The first of the Presidential Debates is scheduled for this Friday and today, McCain has called for a "delay" until Congress acts on the financial "crisis".
Sen. Lindsey Graham, McCain's representative in debate negotiations, said McCain will not attend the debate "unless there is an agreement that would provide a solution" to the financial crisis.
McCain has also said he will suspend his campaign activities until a bi-partisan compromise response is voted out of Congress..."putting the good of the country above politics."
McCain senior adviser Mark Salter said that McCain “will suspend airing all ads and all campaign events pending an agreement with Obama, though Salter did not know whether John McCain will suspend fundraising activities. He added that McCain would take part in the debate as scheduled if Congress reached agreement on the measure by Friday morning.”
Several Fox News reporters lauded the “very, very big move” by McCain.......hailed it as “a bold move, a very strong move.” ...adding that McCain is making “some political sacrifice” by volunteering to leave the campaign trail.
Obama responded that a leadership should be capable of doing more than one thing at a time and the American people should hear from the two candidates, one of whom will be the next president.
"With respect to the debates, it’s my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who, in approximately 40 days, will be responsible for dealing with this mess. And I think that it is going to be part of the president’s job to deal with more than one thing at once. I think there’s no reason why we can’t be constructive in helping to solve this problem and also tell the American people what we believe and where we stand and where we want to take the country."
Delay the debate or go forward?