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McCain's Gambit to Suspend Campaign

By Matt Cooper

John McCain's made a smart move, potentially. He's suspended his campaign, called on Barack Obama to do the same and called for delaying Friday's presidential debate until Congress passes a bailout measure. For a campaign that wasn't committing to returning to D.C. for a vote on the package, this is a pretty bold about face.

The Obama campaign is trying to get some Kumbaya credit, too. They called on McCain to make a joint statement about the economy earlier today, and the two campaigns are working on one right now. I can't recall another moment like this in a presidential campaign, not even during World War II.

The move has an obvious appeal for McCain's campaign. It makes him look like he's putting country first. He takes back the economic issue that he's been fumbling, and he puts Obama in the position of having to salute smartly. But let's see where this ends up in the next 48 hours. We still don't have a package that can pass Congress, Bush will address the nation tonight, and lots could change.

UPDATE: Obama wouldn't commit to returning to Washington, other than to say he'd go where needed. But he flat-out refused to postpone Friday's debate. "It is going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once. It's more important than ever to present ourselves to the American people," Obama said.

Matt Cooper

Photo caption: The lectern where John McCain was to speak following a tour of Nova Machine Products in Middleburg Heights, Ohio. Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images.

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Full post as published by Portfolio.com: Capital on September 24, 2008 (boomark / email).