**UPDATE** I knew something seemed fishy when I first read that McCain had asked to postpone his debate against Barack Obama (scheduled for Friday, September 25th), I just didn’t know what it was. Well, my questions have been answered.

McCain supported, Sen. Lidsay Graham told CNN that McCain is asking the debate commission, along with Obama, to postpone the first Presidential debate until Friday October 2nd if the bailout plan is not passed by the 25th. Sounds reasonable, right? I mean it is only one week. But oh what a difference a week makes!

McCain knows (as he was briefed of this fact earlier today) that the bailout plan is almost entirely unlikely to pass by Friday the 25th, so his assumption is safe. The reason he chose to delay until the 2nd, exactly? October 2nd is the date scheduled for the VP debate. Scheduling the Presidential debate on October 2nd would force the debate commission to reschedule the VP debate until at least the 9th of October (but a date is yet to be determined) giving the McCain campaign additional time to prep Palin for her first debate.

Coincidence? Nothing ever is with these guys. So far it looks like the debate commission is sticking with the original plans to have the President debate this Friday. McCain’s campaign is threatening that he just wont show up. My, wont that make him look good….

ORIGINAL POST
He has called off his campaigning (pending Obama’s agreement, of course). He is returning to Washington (to what will ultimaely become a photo-op, naturally) and now is calling for a delay to this Friday’s debate on Foreign Relations. Sounds to me like John McCain is running scared. And I am not the only one who sees it this way.

McCain also called off his Letterman appearance, set to air tonight. The Huffington Post (via Drudge) reports that:

“In the middle of the taping Dave got word that McCain was, in fact just down the street being interviewed by Katie Couric. Dave even cut over to the live video of the interview, and said, “Hey Senator, can I give you a ride home?”

Earlier in the show, Dave kept saying, “You don’t suspend your campaign. This doesn’t smell right. This isn’t the way a tested hero behaves.” And he joked: “I think someone’s putting something in his Metamucil.”

“He can’t run the campaign because the economy is cratering? Fine, put in your second string quarterback, Sara Palin. Where is she?”

“What are you going to do if you’re elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We’ve got a guy like that now!”

Good point. What would McCain do if he were elected and things started to go wrong? Would he stop performing his necessary duties? What if more than one thing went wrong at once? If he cannot handle campaigning (to include a debate on a subject that he is supposed to have an upper hand on) and discussing the bailout with fellow lawmakers, how can he possible handle a national crisis?

And why not send Sara Palin to the meeting with Bush and Congressional leaders? After all, she is ready to lead, isn’t she? Doesn’t she have some input on this? But wait, of course! McCain wont even let reporters view her meetings with world leaders , let alone have her input on a matter of national importance. It isn’t as if she is running for nation offi….oh, wait.