You've likely heard by now that Senator McCain has announced that he will suspend his Presidential campaign tomorrow for the purpose of returning to Washington to focus on a bill to prevent the greatest economic tragedy our country has faced since the Great Depression. In addition, he announced that he would not participate in the Presidential debate scheduled for Friday evening, because now is not a time for Presidential politics.You likely also heard that Barack Obama at first was resistant to the idea of postponing Friday's debate. Barack Obama also said that he wouldn't be returning to Washington, but that he would be available if needed (Call me if you need me). And if you've been paying attention to the media, you may have heard that Obama now claims that he called Senator McCain this morning asking him to join him in releasing a "joint statement" about the economy.
This evening at 9pm Eastern Time, President Bush addressed the nation on the economy. During his address, he announced that he has invited Senators McCain and Obama to join him to discuss the current economic situation. This invitation, of course, forced Obama to change his plans and agree to return to Washington to meet with Senator McCain and President Bush.
So what's going on here? We've all heard about the collapse of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG. That's not my question. My question is, what's going on with the Presidential campaigns of the two major party candidates?
This is the way I see it:
Senator McCain is living his campaign slogan of Country First. He is standing up and putting his country first -- even above himself and his own political interests -- and suspending his Presidential campaign so that he can return to Washington and do the job for which he is currently paid -- being a United States Senator and working on legislation to get us out of this economic turmoil.
Barack Obama is doing what he has always done. He is attempting to do what he feels is the politically expedient thing to do. First, he resisted postponing the Presidential debate. Why? Because he believes that Americans should hear where the candidates stand. But when the politically expedient thing became accepting the President's invitation to meet in Washington to work on the situation, Obama changed his mind and agreed to do what he could not possibly refuse.
As an American, I want to know what the Presidential candidates stand for. I want to know it, and if they can show it to me instead of just sitting in some cushy studio and answering the same tired old questions with the same tired old answers, then that's what I want: action! Senator McCain has shown us where he stands -- for his country first. By dropping everything and returning to Washington to do his job, he has shown us what he stands for. Barack Obama has done the same thing -- shown us what he stands for: Obama. By holding his own priorities above those of the needs of his country, Obama has shown us exactly what we should have been able to see all along.
Senator McCain = Country First (and the actions to back that up).
Barack Obama = whatever it takes to make Obama look good at the moment.
The choice has never been more clear.
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