The Coward

In the curveball of all retarded campaign strategies, John McCain is trying to postpone this Friday's presidential debate. Guess who ain't havin' 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," Obama said . "It's going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once." I believe afterwards he grabed his sac, gave McCain the finger, and blew a kiss to Sarah Palin.

Obama said he would continue preparing for the debate and consulting with bailout negotiators and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson while McCain said he would stop all campaigning and return to Washington to work toward a bipartisan solution. Dodge!

Time magazine's Mark Halperin has this list of some of the national and international crises of the past half-century that could've led to candidates canceling one presidential debate or another -- but didn't:

1960 DEBATES
Sep 26, 1960
Soviets announce ready to put first astronaut into space
Oct 7, 1960
Cuba accuses US of links to invasion
Pentagon curbs spending in light of trade imbalance
Oct 13, 1960
KRUSHCHEV BANGS SHOE ON DESK
Bomb injures 33 in Times Square in 3rd explosion in 11 days
US embargo on Cuba announced
Oct 21, 1960
KRUSHCHEV SAYS USSR HAS NUCLEAR SUBS
Gold price problems in world markets

SOURCE: Front pages of New York Times on debate day

1976 DEBATES
Sep 23, 1976
SEC probing US Steel, including Gerald Ford Congressional activities
Oct 06, 1976
Chinese nuke tests fallout on US soil
Oct 22, 1976
Swine flu vaccine leads the news
Oct 15, 1976 (VP)
Castro says CIA involved in crash of airliner of Barbados, won’t renew anti-hijack agreement with US.
Watergate: no investigation of Ford blocking probe

SOURCE: NBC Nightly News evening of each debate via Vanderbilt TV News Archive

1980 DEBATES
Sep 21, 1980
Iran/Iraq war developments, including US role
Cutoff of rail access for West Germany to West Berlin.
Follow-up on Titan II Missile explosion earlier in week
Oct 28, 1980
Iranian parliament resumes debate on US hostages. Questions of arms to Saudi Arabia from US
Record loss for car company from Ford

SOURCE: NBC Nightly News evening of each debate via Vanderbilt TV News Archive

1984 DEBATES
Oct 07, 1984
Space shuttle Challenger difficulties in orbit
Oct 21, 1984
El Salvador reports CIA agents killed in plane crash
Oct 11, 1984 (VP)
Chief Justice Burger blocking abortion for retarded, dead, blind rape victim
Threats confirmed of plan to crash plane into US embassy in Middle East

SOURCE: CBS (10/7, 10/21) and CBS (10/11) Nightly News via Vanderbilt TV News Archive

1988 DEBATES
Sep 25, 1988
Oct 13, 1988
New stats on growing trade deficit
Oct 05, 1988 (VP)
US hostages in Lebanon
Elections/violence in Chile

SOURCE: NBC Nightly News evening of each debate via Vanderbilt TV News Archive

1992 DEBATES
Oct 11, 1992
Reemergence of tuberculosis
Oct 15, 1992
Oct 19, 1992
Oct 13, 1992 (VP)

SOURCE: New York Times, 10/11/92

1996 DEBATES
Oct 6, 1996
Oct 16, 1996
Oct 9, 1996 (VP)

2000 DEBATES
Oct 3, 2000
Oct 11, 2000
Middle East violence erupts
Oct 17, 2000
Debate goes in the aftermath of the sudden death of Senator Mel Carnahan
Attack of USS Cole occurred 5 days earlier
Oct 5, 2000 (VP)
Middle East peace talks fall apart

SOURCE: AP, 10/17/00; New York Times, 10/5/00, 10/11/00, 10/14/00

2004 DEBATES
Sep 30, 2004
“North Korea has said it has turned plutonium from 8,000 spent fuel rods into nuclear weapons.” [BBC, 9/28/04]
Fannie Mae Agreed To ‘Major Changes’ In Its Accounting And Management Practices. [New York Times, 9/28/04]
Oct 8, 2004
Oct 13, 2004
Oct 5, 2004 (VP)

SOURCE FOR DATES: Commission On Presidential Debates

There were no debates in 1964, 1968 or 1972