So John McCain sent out a message yesterday afternoon, proclaiming that he was suspending his campaign and returning to Washington to "solve the financial crisis":
Tomorrow morning, I will suspend my campaign and return to Washington after speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative. I have spoken to Senator Obama and informed him of my decision and have asked him to join me.
I am calling on the president to convene a meeting with the leadership from both houses of Congress, including Senator Obama and myself. It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem.
Since McCain's ads are still running, his flacks are on TV attacking Obama, and he gave a major campaign speech today, I wondered what kind of campaign activities McCain was actually planning on suspending. So I sent an e-mail to the local McCain field office, posing as a conservative eager to help out:
Dear Lane,
I found your e-mail address on the Missouri for John McCain website. I'm a staunch conservative who has had my fair share of disagreements with Senator McCain. Still, I can't stand the idea of seeing the liberals take over the entire government, especially this Barrack "Osama Lover" Obama as our Commander in Chief.
I've seen Senator McCain take a little bit of a dip in the polls in the last few days, and it concerns me a great deal. I feel like I have to do something. I have some time from this evening through Monday, and again on future weekends, to help out. What can I do??
Thank you,
Kenny Bennett
Needless to say, in his response (posted below the fold) the local field director gave no hint of a suspension of the campaign, impending or otherwise. Only slightly less surprising is the lack of acknowledgement that McCain's opponent was being called "Osama Lover."
Since McCain hasn't actually suspended any part of his campaign operation, despite his call for America to come together to work toward a common solution, we can definitely call this the gimmick that it is. |
