Selfless or Reckless? McCain Gambles On Voters' Verdict
By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 25, 2008
NEW YORK, Sept. 24 -- John McCain is a gambler by nature, and the bet he placed Wednesday may be among the biggest of his political life.
The Republican presidential nominee is hoping that his abrupt decision to suspend campaigning, seek a delay of Friday's debate with Democrat Barack Obama, and return to Washington to help prod negotiations over a financial rescue package will be seen as the kind of country-first, bipartisan leadership he believes Americans want.
What he risks, if things don't go as he hopes, is a judgment by voters that his move was a reckless act by an impetuous and struggling politician that hardened partisan lines in Washington at just the wrong moment and complicated efforts to deal with the biggest financial crisis in more than half a century.
McCain laid out his rationale in stark terms, saying that the economy is in crisis and that he does not believe the package now on the table in Washington can win enough votes to pass. "Americans across our country lament the fact that partisan divisions in Washington have prevented us from addressing our national challenges," he said here in New York. "Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country."
In the heated atmosphere of Wednesday afternoon, as the two campaigns plotted and maneuvered around each other, it was impossible to know what the ultimate verdict would be on McCain's surprise decision. He managed once again, at least in the short term, to shake up the presidential race at a time when national and state polls show Obama opening up a clear lead. And by day's end, he had forced his rival to blink.
(Continued here.)
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 25, 2008
NEW YORK, Sept. 24 -- John McCain is a gambler by nature, and the bet he placed Wednesday may be among the biggest of his political life.
The Republican presidential nominee is hoping that his abrupt decision to suspend campaigning, seek a delay of Friday's debate with Democrat Barack Obama, and return to Washington to help prod negotiations over a financial rescue package will be seen as the kind of country-first, bipartisan leadership he believes Americans want.
What he risks, if things don't go as he hopes, is a judgment by voters that his move was a reckless act by an impetuous and struggling politician that hardened partisan lines in Washington at just the wrong moment and complicated efforts to deal with the biggest financial crisis in more than half a century.
McCain laid out his rationale in stark terms, saying that the economy is in crisis and that he does not believe the package now on the table in Washington can win enough votes to pass. "Americans across our country lament the fact that partisan divisions in Washington have prevented us from addressing our national challenges," he said here in New York. "Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country."
In the heated atmosphere of Wednesday afternoon, as the two campaigns plotted and maneuvered around each other, it was impossible to know what the ultimate verdict would be on McCain's surprise decision. He managed once again, at least in the short term, to shake up the presidential race at a time when national and state polls show Obama opening up a clear lead. And by day's end, he had forced his rival to blink.
(Continued here.)
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