<p>I believe that this is a big issue. Not because Letterman’s ego has been bruised, but because McCain cynically manipulated a national crisis for his own personal benefit. The issue is not that McCain merely lied and reneged on a promise to a late night comedian. Who frankly cares? And I doubt that Letterman, whose stature in the pantheon of late night comedians is completely assured, is upset because a guest stood him up under false pretenses. No, Letterman is angry because McCain flippantly used a national economic crisis for his own campaign’s advantage. He’s playing politics with people’s financial catastrophes. McCain went on Katie Couric’s show to repair the damage that Palin had wreaked on the Republican ticket, and a day later, he keynoted the Clinton Global Initiative to boast and campaign about how he had stopped boasting and campaigning. If McCain had simply called Letterman and said that he plain didn’t want to appear on the show, then obviously Letterman would’ve been ****ed but he wouldn’t dedicated an entire show to trashing McCain. But because McCain tried to manipulate a genuine national crisis to weasel out of an obligation, Letterman rightfully let him have it.</p>
<p>Make no mistake, McCain’s “suspension” is nothing but a ploy. If he was genuinely concerned, he would’ve suspended his campaign the day that Lehman Brothers folded instead of saying that the fundamentals of the economy were strong. </p>
<p>If he was genuinely concerned, he would’ve suspended his campaign when Merrill Lynch got bought out, and not when his poll numbers started plummeting.</p>
<p>If he was genuinely concerned, he wouldn’t have dithered in New York for over a day before arriving late to the party in Washington, then proceeding to sabotage it all. </p>
<p>If he was genuinely concerned, he would’ve actually closed his campaign offices in battleground states, and he would not have bragged about suspending his campaign during his keynote address at the Clinton Global Initiative. </p>
<p>And most of all, he certainly wouldn’t have proposed postponing a debate at exactly the moment when the American people need guidance and leadership from the two men who could be president in less than 2 months.</p>
<p>Letterman is a cranky cold man. Never liked him before the election, and I certainly don’t think any higher of him now that he’s on his tantrum, though certainly, I could see why liberals would be enthused. Leno is the man. And Kimmel and Conan :D</p>
<p>Let’s talk about influence.</p>
<p>Just the other day, Harry Dink Reid said “We need the Republican nominee for president to let us know where he stands and what we should do”</p>
<p>[Reid</a> Seeks McCain Pledge - - CFO.com](<a href=“CFO | News for CFOs”>CFO | News for CFOs)</p>
<p>And now Dinky wants McCain on the sidelines.</p>
<p>In contrast, Obama said…</p>
<p>As I said before, I think that one of the things we have to determine is how we can be most helpful. It’s my sense that the most helpful thing we can do right now is, uh, to let everyone know this is a sufficiently important problem. I can be helpful, and I am prepared to be anywhere, anytime. So, uh, I think the message is, if I can be helpful, I am prepared to be there at any point.</p>
<p>haha</p>
<p>The Democrats needed the Republicans on their side.
[FOXNews.com</a> - Poll: Most Americans Against Bush’s Bailout Plan - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum](<a href=“http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,428921,00.html]FOXNews.com”>Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Videos)
They weren’t going to back the legislation mostly by themselves, though certainly they could. With McCain’s influence, more Republicans have come on board and the bill is becoming less partisan…</p>
<p>[PublicMarkup.org</a> - Sec. 5. Rights; management; sale of troubled assets. - Dodd’s Legislative Proposal From Treasury Department for Authority to Buy Mortgage-Related Assets](<a href=“http://publicmarkup.org/bill/dodds-legislative-proposal-treasury-department-aut/1/5/]PublicMarkup.org”>Finansiere.org – Lån penger online)</p>
<p>Though certainly, if the provision that 20% of the ‘profits’ from the Treasury’s sale of assets go to The Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund get stripped out, that would certainly be better for America.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Eloquent rebuttal.</p>
<p>Given what you’ve said,
perhaps this is a mistitled thread.</p>
<p>Letterman is off his rocker. He’s validated Olbermann, whom the New York Times has even acknowledged, is way out of line. He’s such an angry pessimist. Nuts.</p>