The McCain Debate Story Spins Out Of Control

The problem for McCain is that Obama has called his bluff and the spin on the story is out of control. Especially damaging is David Letterman's reaction.

With Obama's statement that "it's important for the American people to hear from their next President," and reactions like Letterman's, McCain looks more politically terrified than someone who is putting country first.

I think McCain DID have to go back to Washington. Republicans are revolting on the bill...trying to shift the blame to Democrats...but Democrats were having none of that, saying they wouldn't pass it without the Republicans. And if something isn't passed soon, the economy will seriously start to crater and - if that happens - McCain's campaign is effectively over. Who would elect McCain with banks closing and 12% unemployment by election day? McCain saw he had to do this: he was needed to provide political cover for the Republicans, or this rescue wouldn't pass.

I give him credit for that - without doing that, McCain would have single-handedly caused a Great Depression.

But he must not have calculated how much cancelling the debate would backfire. He tried to do too much here, covering the Palin liability at the same time. I think McCain just had to take the hit on Palin. But if he really had wanted to rescue the situation, he could have simply suggested changing the venue to Washington and topic of the debates to the economy. It wouldn't have been in Obama's interest to debate the economy now, but since that's what Americans want to hear about, he'd have to have agreed to the topic and location switch. Then McCain could get all the bad news out of the way now and end on the stronger foreign policy debate.

Letterman below: