Analysis: McCain's debate ploy a sign of weakness

The National Post

Republican presidential candidate John McCain's decision to pull out of Friday night's presidential debate is a sign that he lacks leadership and is losing the national debate on the key issue of the economy, several observers said on Wednesday.

"I think this is a gimmick, pure and simple," said Tom Schaller, a political commentator and professor of political science at the University of Maryland. "McCain is losing the national conversation on the economy, so he's looking for some attempt to prove he is high-minded and above mere campaign and debate politics.

"It looks like he's trying to call a time out in the middle of a presidential campaign and then take credit for it."

Mr. McCain said on Wednesday he was needed in Washington to help deal with the financial crisis. Democratic candidate Barack Obama said that a presidential candidate should be able to deal with the debate and the crisis.

"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," Mr. Obama said.

The decision by Mr. McCain came on the same day that a Washington Post-ABC News poll showed that Mr. Obama now holds a nine-point lead in the race because of the pessimism surrounding the economy.

Friday night's debate at the University of Mississippi was scheduled to be on foreign policy. However, it would be more than likely that the economy would creep into the debate because of its international implications. What has been taking place in U.S. markets has caused enormous volatility on foreign stock exchanges. As well, it could come up under the topic of foreign policy because of the huge amount of money Washington has borrowed from China.

Toni-Michelle Travis, professor of government at George Mason University in Washington, thinks that Mr. McCain will be perceived as "ducking and running" from a fight. She also said that the recent bank bailouts and the ensuing market volatility has "changed the campaign."

"I think there's something about our culture that when you back off for a potential fight that does not play well," said Prof. Travis. "I think he's trying to find his way and he's not showing leadership. It's a short coming if you look like you're ducking and running from the debate and I think it's going to be perceived negatively. I think he's trying to regroup."

She said in any debate Mr. McCain would be portrayed as being part of the current mess, part of the "non-regulatory Republican gang."

"How many houses does McCain own? How close can you tie him to the filthy rich? I think Obama could easily say he's closer to them than he is to you because you're working class, you're punching the time clock or a single parent trying to make ends meet. And our retirement plans are eroding away and we don't want to think how badly."

The Washington Post-ABC News poll showed Mr. Obama ahead 52% to 43%. In recent weeks, the two candidates have been nearly tied.

Fifty-two per cent said they believed the economy is in a long-term decline, while 80% worry about the economy's long-term direction.

The McCain campaign questioned the findings, with pollster Bill McInturff saying they were not consistent with other survey data and appeared to be a fluke similar to results reported by the Los Angeles Times in June when it found Mr. McCain trailing by 12 percentage points.

clewis@nationalpost.com