hold the debate on Friday.  I will be standing at the lectern on Republican side of the Senate floor in the Capitol at 9:00 p.m.  I look forward to seeing you there.  No moderators, no audience.  Simply you and I debating the issues of the campaign man-to-man.  The press can watch from the press gallery, and the networks can cover it via the C-Span cameras.

Regards,

John.

47 Responses to “Obama Wants The Debate To Go Forward — Fine. Here’s What McCain Should Say.”

  1. That is a good statement.

    Joe (8102a5)

  2. Ohhhh man.

    If only!

    Juan (4cdfb7)

  3. It’s dumb. WHY ON EARTH would McCain — the better debater — want to pass up on trouncing Obama on his worst subject: abdication and surrender foreign policy? It’s like 5 points on the polls, and McCain throws it away for what? Some half-baked notion?

    DUMB DUMB DUMB. Unforced error that could cost him his best shot.

    Kevin Murphy (eb4d6c)

  4. “I will be standing at the lectern on Republican side of the Senate floor in the Capitol at 9:00 p.m. I look forward to seeing you there. No moderators, no audience. Simply you and I debating the issues of the campaign man-to-man. The press can watch from the press gallery, and the networks can cover it via the C-Span cameras.”

    – WLS

    Oooooh, so tough! So manly: no pussy-ass “moderators” (whatever the fuck those are) to make sure that candidates do things like give one another a turn to talk. Weak-kneed pinko bullshit, that.

    Leviticus (41975c)

  5. Don’t quit your day job. Unless it happens to be political strategist. In that case, do.

    Josh (86f13d)

  6. Leviticus — I thought that’s what was supposed to happen in the “World’s Greatest Deliberative Body”? They seem to manage to debate issues without moderators when the Senate is in session. Why would two sitting Senators not be able to show each other the respect and decorum necessary to engage in a real one-on-one debate where they could call each other out when they begin devolving into spin and nonsense.

    Not anxious to hear Obama’s chorus of “uhhs” and “ahhs” as he searchs for the right combination of non-offensive words in formulating his answers?

    WLS (26b1e5)

  7. WLS,

    Does that mean Senator Obama can bring his seven USA flags with him into the Senate chambers with his special camera crew ?

    McKiernan (64dc51)

  8. This explains the exchange between Obama and McCain.

    Sen. John McCain said this morning that he has not assured Democratic leaders of his support for the financial bailout package, disputing comments by Majority Leader Harry Reid that he had.

    Reid told reporters Tuesday that, in a private conversation Monday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson assured Reid that McCain would eventually back the bailout legislation, which Reid has set as a precondition for approving the bill to tone down the partisan atmosphere surrounding the controversial issue. “I’ve got some good news,” said Reid, adding that it “appears” McCain would back the package.

    Lies, as usual.

    The Democrats tried to mousetrap him into providing cover for him. He will be part of the debate and I think the final bill will be quite a bit different from what is being described now.

    The debate suggestion sounds pretty good but will not happen. After all, if Leviticus doesn’t agree…

    Mike K (2cf494)

  9. My vote is for Palin to fill in.

    Xrlq (62cad4)

  10. There is a moderator in the Senate. The Presiding Officer. Have you ever even watched C-SPAN?

    Josh (86f13d)

  11. Palin couldn’t even handle notorious bulldog Katie Couric, Xrlq. Who knows if there will even be a VP debate.

    Josh (86f13d)

  12. Two things:

    First of all, this bailout proposal has to make it through the House before the Senate even has a chance to look at it. The House will debate it tomorrow, and vote on it Friday (at least that’s my understanding of the way they’re going to do this thing). After that, it goes to the Senate.

    D’you get that? The Senate won’t even have this fucking travesty of a bill until Friday, and probably not even then, if my knowledge of the speed of legislative progress is at all accurate… and either way, Congress adjourns mere hours later. Nothing’s going to happen on this thing til next week: why the hell is it suddenly so urgent for McCain to get back to DC? He didn’t feel the need to drop in a week and a half ago, when people were freaking out about the energy bill; why now?

    Second of all, McCain doesn’t get to arbitrarily decide that he’s going to skip out on a debate that he and Obama presumably agreed to months ago just because he remembered that Nixon looked like shit standing next to Kennedy in 1960. And he sure as hell doesn’t get to pretend that Obama’s doing anything reasonable by trying to keep him from breaking his word.

    Leviticus (41975c)

  13. Palin couldn’t even handle notorious bulldog Katie Couric, Xrlq.

    Did The Mad Hatter suddenly come into the blog here? “Up is down, down is up.” Whatever you think you saw no doubt is true, Sweetie.

    Dmac (e639cc)

  14. doesn’t get to arbitrarily decide that he’s going to skip out on a debate that he and Obama presumably agreed to months ago just because he remembered

    Really? Then explain why The Messiah gets off with suddenly deciding to drop out on the previously – agreed – to series of town hall debates. Gee, I wonder why he suddenly got a case of cold feet on that one, eh?

    Dmac (e639cc)

  15. Obama is really folding like a house of cards – showing his lack of leadership today (“IF I’m needed in Washington, I’ll be there …” ).

    Probably because his request for teleprompters at the debates was refused.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  16. Leviticus,

    The Hill reports that a bipartisan group of legislators will sit down Thursday morning at 10 AM to craft the final bill with “debate and a vote likely over the weekend.” Thus, there are important matters being considered by Congress that leading Senators like McCain and Obama should want to participate in.

    However, perhaps this also means the Presidential debate will go forward Friday.

    DRJ (c953ab)

  17. A comment over at NRO says that the reality behind the scenes is that Obama’s just not a big player on financial matters in the Dem Senate caucus. Pres. nominee or not, his views haven’t been the kind of thing that have brought along other colleagues in the Senate like Dodd and Schumer who have a lot more time both in the Senate and on these issues.

    McCain, on the other hand, is a senior member of the GOP, and as former Chair of the Commerce Committee, has great persuasive authority in this caucus.

    WLS (26b1e5)

  18. So what you’re saying, WLS, is that McCain is indeed needed in DC and brings experience and authority to the table while Obama who is also a senator but without experience and lacking authority, really isn’t needed…as much anyway…

    Dana (4d3ea0)

  19. WLS, that Obama is a lightweight – of no significance in the Senate – ought to be obvious to all but the cultists.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  20. Josh — the President of the Senate doesn’t moderate the debate. He controls parlimentary procedure and who has the floor. The flow of the debate is between the participants speaking. The repeatedly ask each other to yield, and its not up to the President of the Senate to decide when a speaker shall yield or not yield — its up to the person controlling the floor.

    Brush up on Robert’s Rules of Order before you pop-off about things you don’t understand.

    WLS (26b1e5)

  21. Only opinion but if they do have the debate on Friday Obama is more likely than McCain to be off his game with his weakest area the focus of the debate. And probably a bigger than expected national audience after all the hoopla about it.

    voiceofreason2 (78a026)

  22. I think that McCain has heard that the bailout was not going to pass. Gingrich and De Mint are both absolutely opposed. Harry Reid lied and said that McCain was supporting the bailout bill. Atn that point, McCain decided he had to do something. I think they will work all weekend and rewrite the bill. Remember, McCain said “Before the market opens Monday” as his timeline.

    What happens Friday night is unknown. Maybe McCain will debate from Washington. Maybe Obama will decide he has to be there.

    This is high stakes but McCain may come out very well. If the existing bill passes, it is bad for all of us and especially McCain.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  23. Two things:
    — Are they brain cells?

    First of all, this bailout proposal has to make it through the House before the Senate even has a chance to look at it.
    — There is no way that you are this fucking stupid in real life. This has to be the “show” you put on for people on the Internet. There isn’t any rule that says the Senate can’t see the proposal until after the House passes it.

    The House will debate it tomorrow, and vote on it Friday (at least that’s my understanding of the way they’re going to do this thing). After that, it goes to the Senate.
    — You’ve already proved your level of understanding.

    D’you get that? The Senate won’t even have this fucking travesty of a bill until Friday, and probably not even then, if my knowledge of the speed of legislative progress is at all accurate
    — Brought to you by the Department of Idiotic Redundancy Department.

    … and either way, Congress adjourns mere hours later. Nothing’s going to happen on this thing til next week:
    — They don’t have to adjourn, dishrag!

    why the hell is it suddenly so urgent for McCain to get back to DC? He didn’t feel the need to drop in a week and a half ago, when people were freaking out about the energy bill; why now?
    — Why do we have to transcribe his statement for you? Read it yourself, rag!

    Second of all, McCain doesn’t get to arbitrarily decide that he’s going to skip out on a debate that he and Obama presumably agreed to months ago
    — What do you mean he doesn’t get to decide? Yeah, he does.

    just because he remembered that Nixon looked like shit standing next to Kennedy in 1960.
    — Pulling things out of our ass now, are we? How ’bout yanking your head out while you’re there?

    And he sure as hell doesn’t get to pretend that Obama’s doing anything reasonable by trying to keep him from breaking his word.
    — Huh? McCain is pretending that Obama is doing something reasonable? Why would he do that?

    Icy Truth (d2ca3b)

  24. I don’t understand how anyone can have a problem with this. John McCain is going to see that things get done right in Washington, and isn’t that what we want from our President???

    Am I the only one that thinks the MSM has officially lost it??

    rfp (f4c1e0)

  25. McCain’s been much too savvy so far. The behind-the-scenes now are showing some if not all the story.

    They need him there. But Obama (if Obots can admit it) is a junior player. Not someone who’s important to this process, apparently. Maybe attendance is important because his title is Senator. First, look at his experience: nothing. Zilch (ironic, that). Obama has lied and broken promises this entire campaign season. (That comment’s a special aside to Leviticus.)

    Oh yeah. And a whole hell of a lot of us think McCain standing next to Obama makes Obama look like the creampuff that he is. So save the Nixon-Kennedy comparisons. We’re not enamored; we value talent, balls and ethics over the shell games that Obama serves up.

    Second of all, McCain doesn’t get to arbitrarily decide that he’s going to skip out on a debate that he and Obama presumably agreed to months ago just because he remembered that Nixon looked like shit standing next to Kennedy in 1960.

    Media’s darling.

    Vermont Neighbor (a066ed)

  26. Tommorow’s headline should be:
    Failed Community Organizer Shirks Senate Duties.

    Perfect Sense (9d1b08)

  27. VN, it occurs to me, even if Obama is just a junior player, think how much he could learn from going to DC and observing, listening and taking in the experience and authority of McCain. And wouldn’t his willingness to learn finally evidence some humility…which might help counterbalance that arrogance issue… 🙂

    Dana (4d3ea0)

  28. Leviticus – if my knowledge of the speed of legislative progress is at all accurate

    It will be…it will be.

    Apogee (366e8b)

  29. Not only is Obama’s presence not required in Washington because he is a junior Senator, ot’s not required because he does not understand all this financial talk involved in the bill drafting. He would contribute absolutely nothing and he knows it, but cannot admit it. Obama is a walking gaffe machine on financial matters.

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  30. I will read this blog forever if Icy Truth keeps posting comments like that…

    wheald (c6b243)

  31. In what is probably one of the most interesting articles in this election, in an Op-Ed piece, the Washington Times talks about how Barack Obama is a modern day Manchurian Candidate…

    A few excerpts:

    The mainstream media have gone over the line and are now straight out propagandists for the Obama campaign. While they have been liberal and blinkered in their worldview for decades, in 2007-08 for the first time, the major media are consciously covering for one candidate for president and consciously knifing the other. This is no longer journalism — it is simply propaganda. (The American left-wing version of the Volkischer Beobachter cannot be far behind.) And as a result, we are less than seven weeks away from possibly electing a president who has not been thoroughly and even half way honestly presented to the country by our watchdogs — the press.

    and

    The image of Barack Obama that the press has presented is not a fair approximation of the real man. They have consciously ignored whole years in his life, and showed a lack of curiosity about such gaps that bespeaks a lack of journalistic instinct. Thus, the public image of Mr. Obama is of a “Man who never was.” I take that phrase from a 1956 movie about a real life WWII British intelligence operation to trick the Germans into thinking the Allies were going to invade Greece, rather than Italy, in 1943. Operation “Mincemeat” involved the acquisition of a human corpse dressed as a Maj. William Martin, R.M. and put into the sea near Spain. Attached to the corpse was a brief-case containing fake letters suggesting that the Allied attack would be against Sardinia and Greece.

    To make the operation credible, British intelligence created a fictional life for the corpse — a letter from a lover, tickets to a London theater, all the details of a life — but not the actual life of the dead young man whose corpse was being used. So, too, the man the media has presented to the nation as Mr. Obama is not the real man.

    but wait, there’s more:

    But worse than all the unfair and distorted reporting and image projecting, is the shocking gaps in Mr. Obama’s life that are not reported at all. The major media simply has not reported on Mr. Obama’s two years at Columbia University in New York, where, among other things, he lived a mere quarter mile from former terrorist Bill Ayers— after which they both ended up as neighbors and associates in Chicago. Mr. Obama denies more than a passing relationship with Mr. Ayers. Should the media be curious? In only two weeks the media has focused on all the colleges Mrs. Palin has attended, her husband’s driving habits 20 years ago and the close criticism of Mrs. Palin’s mayoral political opponents. But in two years they haven’t bothered to see how close Mr. Obama was with the terrorist Ayers.

    and now the coup de gras:

    The public image of Mr. Obama as an idealistic, post-race, post-partisan, well-spoken and honest young man with the wisdom and courage befitting a great national leader is a confection spun by a willing conspiracy of Mr. Obama, his publicist David Axelrod and most of the senior editors, producers and reporters of the national media.

    The Audacity of Hype (349105)

  32. Foreign affairs is supposed to be McCain’s strength. Obama ought to use this as an opportunity to drop the topic completely. “McCain, you had your chance to debate me on this one,” he could say. I heard that Obama wanted permission to use a prompter for the debate.

    The McCain people should be disappointed that the last debate is on domestic matters, which might be where Obama has more support and where he could get a bounce before the election.

    McCain has gone off half-cocked by suspending his campaign. The media spin is making him look bad on this one. He knew Obama would refuse his offer.

    McCain was seduced by the media for eight years and now has no idea that he’s been dumped like a jilted school boy.

    Alta Bob (e70400)

  33. “There isn’t any rule that says the Senate can’t see the proposal until after the House passes it.”

    – Icy Truth

    Yeah. Well, unfortunately, the Senate’s duties consist of more than “seeing” a bill: they consist of “debating” that bill, and “voting” on it.

    Leviticus (41975c)

  34. What did Senator McCain actually say?

    Michael Ejercito (a757fd)

  35. Alta Bob –

    McCain has gone off half-cocked by suspending his campaign. The media spin is making him look bad on this one.
    — The media spin makes him look bad no matter what he does. What’s your point?

    McCain was seduced by the media for eight years and now has no idea that he’s been dumped like a jilted school boy.
    — He’s the number one story EVERYWHERE today. Obama would love to be “dumped” this way.

    He knew Obama would refuse his offer.
    — McCain: Country First; Obama: Campaign First.
    McCain: YOU First; Obama: ME First.

    Icy Truth (3a3033)

  36. Yeah. Well, unfortunately, the Senate’s duties consist of more than “seeing” a bill: they consist of “debating” that bill, and “voting” on it.
    — Have you heard of C-SPAN? Did you know that, if invited by the leadership, members of one house can enter the other? Do you know that members of one house actually share information with the other? Are you aware that congress-people have staffs that work on these things in real time? Do you know that it’s permissible for the two houses to draft legislation simultaneously? to have their committees meet simultaneously? to hold hearings simultaneously, OR jointly? EVEN when it regards funding, which constitutionally has to originate in the House?

    Icy Truth (3a3033)

  37. Is this quick enough for you, Leviticus?

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Key lawmakers have reported an agreement in principle on a bailout of the financial industry designed to avert a deeper economic crisis. Emerging from a two-hour negotiating session, Sen. Chris Dodd said, “We are very confident that we can act expeditiously.”

    — That’s from about 45 minutes ago.

    Icy Truth (3a3033)

  38. Oh yeah, it’ll be a total walk. I’ve been answering calls from (justifiably) pissed-off Republican constituents for the past three days, more or less nonstop; these people are saying that if their representative votes for this bailout, than they won’t vote for him, and he knows it. Opposing this thing is going to be a political life-or-death situation for a lot of conservative Representatives: they’re going to fight it tooth and nail, regardless of Chris Dodd’s confidence in the “expeditious” nature of the situation.

    Leviticus (ab6dbd)

  39. – McCain: Country First; Obama: Campaign First.
    McCain: YOU First; Obama: ME First.

    Just an amazing recurring theme. And I thought he’d actually hit his zenith when he tried to screw the troops and delay their return, just to help the campaign. Vero possamus ass mighty affirmative.

    Vermont Neighbor (a066ed)

  40. Dana @ 9:02

    Oh, and what lessons await!

    And wouldn’t his willingness to learn finally evidence some humility…which might help counterbalance that arrogance issue

    Vermont Neighbor (a066ed)

  41. Leviticus is answering calls ? Where do you work, Levi ? In and Out Burger ?

    Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

    Mike K (6d4fc3)

  42. Leviticus –

    My point of course was that, despite your protestations to the contrary — and ample evidence on record of some legislation taking forever to enact — it is possible for the Congress to get something done quickly. I don’t know if that will be the case here, but you were saying that they couldn’t do it even if they wanted to, and that is where I disagreed with you.

    Icy Truth (2c3adb)

  43. Leviticus –

    My point of course was that, despite your protestations to the contrary — and ample evidence on record of some legislation taking forever to enact — it is possible for the Congress to get something done quickly. I don’t know if that will be the case here, but you were saying that they couldn’t do it even if they wanted to, and that is where I disagreed with you.

    Icy Truth (5a5985)

  44. I think what McCain should say is “The surge. The surge! I supported the surge and it…it worked! The surge worked because it worked and it is working….even though it has worked. The surge, the surge….the…..surge…it surged…..and surged and surged………….and surged. The surge worked. I supported it and it worked….”

    love2008 (1b037c)

  45. The debates may not happen. I hope they do, between Obama and Bob Barr at least.
    The ball is still in Mccain’s court. The Bush administration, along with Mccain are dragging their feet just so they miss the debates and subvert Obama’s growing authority, and Barack Obama is going to look bad as the only person there at Ol Miss. while Mccain is still “hard at work” on the negotiations. This is nothing more than political posturing by Mccain at our expense.

    Daniel (910f86)

  46. “My point of course was that, despite your protestations to the contrary — and ample evidence on record of some legislation taking forever to enact — it is possible for the Congress to get something done quickly.”

    – Icy Truth

    I never claimed that it was impossible for Congress to get anything done quickly; I was just stating my opinion that it would be impossible (or very difficult, if I’m being honest) for Congress to get anything done on this bill quickly, given it’s uber-contentious nature (see #38).

    And it seems that my prediction is bearing itself out, at least at this point in time (though, honestly, who has any idea what headlines will look like tomorrow?). I’m just saying that McCain’s idea that this will magically get resolved by the mere weight of his presence is rather naive.

    Leviticus (41975c)

  47. “Leviticus is answering calls ? Where do you work, Levi ? In and Out Burger ?

    Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

    – Mike K

    Yeah, yer a real card… *yuk, yuk, yuk*.

    Seriously, though, I wish. At least In and Out Burger gives people a product for their money. I wouldn’t feel so… dirty.

    Leviticus (41975c)


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