The impetuous McCain

Dan Balz:

John McCain is a gambler by nature, and the bet he placed Wednesday may be among the biggest of his political life.

The Republican presidential nominee is hoping that his abrupt decision to suspend campaigning, seek a delay of Friday's debate with Democrat Barack Obama, and return to Washington to help prod negotiations over a financial rescue package will be seen as the kind of country-first, bipartisan leadership he believes Americans want.

What he risks, if things don't go as he hopes, is a judgment by voters that his move was a reckless act by an impetuous and struggling politician that hardened partisan lines in Washington at just the wrong moment and complicated efforts to deal with the biggest financial crisis in more than half a century.

McCain laid out his rationale in stark terms, saying that the economy is in crisis and that he does not believe the package now on the table in Washington can win enough votes to pass. "Americans across our country lament the fact that partisan divisions in Washington have prevented us from addressing our national challenges," he said here in New York. "Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country."

In the heated atmosphere of Wednesday afternoon, as the two campaigns plotted and maneuvered around each other, it was impossible to know what the ultimate verdict would be on McCain's surprise decision. He managed once again, at least in the short term, to shake up the presidential race at a time when national and state polls show Obama opening up a clear lead. And by day's end, he had forced his rival to blink.

Obama initially resisted McCain's call to join him and return to Washington. But hours later he was forced to capitulate when President Bush called him and asked him to participate in a White House meeting with congressional leaders and his GOP rival. Shortly after that, the two candidates issued a joint statement calling for action.

But while agreeing to go back to Washington, Obama insisted Wednesday night, as he had earlier in the day, that Friday's debate go ahead as scheduled.

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Much now will depend on whether McCain can deliver results and whether there is a constructive role for him and Obama, or whether they become a sideshow to the real negotiations. But Obama's course carries risks as well, if he looked as if he were standing on the sidelines while McCain pushed for intervention that could help avert further damage to the nation's economy.

The standoff over the debate left both candidates in potentially awkward positions, although there is plenty of time for it to be resolved. McCain may be reluctant to climb down from his insistence that the debate be delayed until there is an agreement on a package, but he could be seen as scuttling an important event for voters eager to see the two candidates side by side. Obama, on the other hand, may look high-handed if he insists on going ahead as negotiations in Washington reach a critical moment by this weekend.

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I think it would be a mistake for McCain to pass up the chance to hammer Obama on his foreign policy. The guy who wants to meet unconditionally with the enemy and who wanted to retreat from victory in Iraq needs to be hammered and McCain is capable of doing that.

What are the prospects for either McCain or Obama having a positive effect on the talks in Washington? Not much. You have the President on one side and congressional leaders on the other and neither candidate can dictate terms to either side. At best they can take sides with one or the other. Neither has any expertise in finance and so far neither has demonstrate much comprehension of the problem and how to resolve it.

While there are some risks to this deal financially, the upside is significant in terms not just of the overall economy, but in terms of generating cash for the treasury. I don't think either candidate understands this. The Chinese characters for Crisis are made up of two ideograms, The first means trouble and the second means opportunity. Real leaders understand the importance of focusing on the latter when in troubled times.