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Capitol Chatter:

(Washington, NNS) Stating he had "foreseen the crisis to come, before anyone else caused it," John McCain announced today that, "As a take-charge leader, I have determined that for the good of the nation I must suspend the suspendering of my campaign and instead, my friends, I must today suspend the entire US economy."  This move was just the latest of several dramatic declarations and ineffective efforts, ostensibly to show himself as the take-charge leader, able broker Republican support for the bi-partisan economic bailout plan.  After a long weekend of negotiations and arm-twisting following McCain's declarations of support for the Bailout, the bill failed in the US House, with 2/3's of Republicans voting against it. 

Shortly after the vote, the stock market tanked with a record 777 point drop in the Dow Jones average.  By the end of the day, with prospects bleak for any new vote in the House for at least 3 days, foreign exchange were also beginning to tank, perhaps presaging continuing problems for American markets in the short term.  

Putting a new twist on his long reputation for 'straight talk', McCain remained as quotable as ever.  "My friends, the House Republicans have sent a strong message today that no matter how serious the problems facing the American economy....  aw, damn it to hell!  I call a 'Do Over'!  Man, I was tryin' so hard, what the hell more could I do?  Can you believe these guys? Makin' phone calls, meeting with Curious George himself at the White House... keepin' a straight face while getting lectured about deregulation for frackin' days at a time....  Screw it!  Close the banks and stock exchanges, give 'em some time to think about it.... let the house wingnuts try and get elected when no one can donate on their websites.  I'm done: good day, gentleman." 

Approximately fifteen minutes later, a McCain campaign spokesperson announced that, "due to Barrack Obama and Nancy Pelosi's partisan rhetoric and lack of leadership, the Republicans in the House had no choice in how to cast their votes.  If there is hell to pay for this lack of a bailout, it lies firmly at the feet of the Democrat leadership and the 60% of Democrats whose "Yea's" on the bailout compelled 67% of House Republicans to "Nay."  Douglas Holtz-Eakin III, McCain spokesperson, intoned, "For years these Democrats knew how to silently go along with Republican legislation, funding a war they didn't like and supporting domestic spying, I gotta ask: is this the right time for them to grow a damn backbone?  I personally blame them for the bloodbath which is about to ensue on Wall Street."

For his part, Democratic candidate Barrack Obama noted that McCain, as a candidate and not an elected President, had no power to suspend the economy.  "It's a technical detail, I know, but I think it's the kind of thing that deeply concerns Americans who feel that John McCain has been wrong on Iraq, wrong on deregulation, and -- can I get real here for a moment: what the heck was that Sarah Palin choice?" Obama urged American investors to stay calm, reiterated both his support for, "a responsible bailout plan" and faith in the long term prospects for the American economy under an Obama Administration, "But if it's McCain-Palin, I'm cashing in my 401(k) for Pepsi Points."

Within the McCain campaign, however, focus was split between responding to the Wall Street crisis and preparing for the Thursday night Vice Presidential debate.  After a two highly-structured interviews with Charles Gibson and Katie Couric went South, initially enthusiastic conservatives were sounding alarms over Sarah Palin's prospects. 

While on the surface supportive of Palin, reports have circulated of behind the scenes efforts by the campaign reportedly soliciting seven-figure donations from Republican 527 committees in a last-ditch effort to have Tina Fey appear instead of Sarah Palin in the Thursday night debate. 

Earlier in the week, the McCain campaign successfully negotiated a change in format to eliminate follow-up questions in the VP debate, regarded as quite a coup in reducing the potential for debate gaffes.  At last report, they were pressing the Commission on Presidential Debates for two "tech-friendly innovations": specifically having the debate tape-delayed, "to allow for a director's cut and commentary track", and for the event to be a text-only debate on the Second Life website with animated "avatars."  According to the McCain campaign, "Sarah's been working on a really cool avatar, I think it's nailed her fashion sense and message; she'll be disappointed, and America's gonna be bummed if they're denied this by the Dems."