Here I sit watching the McCain/Palin ticket explode not in my face but theirs. As we all know, John McCain has suspended his campaign and has sought to postpone tomorrow's presidential debate with Senator Barack Obama. According the Commission on Presidential Debates, the show will go on. With McCain’s sinking poll numbers it is understandable and McCain’s plans for postponing the debate shows a lack of leadership and courage to face the American people along side Barack Obama.
Politico.com has now reported where Sarah Palin may also suspend her campaign along side running mate John McCain. According to McCain’s campaign chief, Steve Schmidt, “We're going to take the ads down. They won't be traveling. There won’t be rallies.” I don't mind them suspending their rallies and taking down their ads since they have launched the most heinous ads against Barack Obama. But to suspend a presidential campaign and debate is unprecedented. There have been other critical moments in our nation’s past where the show went on. During the 1980 presidential campaign when 400 hostages were being held by Iran, it did not stop Reagan and Carter from campaigning and debating. In 2000 after the U.S.S. Cole was attacked, it did not stop Al Gore or George Bush from doing the same.
Democrats have blasted the idea of John McCain postponing the debate and with good reason, we the people deserve to hear from Barack Obama and John McCain. This election is not about their futures, but ours as a free people. This election belongs to the people and John McCain is basically saying to all of us it is not. He is deciding for us what we shall hear and that should not stand within any democracy.
Politico.com also quoted the McCain spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt, “I think Sen. McCain was clear about what it meant that he was suspending his campaign,” As for running mate, Sarah Palin, Schmitt said, “So, if we have any announcements, any updates about her schedule, we will certainly let you know.” Is that like, we’ll get back to you?
In any campaign each second is vitally important to any candidate to get out their message and to schedule events, so when I read that Palin “has no public events planned after she attends a Thursday morning speech McCain is slated to deliver here to the Clinton Global Initiative.” I would call that a campaign in disarray not knowing what the next step is.
Palin has no position in the numerous work sessions going on within the nation’s capital concerning the $700 billion dollar bailout, and this move to suspend her from campaigning is purely a political move. To Senator McCain, let her move amongst we the people and more importantly let the media ask her vital questions that are extremely important to we the people. As I said, this campaign is ours and not yours, McCain.
This is not a campaign of transparency when Politico also reported, and as we all know of Palin, that she has “conducted less than a handful of national media interviews.” What are they afraid of? Is their fear that Palin is a not yet ready for prime-time vice president? Was presenting her to the U.N. her course in Foreign Policy 101?
I say that because Barack Obama’s vice presidential running mate, Joe Biden gave a detailed plan of how they wish to govern we the people in this speech in Cincinnati, Ohio. In this forty-minute speech before those gathered, it showed who the true leaders are within this campaign.
Will the McCain campaign also suspend the vice presidential debate? Well, judging from Biden’s speech, they may be concerned about how she will match up to Biden.
I can understand the McCain campaign being sensitive to the people’s needs, but the people do need to hear from those who will replace President Bush. For a healthy democracy to prevail there must be continuity and not a suspension to reaching out to the American people. Democracy does not live in a void, but out in the open.
If this is indicative of how both McCain and Palin will govern and given the lack of transparency in the Bush/Cheney administration, it is up to we the people along side Barack Obama and Joe Biden to say, “ENOUGH!”
If the McCain/Palin ticket does not hear you, then you know who the true leaders are. You know who is willing to face you and answer the tough questions put to them by the ‘demon’ media as they tried to paint the media as such at the RNC. The evidence is right before you.
You may reach the author at this email address, xmjmac@optonline.net
