As of press time, it remains unclear whether the first presidential debate of 2008 will go forward as planned.
John McCain has asked the American Debate Association to postpone his first debate with Barack Obama, scheduled for Friday at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS. Instead, McCain would like to return to Washington, D.C. to assist with the financial crisis.
For his part, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has asked the two to stay away from Capitol Hill.
"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," Reid said.
While McCain's motives seem altruistic at first glance, upon further investigation the postponed debate looks more and more like a political ploy.
Though he has expressed interest in his role as a senator at this time, according to senate.gov, McCain has missed more than 64 percent of the votes in the 110th Congress, including every energy bill in the past two years. Perhaps the energy crisis simply presents less of a PR opportunity than the financial crisis.
In addition, reports from aides in both major candidates' camps indicate that while Obama has been preparing for the debates like a madman, even flying to Florida for "debate camp," McCain has been following more of a "squeeze it in" study schedule.
However important the financial crisis may be, it's unlikely that one man's presence will make or break the debate over the $700 billion bailout plan. A presidential candidate has a duty to voters to make sure that they have every opportunity to be as informed about the election as possible.
McCain is shirking his responsibility, and to quote Obama, "The times are too serious to put our campaigns on hold or to ignore the full range of issues the next president will face."
Debate Mr. Obama, Senator McCain. Let the American people make the right choice.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
