Jen Rubin applies Occam’s Razor:

I think those postulating a “McCain panic” theory to explain his campaign suspension don’t understand, or they pretend not to understand, John McCain. This is what he does. He elevates matters he considers higher national priorities above politics, which he finds at some level disasteful. Lots of people differ with his priorities, but that’s not at issue. If you look back over McCain’s career, he does this again and again: campaign finance reform, immigration reform, the surge and now this. He junks his party and the immediate short term political consequences when he thinks there’s something else at play. That in large part is what drive his GOP base nuts. And they likely won’t be thrilled here.

One can attribute nefarious motive ( “Ah! He’s just feigning love of country and putting his political career at risk!”) or you can take the more mundane explanation : this is how he operates and what he honestly believes. This performance with Katie Couric is plainly him at his best.

As for Barack Obama, I agree with this take that his initial effort to avoid involvement with brokering a deal didn’t come off all that well. (“It’s shocking that someone who believes himself ready to lead the free world would so brazenly try to dodge any participation in what could be a defining moment in our history.’) What was striking about Obama’s comment was his remark that if “the Congressional leadership” needed him, he’d be available. It’s an odd way to put it — he is the leader of his party now and he seemed utterly disinterested in doing anything that involved active problem-solving/deal-making. He does after all have a current job — in the Senate.

And this time, he’s not even voting “present.”

It’s a sterling example of his general career path–accomplishing little in his current job because he always views it as little more than a rung on the ladder to the next one.

The McCain campaign just announced that it’s suspending the campaign to go back to DC and work on the bailout, and calling for a postponement of Friday night’s debate.

That puts the Obama campaign in a tough position. He can’t show up on Friday and debate an empty chair, and McCain has just once again demonstrated that there are things more important to him than winning elections. It also demonstrates his record of working on bi-partisan efforts.

It’s hard for Obama to do anything but a “me too,” which will burnish McCain’s leadership credentials as well. This could end up being a very good move, politically, for the McCain camp, which has been off its game ever since the Wall Street panic started. In terms of the polls, though, while it’s true that Obama has opened up a gap, interestingly, he didn’t seem to take any away from McCain. The gap seems to be a result of recent new McCain supporters going undecided again (probably because of the response of the campaign to the panic). Obama still can’t close the deal and get a majority of support.

[Update a while later]

Apparently Senator Obama is willing to go to Oxford and debate an empty chair. If I were the McCain campaign, I’d send Sarah as a replacement.

Christopher Hitchens wonders why Barack Obama is so vapid, hesitant, and gutless:

By the end of that grueling campaign season, a lot of us had got the idea that Dukakis actually wanted to lose–or was at the very least scared of winning. Why do I sometimes get the same idea about Obama? To put it a touch more precisely, what I suspect in his case is that he had no idea of winning this time around. He was running in Iowa and New Hampshire to seed the ground for 2012, not 2008, and then the enthusiasm of his supporters (and the weird coincidence of a strong John Edwards showing in Iowa) put him at the front of the pack. Yet, having suddenly got the leadership position, he hadn’t the faintest idea what to do with it or what to do about it.

I’ve noted this in the past. Obama wasn’t prepared, either mentally or in terms of experience, to be a candidate this time around, and had no expectations of it happening–it was just for practice and name recognition. To repeat, he’s like the dog that chases cars, but doesn’t know what to do with when when he catches it.

And calling him a “dusky Dukakis” has to sting. Particularly because it’s true.

Have to agree with this:

…reader Stan Brown emails: “I’m watching the Senate hearing and listening to the senators question Paulson, Cox and Bernanke. The markets continue to fall as investors also listen. Clearly, if experience in the Senate leads to the performance we are watching today, experience is seriously overrated. These senators are frightening.” I feel that way every time I watch a Senate hearing. Where do we get these people?

The last time a Senator was elected president was almost fifty years ago. There’s a reason for that. The only time it will happen this year is that both parties were foolish enough to make one the nominee. It’s almost like the process of becoming a senator selects for mediocrity.