McCain aide: Debate probably will be held on schedule

[struggle4progress]

Source: Newsday (combined news sources)

COMBINED NEWS SERVICES
Staff writer Karla Schuster contributed to this story.
September 26, 2008

... A McCain campaign official said the presidential debate is likely to go forward if the accord contains the elements that both McCain and Obama have called for and it wins broad support in the House and Senate. However, no decision has been made, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity ...

In Oxford, Miss., the venue for the debate, the University of Mississippi and city were preparing anyway for the national spotlight tonight. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, told a news conference he expected the debate to go on ...

The student newspaper, The Daily Mississippian, ran a front-page photo yesterday of an Ole Miss student holding a hand-painted sign that altered McCain's logo to say: "McCain Bailin'." Students and locals were soaking up the charged political atmosphere: Big-screen TVs were set up for a massive debate-watching party among the oaks and magnolias of the Grove, where football fans normally hold tailgate parties before Saturday games ...

Read more: http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ny-usdeba265858416sep26,0,7092934.story

---

Presidential debate tonight? Depends on whom you ask
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - ... Television networks .. said that they were moving forward ... "The debates are crucial," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Polling Institute at Quinnipiac University. Underscoring the point, Quinnipiac this week found one in four likely voters in several key battleground states saying that the debates were likely to impact their decision - enough to swing any of those states either way. The 90-minute debate at the University of Mississippi will focus on foreign policy and national security, and will be televised nationally starting at 9 p.m. EDT Friday. It will be moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS and feature both candidates standing at lecterns ... http://www.philly.com/dailynews/national/20080926_Presidential_debate_tonight__Depends_on_whom_you_ask.html


McCain's looming debate debacle ...
By Walter Shapiro
Sept. 26, 2008
As John McCain and Barack Obama met with George W. Bush at the White House Thursday afternoon on the economic rescue plan, the Republican co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates exuded optimism that the two candidates would debate Friday night in Mississippi as planned. Frank Fahrenkopf said in a telephone interview, "If they all come out and say there is an agreement, it would be very hard for John McCain not to go to Oxford" ... The Arizona senator .. Wednesday .. suddenly announced .. it would be inappropriate to debate with Obama until the financial crisis was resolved. But 24 hours later, this hard-line position was facing GOP ridicule, at least in not-for-attribution conversations. "Unless the negotiators are sitting in the Oval Office with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi at 8:59 p.m. on Friday night, it would be a huge political mistake for McCain not to debate," said a prominent Republican with longtime ties to McCain ... http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/26/debate_flux/

Obama aide: McCain likely to be at debate
By Linda Feldmann
Staff writer
September 25, 2008 edition
... “I think he will be there,” <Robert> Gibbs <Obama’s communications director> said. “I think he will decide that a president is capable of doing more than one thing at a time” ... Gibbs mocked the idea that McCain had “suspended” his presidential campaign, citing numerous examples of how the campaign was proceeding apace. “I was on TV with <McCain aide> Nicolle Wallace today, so if they suspended her she didn’t get the memo,” he said, referring to a McCain spokeswoman ... http://features.csmonitor.com/monitorbreakfast/2008/09/25/obama-aide-mccain-likely-to-be-at-debate/

[truthisfreedom]

1. That chickenshit old geezer is screwN.

With a capital N.

[Divine Discontent]

2. well one must think that if he doesn't show, which is possible but unlikely,

that he will lose Ohio and possibly Florida too... gotta wonder if he really isn't just trying to throw this after he didn't get his guy LIEberman and was forced to pick someone else. He is elderly and grouchy - not one for doing what others tell him.


MORE AT www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable

[tavalon]

6. I think he had a TIA this week and realizes that for the next few days,

his face will droop, his eye will wander and so will his mind. He'll be okay by next week unless he has another one or has a massive stroke.

[aquart]

13. Not unlikely.

I haven't seen current photos, but I've read enough comments on how he's been looking.

[Divine Discontent]

34. oh, very possible... sheesh... what a train wreck. eom

[deacon]

3. The dictator McCain. You don't want to show up don't it will go on without you and your ship shod

cheap political stunts. As a matter of fact, don't show up. Stay home.

[DarthDem]

4. What An Absolute Idiot.

He is toast.

[Truth2Tell]

5. Bluff called. Lay down your hand loser. nt

[Solly Mack]

7. Paternalistic piece of petrified shit

He was on the news bemoaning his town halls again...saying how If Obama would only do what he tells him to do

[jpertello]

10. Oh, him and his freakin town halls!

They were a trap. A Rovian trap with the audience comprised of all neocons and Obama would've gone over like a lead balloon while Ol Gramps soaked up the love. Give me a break. Not only does McCain think we're all stupid he thinks Obama is too!

[Waiting For Everyman]

8. He makes routine things into a crisis.

What a drama queen!

[jpertello]

11. Yeah. my daughter knows someone like that but THAT drama queen's a 14 yr old girl.

[treestar]

19. EXACTLY!

It's just sickening.

He's like a soap opera character!

[OakCliffDem]

9. And the amateurs come crawling back. n/t

[qanda]

12. He, once again, tried to bully Obama into doing something

And Obama was, once again, not having it. McCain needs to get over himself and whatever feeling of white empowerment that makes him think he's still the master and Obama is still the slave.

[Virginia Dare]

18. Last night he was still harping on the 10 town hall debates..

he's a petulent asshole, everything has to be his way or he has a hissy fit. I feel sorry for Cindy, he probably tries to bully her too.

[liberal N proud]

14. Another McCain backfire

Proof you can't teach an OLD dog new tricks. He has tried over and over to scam Obama into something or another only to fail each and every time.
Even the Palin choice which was a goad at Obama that will prove in time to be his biggest failure

[yellerpup]

15. He will do anything to keep from talking about the issues.

He will do anything to throw the whole country off topic. I look forward to Obama handing him his ass tonight.

[mikeytherat]

16. The debate WILL go on as scheduled. Whether McCain shows or not is another story.

But the debate will happen as scheduled.

Keep spinnin' Haley, keep spinnin'

mikey_the_rat

[maple25]

24. in that salon article linked above...

It states that a debate can't take place without at least 2 candidates. Of course, Barr already offered to take McCain's spot...

[Virginia Dare]

17. He's such a schmuck...n/t

[L. Coyote]

20. D'oh. You snooze, you lose. Like he's going to do what, take a nap instead??

McCain would have a very near impossible time explaining what he did with those 90 minutes,
unless he saved the world from a crashing meteorite or something ..... :rofl:

[guruoo]

21. McCain will read proposal, claim credit for it, and the leadership in getting it through...

IMO, the "suspended" campaign, the "bipartisan" meetings have all been no more than an
elaborate setup on the part of Congressional Republicans.

anonymousliberal, via crooksandliars.com...

"He’ll swoop in, read through the compromise proposal that’s been reached and declare that it’s unacceptable in its present form. He’ll then demand that something either be added or removed (or both) and use his leverage (his threat to vote no) to get the bill changed. Then he’ll vote for the amended bill and take full credit for having made this crucially important change (whatever it is). His surrogates will claim that the whole episode shows McCain’s heroic leadership, the way he takes charge of a situation.'

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/09/26/jeffrey-toobin-ummm-can-we-please-stop-saying-mccain-suspended-his-campaign-already/

[Iggo]

22. It's going forward with or without him.

So if he ducks it, he's a coward. And if he shows up, he surrenders.

That's lose-lose...right?

[Dulcinea]

23. If McCain blows off this debate, he screws himself.

That will accomplish nothing but pissing off a LOT of people, including the state of Mississippi, which is a very red state!

If I were the Univ. of Miss. chancellor, I'd send McCain the bill for all the money they spent to set this up!

[DeepModem Mom]

25. McCain remains undecided about debate with Obama

Source: NYT/AP

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican John McCain has yet to commit to participating in Friday night's scheduled debate with Democratic rival Barack Obama, tying his appearance to progress on a Wall Street bailout plan being negotiated by the Bush administration and congressional lawmakers.

McCain met briefly Friday morning with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., before heading to the office of House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. A close friend and supporter, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., appeared to lower the bar on what sort of agreement would satisfy McCain that sufficient progress had been made.

''What's more important than anything that when we go to Mississippi tonight, both candidates can say that the Congress is working, back in business, that we have an outline or proposal that will protect the taxpayer and save the country from financial Pearl Harbor, as Warren Buffet called it,'' Graham said on ''Today'' on NBC. ''We are not there yet, but we will get there.''

Obama said Thursday that he intended to travel to the University of Mississippi in Oxford, where the debate had long been scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. EDT. He tried to press McCain into showing up for the first of three scheduled debates between them, saying they should be able to handle the 90-minute forum and the financial crisis at the same time....

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-Candidates-Debate.html

[RT Atlanta]

26. I will say it...

he's a yellow-bellied (and yellow-toothed for that matter) coward. What a grandstanding motherfucker.

[Night_Nurse]

29. McChickenshit. nt

[TwilightGardener]

27. That's the decisive leadership this country needs!!!

[Tangerine LaBamba]

28. Huh?

What on earth is WRONG with him?

Are they trying to lose this election deliberately?

I have never seen anything this fucked up in American politics, and I'm old.................

[Night_Nurse]

31. Right? It's surreal.. and proves that he's batshit crazy. nt

[DeepModem Mom]

32. I think McCain's behavior is increasingly bizarre. nt

[Virginia Dare]

30. Has Cindy told him what he's having for lunch yet?....n/t

[Santro]

33. The debate won't take place if McCain doesen't show up. It's the law.

I just seen this on Newsweek.

I wonder what will happen if Obama still shows up and they do turn it into a town hall? It won't be an "official" debate any longer, the town hall would be cool but would the stations still air it or skip it?

So much drama!