Harold S. Lippes: McCain's Most Mavericky Decision Ever!

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by Harold S. Lippes

I'm sure you've heard that John McCain announced that he's "suspending" his campaign, postponing Friday's debate and returning to Washington to lead a bipartisan effort to lead us through this economic crisis by brokering an acceptable bailout plan. I think I read that McCain emphasized just how serious the economic crisis is by making an analogy to 9/11.
 
This shows real leadership in a time of crisis. Before today I was supporting Obama but now I'm not so sure. Now I'm officially an independent who is leaning towards McCain. After all, he "suspended" his campaign. Do you realize what that means? John McCain is putting his quest for the White House on the backburner because leading us through this economic crisis is far more important to him than his personal quest to be president. He's the greatest patriot, maverick, and war hero ever! Just 40 days before the election, he does the most mavericky thing he's ever done.
 
I do have some questions for McCain and some thoughts I wanted to share, but I guess I will have to wait until Senator McCain starts campaigning again. I'll write them down so I won't forget. To Senator McCain:
 
1. If you ever decide to make your campaign active again, are you going to fire your campaign manager now that you've learned his consulting/lobbying firm was paid $15,000 per month by Freddie Mac until last month? By the way, what did his firm do to earn all those payments? If you're not going to fire him, will Mr. Davis be directing his firm to contribute that money to charity? Hey! What about contributing it to a bailout fund to help us through this crisis? Now that your campaign has nothing to do, they could set up the fund and operate it.
 
2. Now that you've suspended your campaign, are you going to donate the money your campaign has raised to charity? Maybe you should donate it to the bailout fund? Now that would really show leadership!
 
3. Since your campaign has been suspended, are you going to encourage Sarah Palin to return to Alaska so she can cooperate with the Troopergate investigator like she said she was going to do before you selected her as your VP? That might be a good use of her time.
 
4. Speaking of Sarah Palin, can you explain to me why such a great patriot such as you who suspends his campaign to lead us through a crisis would spend less time interviewing and vetting your choice for VP than I spent interviewing my secretary before I hired her? I'm sure there is a really good answer to this but I haven't heard it yet.
 
5. Last Monday morning in Jacksonville, you said that the fundamentals of the economy are still strong. Did you make the analogy to 9/11 because, like 9/11, you didn't have a clue that this economic crisis was coming?
 
6. In this time of crisis, it seems like the election we're scheduled to have in 40 days is sort of important and that the debates play an important function by informing the electorate about the candidates and their plans to lead us through the serious challenges we face as a nation. Since the debate will last less than 2 hours, can't you move them to D.C. and take a break from leading us through this crisis to participate? There are 235 Democrats in the House and 49 in the Senate. There are 199 Republicans in the House and 49 in the Senate. There are a couple independents too such as your good friend Joe Lieberman. I know none of them are as mavericky as you are but don't you think somebody can fill that huge leadership void you'll leave for a few hours while you debate Senator Obama?
 
7. If you really can't spare a few hours for the debate, why don't you suggest that Sarah Palin and Joe Biden put the time to use by debating in place of you and Senator Obama? It will give her an opportunity to share what she learned during her photo op with foreign leaders in New York yesterday. That reminds me. Could you describe Palin's foreign policy experience again because I don't think I understood it the first time. I think it had something to do with Alaska's proximity to Russia.
 
8. Are you bringing Sarah Palin with you to Washington so she can give you guidance, advice, wisdom, and support while you lead us through this crisis? You said she knows more about energy than anyone in the whole country so I'm sure that's true. If she knows that much about energy, she'll certainly have some good ideas about resolving the economic crisis. Don't forget that the Russian economy has seen its share of difficult times over the past 25 years. That means Palin should have a lot to contribute because Alaska is so close to Russia.
 
9. Could you explain again why all the deregulation you supported for so many years was good for the country? I think you said earlier this week that it has been good for the economy and fueled economic expansion. How do you reconcile that with the current economic crisis that is so severe that you had to suspend your campaign to lead us through it?
 
10. You supported the Bush Administration's call to privatize Social Security. Now that it looks like the economy is not quite as "fundamentally strong" as you thought it was last week, do you think that privatizing Social Security might have been a bad idea or do you wish we had implemented it?
 
11. Did you hear all those nasty things George Will said about you on Sunday morning and in the editorial he wrote this week? Why would such a staunch conservative write such harsh words about the most mavericky Republican nominee ever just 40 days before the election? Do you think he's trying to convince Bill Keller that he's in the tank for Obama too so Keller will let him work for The New York Times? That's what I think.
 
12. If you decide to activate your campaign, do you think the press will finally be fair to you and Sarah Palin so that both of you can have real press conferences and answer real questions? If they don't show you respect after this mavericky decision, they never will.
 
13. Finally, do you think the liberals will be cynical about the most heroic most mavericky decision ever that you made today? I'll bet some of them will say you did this out of desperation because of the bad poll numbers. Those are the same people who said you were desperate when you chose Palin and foolishly argued that something other than her qualifications to be President influenced your decision. Not one of those ignorant people met Sarah Palin for a whole 10 or 15 minutes like you did before choosing her as your VP. I'll bet those cynical liberals will say your decision today was just a convenient excuse to avoid answering some tough questions on Friday. An honorable maverick such as you would never say or do something insincere -- particularly during a presidential campaign. Those liberals wouldn't recognize a maverick like you even if they lived with one. They're too deluded by their partisanship.
 
I could ask more questions but I'm anxious to go home. My concern about the economy has been keeping me up at night so I'm really tired. Tonight I'll sleep in peace for the first time in a week. When I learned you suspended your campaign and were returning to Washington to lead us through this economic crisis, my worries and concerns vanished. We are so lucky to have such a mavericky leader such as you. I'm just sorry none of those liberals appreciate it.

A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION

Harold Lippes

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