Now HERE is where the Democrats were brilliant.

[Barack_America]

McCain had to go to the debate, he simply had no choice. So he left Capitol Hill, headed for his campaign office in VA, to prepare for the the trip to MS. He hadn't yet announced that he was planning to attend the debate, but all the signs were there.

This was reported.

So what do Reid and Dodd do? They go out and hold a press conference describing how Congress is NOT close to an agreement, but that they will be working through the weekend to achieve one.

Then McCain finally announces his intentions to attend the debate, citing that he feels, "significant progress" towards an agreement on the bail-out has been achieved.

Except Reid and Dodd had just announced that little progress had been made.

D'oh!

Now McCain's plan to cancel the debate in favor of staying in Washington to work on the bailout has been exposed as the pure political stunt that it was.

A FAILED political stunt, thanks in large part to Reid and Dodd.

Well-played, gentlemen.

:patriot:

(Lol. Dana Perino now being pressed with questions to the nature of "what progress was made to allow McCain to go to the debate?". :rofl:)

[sharp_stick]

1. I don't often give Reid a lot of credit

but he's been outstanding on this. Actually pretty much the entire Democratic economic leadership has done a great job of making the stunt pulled by McCain look like a stunt. I'm also glad that they were able to point to this stunt as a potential killer of the deal.

Damned Republicans are usually pretty good at pulling out the brinksmanship win but this is killing them and I love to see it.

[Brotherjohn]

2. While we disagree in that other thread on the hand McCain was playing, I think we can agree...

... that his going to the debate and there NOT yet being a deal simply leaves him out there hanging.

I think this was always the case ever since Obama called is bluff. It was not likely that McCain was going to "save the day", but no matter WHAT happened, he was going to HAVE to go to the debate.

He backed himself into this corner.

[vaberella]

3. When people say "EPIC FAIL" they should just put McCain's face. n/t

[Barack_America]

8. They really should.

He's like an ant that was flicked off the chessboard.

His "brilliant political manuevering" didn't even require the Democrats to sacrifice a pawn.

[jakem]

18. agreed

[vaberella]

4. Why does that guy of Mississippi...sound and look like B. Clinton?! n/t

[Overseas]

5. So Gingrich's suggestions didn't work?

Link & clip:

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/gingrich-mccain.html

If McCain were to come out against the bailout plan, Gingrich said that Republicans would rally to his side and it would become possible for the McCain-Palin ticket to style itself as "taking on the Bush-Obama establishment."

"Either McCain is going to go along" with Obama in supporting the plan, said Gingrich, "in which case the establishment will have the fix in . . . or you are going to see McCain decide, much in the way that he did in picking Palin, that, in fact, he is a genuine maverick, that he genuinely defends the taxpayers, and that this is a terrible bill."

"If the latter happens," Gingrich continued, "I think you will see the emergence overnight of a 'McCain Reform Wing of the Republican Party' and you'll see House and Senate members siding with McCain by overwhelming margins and then you'll be in a very different political environment. You'll have 'Bush-Obama ads' on the one side and 'taking on the Bush-Obama establishment' on the other side, and that will be, frankly, one of the more amazing elections."

[Barack_America]

10. Obama squashed that with one simple question.

"Secretary Paulson, the plan that McCain and the House Republicans are proposing, is it feasible?"

Paulson: No.

McCain's political stunt...dead. No way the Senate Republicans are going to rally around McCain after that.

[Ashy Larry]

6. Not only that

They blamed McCain for fucking up the deal and being counterproductive.

[Renew Deal]

7. I'm sure Dana Perino is smart enough not to answer that one.

She should be pushing that to the McCain campaign.

[Barack_America]

9. Of course she did. But the Press Corps did not relent.

They kept insisting that considering McCain was going to the debate that progress MUST have been made, insinuating that the White House was hiding something from them.

They surely realized that McCain had simply caved and decided to have some fun with that. I was certainly amused.

[Renew Deal]

11. That's hilarious.

McCain has showed himself to be a first rate lunatic.

[bbgrunt]

12. Well, for now it is a political win, but be careful. This

bailout--if it goes through is HIGHLY unpopular and perhaps unnecessary. The political win is great, but let's also have an economic win by getting the dems to quit working for a "deal" using the Paulson/Bush frame of debate for the solution to this problem. Dallas fed Fisher says bailout won't work.

[dgibby]

13. The dems were brilliant and YOU are perceptive! Thanks! K&R

:toast:

[mzmolly]

14. Republicans wanted to leave us holding their bag of dung.

We did not bite, and I am thankful. Today Republicans sound ready to deal a bit? I'm guessing the public polls showing support have changed their strategy a bit?

[Catshrink]

15. Rope a dope.

It's working beautifully.

[Enrique]

16. Barney Frank was good too

:-)

[Barack_America]

17. Barney Frank was excellent.

His immediate and impromptu press availabilities highlighting how Republicans were throwing wrenches in the works completely prevented Republicans from getting any leverage.

He called it like it was and quickly, before they could spin it.