The Debates Are Here....Or Are They

As most American readers of this know tomorrow (as I type this I still have a half hour) marks the first Presidential debate of the 2008 election. As usual they unforunately won't be open to all the candidates (it doesn't help that the Debate Commission is a business of sorts) but only in theory to Sen. John McCain (R) and Sen. Barack Obama (D).

Normally I wouldn't say in theory on this. However, things have gone topsy turvy as Sen. McCain allegedly suspended his campaign (yet allowed campaign ads to air during this time) to supposedly get the financial bailout package through, even cancelling on David Letterman at the last minute to supposedly fly to Washington (in reality he accepted an interview with CBS News taped at the same time Letterman does and stayed in NYC to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative the next day). He also called for the first debate to be postponed, to the dismay of many people.

So the question is will the debates happen? The Commission says they will but as I type this it's anyone's guess, especially since the bailout talks almost went somewhere until conservatives started speaking against it. Also, what happens if Obama shows up at Oxford, MS but McCain doesn't? Do they cancel? Does Obama get the whole time period to himself? These are things to ponder.

Personally I think if McCain doesn't show up, have the debates and maybe invite the other candidates to indulge in what McCain passes on (yes, this includes Ralph Nader - who wouldn't be a thorn in the Democrats' side if the Dems would quit trying to stop Independent and Green Party candidate and fought more against the GOP). I know it won't happen but it would be an interesting debate.

At this point, we're in a country where the economy seems to be going the way of the buffalo or the condor. Jobs are vanishing and most Americans are struggling just to maintain an existence which is precariously close to being above their means. We'll have to wait until Friday night (i.e.: Friday September 26, 2008) to see what goes down with the debates, but things are scary and to quote the British band AOS3 "Scary Times are Never Dull."