The big copout.

The big news today is about canceling Friday’s debate between the two candidates. Again, I couch my criticism of what is going on in the context of being a person who is registered Republican. The reason I always say this up front is two fold. First, it should be acknowledged that there are a slew of broad opinions across the party and not everyone agrees with the extreme wing. Second, my commentary cannot be so readily dismissed as springing forth from the supposed ‘Liberal Left.’

Senator McCain, though I have in the past professed my admiration for the man, is making a grievous mistake should he choose to postpone Friday’s debate. People want to see the two candidates face off before the election. Using the smokescreen of ‘there is important business to be done in Washington in regard to the financial crisis.’

First off, there is always important business to be done in Washington. This is merely the latest in a series of challenges our nation faces. The senator did not think that business was serious enough to relinquish his seat while he pursued the office of the president. So, what does that mean for the period of the last 18 months or so that preceded this crisis? Are we to believe that the business conducted over that period of time was unimportant? Further, isn’t it a bit disingenuous of the Senator to somehow try to position the crisis as something that happened overnight? The events of the last 18 months have bought us to this point, until this moment the Senator did not find it so important as to quit the campaign.

Second, my biggest hesitancy over Senator McCain taking office is his age. This is undoubtedly a factor the nation must confront. Is the reality of the situation more indicative that the Senator really is not able to focus beyond a single issue at a time? Is it possible because of his age that the demands of a long session in the Senate in the days leading up to Friday’s debate and participation in the debate itself are simply beyond his capacity? If so, what does this say about his ability to serve the nation as its leader?

I won’t even begin to get into the flip-flopping that has gone on in the previous week with the statements that our economy is ‘fundamentally sound.’ It‘s just too similar to Nero fiddling while he should been passing the water bucket.

If you want to put the campaign on hold, do everyone a favor and just drop out because whoever does become our next president isn’t going to have the luxury of calling for a time out while the world or events spiral out of control.