I second the motion to get off this. We know that SP is a liar. But without connecting this to McCain's egregious mis-judgment in choosing her, we are just having a circle-jerk among ourselves. That may be fun, but remember that now we are playing for the undecided, the independents, even the thoughtful Republicans who still have some sense of responsibility and integrity. This story is too convoluted and is trivial in comparison to things like stonewalling Troopergate (with its strong echoes of Bush-Cheney tactics). To be a tad mcCArthyite: What is she trying to hide?

The mantra is: Palin is unqualified both by experience and ethics...McCain's choice of her as a potential president shows that he is unqualified by temperament and judgment.

All the rest is is ornamentation.

I think this is more than just a political ploy. According to the updating bulletins I have been hearing (I just finished a 6-hour car trip, listening to WCBS most of the way) it seems that this is what happened:

1) Obama calls McCain to suggest a joint statement on the economic situation. The staffs beging to negotiate.

2) Mc Cain's managers see the result of the result of the WaPo poll and realize that they are really losing.

3) News dribbles out all afternoon that resolution has been reached on some of the big issues in the bailout: oversight, help for home-owners, even limits on executive compensation...meaning that possibly am agreement is in sight.

4) WITHOUT consulting Obama or his people, McCAin unilaterally announces that he will "suspend" his campaign (after his speech tomorrow AM of course). For how long? a day and a half? And wants to "postpone" i. e,. cancel the debate, which has been in the works for a year. Did he even speak ti the UMiss people or the committee organizing the event first?

5) Since McCain has been hatching this ploy sionce early in the day while Obama presumably has been proposing language for a joint statement, he (Sir John) has the airwaves all to himself for a few hours, attempting to drown out the results of the poll and also possibly overshadow the Palin-Couric interview (the little I heard of it sounded expectedly inane) scheduling at 6:30 PM EDT tonight.

6) Obama has to switch gears and respond with a time lag of some hours. I haven't heard all of what he said yet, but the one point about presidential ability to juggle more than one ball at a time sounded like a good sly dig at McCain's competence.

Conclusion: Lucy (McCain) moves the football again. But I suspect that BHO is no Charlie Brown.I do hope that enough people recognize this shell-game that it blows back on Schmidt-McCain-Palin-Gramm et al. and finally puts this crew where they belong: on political Boot Hill.

We may get a better bill, but if we don't get something, watch what happens on Friday when a lot of businesses can't meet their payrolls because they couldn't get an affordable short-term loan.

Sure, it's fun to be angry at the swaggering a***les of Wall Street and the frothing-at-the-mouth Repug ditto-heads in the House, but a lot of the yelling in triumph I see in many a blog comment section sounds too much like talk-radio rant with a leftish slant. Be careful what you wish for...because you are wishing it for me too.

Pardon me for speaking in self-interest, but I'm way past working age and some of my life savings are invested cautiously --- but cautious strategies don't help you when the entire market tanks. I haven't got 20-30 years to slowly build things back up, and the crazy volatility of the last few months has taken its toll on my nerves and sleep. I don't need sympathy, but then again I don't need loud cheering for my demise from people I usually support.

The post-World-War I collapse of the world economy brought us Stalin and Hitler. (Not to mention a while menagerie of smaller Fascist buffoons like Mussolini --- but an armed buffoon is still a dangerous!) A Great Depression to awaken the oppressed didn't work too well the last time. The German Communists said, "After Hitler, us" and they were right in the long run, but most of them ---and a hundred million other people -- were dead too.

In today's climate, a general economic collapse is far more likely to enable an American Fascism than an age of social justice and I'd prefer not to as Bartleby said, if you don't mind. There are plenty of aspirants rehearsing in the wings, and John McCain has just about the right senescence to play Hindenburg to some would-be Christianist Hitler.