As I heard replayed several times, Sen. McCain finally has come to his senses and realized his campaign has been so negative that it may be approaching being dangerous to the life and health of his colleague, Sen. Obama, as well as to the destruction of his own ambition to be President.
His running mate will now be seen as just another politician scraping by after unethical behaviors of her own, which added to his makes his election unlikely.
Should he withdraw from the race and concede? Probably, but what would the Republicans do then? They'd figure out something because, after all, Sen. McCain at his age is vulnerable to a demise of more natural sorts. There is probably a contingency plan in place should the unthinkable happen.
But what does a man bound by duty and honor do, especially in the coming debate next Wednesday, short of leaving his party in the lurch?
Here's my fantasy:
After sitting at the table with Sen. Obama and Bob Schieffer, Sen. McCain says, "It's time to put down the boxing gloves and the campaign hats and try something that might be worth everyone's time. I propose that we spend as much of the hour and a half that we have conducting the bipartisan discussion that needs to be going on now. Our Congressional colleagues are doing it in Washington. We should show to the world what we mean by 'reaching across the aisle.' Besides, we need to be doing this after Inauguratiuon Day whichever of us wins."
Having broached the idea with the other two men and gotten their assent before coming out on stage, Bob Schieffer should announce they had agreed before the debate to do just that and then turn to Sen. Obama and ask, "What do your advisors say are the critical problems in this economic crisis? Then we'll turn to Sen. McCain to tell us what his are saying. Then we'll see how far we can go toward identifying the problem and go from there with your respective solutions. Sen. Obama?"
Imagine, if you will, two strong thoughtful people trying to make sense of a complex issue and seeking to understand it so they can begin considering how their own best ideas would contribute toward a solution both could live with.
Would an hour and a half be enough time to come up with a clear direction? Of course not. But just think of how Wall Street and the American people and those folks struggling in Congress to be bi-partisan would feel to see the example the two Presidential candidates were setting.
There is enough time for the two candidates to discuss this fantasy.
What is your best fantasy in this situation?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I totally agree with your fantasy. It would be great if even one of them spoke to the American people as if they were adults and leveled with them as to the tough times ahead and what the sacrifices will be for all of us. But then, the American people think the candidates should be Santa Claus and here's our wish list. I hope Bob Schieffer can guide them to this point.
Post a Comment