Day's End Round-Up

John McCain's decision to attend tonight's presidential debate has bloggers debating whether he lost a stare-down with Barack Obama, while a video that allegedly shows Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) in a 1984 beauty pageant draws groans.

McCain blinked when he decided to attend tonight's debate, MyDD's Todd Beeton declares. McCain lost face when he announced he would attend, Beeton says, as the Arizona Republican had previously called for the debate to be postponed while negotiators work on a Wall Street bailout deal. But McCain simply acted in a way that voters would want a president to act, Paul Mirengoff asserts at Power Line. McCain put politics to a halt initially and decided to attend the debate only after the negotiating process allowed it, Mirengoff says.

A video claiming to show Palin wearing a bathing suit in a 1984 beauty pageant is no joke, AMERICAblog's John Aravosis claims, while The Huffington Post reports that an Alaskan has uploaded it to YouTube claiming it is 100 percent accurate. (Grainy footage, however, makes it hard to tell.) A video like this was bound to surface eventually, Townhall.com's Matt Lewis writes, saying he's grateful no similar video exists of McCain.

House Republicans, meanwhile, have put House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in a tough spot by continuing to push their own alternatives to Democrats' Wall Street bailout proposals, The Weekly Standard's Mary Katharine Ham proclaims. Pelosi could pass her party's version without broad bipartisan support, but it would cost Democrats at the polls, Ham asserts. But a leading GOP plan--to insure failing companies instead of buying them--won't work according to The Corner's Rich Lowry, who argues that the plan won't fix the bad mortgage debt clogging the U.S. financial system.

FROM THE BLOGS:
There Was No Deal - Matt Lewis, Townhall.com
Mike Pence - Matthew Yglesias
When Sarah Met Katie - Peter Robinson, The Corner
Democratic Registration - Greg Sargent, TPM Election Central
The Debate - Academic Elephant, RedState
New Day, New Deal? - Mary Katharine Ham, The Weekly Standard
Blinky McBlinkerson - Todd Beeton, MyDD
Miss Alaska Video - Ann Althouse
Democratic Solution Is Best - Ian Welsh, Firedoglake
Palin and Kissinger - BarbinMD, Daily Kos

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Congress Pushes to End Impasse on Bailout - NY Times
Democrats Say Bailout Talks 'Back on Track' - Washington Post
Senate to Come Back Next Week - The Hill
McCain Heads to Debate without Bailout Resolution - Detroit Free Press

Though major news outlets have reported a tentative agreement on a Wall Street bailout plan, the deal still faces opposition and may not be sealed just yet, bloggers suggest. Barack Obama, meanwhile, earns praise after a report suggesting his campaign plans to go ahead with tomorrow's presidential debate with or without John McCain.

Despite reports that key lawmakers have reached an agreement, both House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) are unanimous in saying there is no deal yet, The Weekly Standard

John McCain stirs broad debate by suspending his presidential campaign and calling for a delay of Friday's presidential debate, drawing mixed reviews. Barack Obama, meanwhile, earns plaudits for opposing McCain's call.

McCain's suspension of his campaign and call to delay the debate is nothing more than a desperate political stunt, kos writes at Daily Kos. McCain has long said that, despite economic turmoil, the fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain strong, and kos thinks McCain is finally reversing that stance. The move doesn't make sense in the long term, Mark Levin writes at The Corner, as any bailout deal McCain could hammer out likely will disappoint conservatives, according to Levin.

Obama did well to say that the American people need to hear from him and McCain, as one of them will be charged with fixing the economy very soon, MyDD's Todd Beeton argues, noting that the debate will likely happen as planned. By denying McCain's call, Obama refused to let the Arizona Republican set the agenda for the nation's financial crisis, avoiding a trap, Greg Sargent declares at TPM Election Central.

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), meanwhile, has offended conservatives by telling an audience of Jewish Democrats they should beware of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) because "anybody toting guns and stripping moose don

John McCain

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) has done well by his party in proposing his own plan for bailing out Wall Street, bloggers say, while others dispute Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

Congress should think twice before assenting to Secretary Treasury Henry Paulson's $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan, liberal and conservative bloggers agree, while Barack Obama earns praise from the left for voicing opposition to the deal.

Paulson is trying to pressure Congress into bailing out Wall Street without appropriate penalties, J Ro alleges at MyDD. Paulson said America needs Washington's agreement on a bailout plan "to be clean and quick," and J Ro argues that Paulson's plan would shelter Wall Street from meaningful regulations and reforms. Congress had better ask a lot of questions of Paulson before it approves anything that shifts financial burden onto taxpayers, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) warns in a post at The Corner. But, while the plan's pricetag looks staggering, it will only get worse if Democrats add regulations, RedState's Pejman Yousefzadeh declares.

Obama has taken a tough line against Paulson's plan, Firedoglake's Ian Welsh notes. Obama has stood up against failed conservative policies by refusing to support a taxpayer-funded rescue that does not include more oversight and regulations, Welsh says. And the Democratic Party needs Obama's leadership in opposing the plan, as this is a critical moment for the U.S. economic policy, TalkLeft's Jeralyn suggests.

Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), meanwhile, is mocked by conservatives for telling Virginia voters that Obama won't try to take away their guns, and that if the Illinois Democrat comes after Biden's own shotguns, "he's got a problem." Of course Obama wouldn't try to take away Biden's guns, Hot Air's Ed Morrissey snarks: he doesn't have the votes in Congress. Democratic candidates usually look silly posing as pro-gun, see-dubya writes at MichelleMalkin.com, referencing a shooting range appearance by Sen. John Kerry's (D-Mass.) in 2004.

FROM THE BLOGS:
$700,000,000,000 - Pejman Yousefzadeh, RedState
Obama and Biden's Beretta - see-dubya, MichelleMalkin.com
Anonymous Lawmaker Diagrams House Chicken - Matt Stoller, Open Left
The Bailout - Andrew Stuttaford, The Corner
Obama Says 'No Blank Check' - Jeralyn, TalkLeft
John McCain Hopes You're Stupid - DarkSyde, Daily Kos
The Politics of Fear - John Hinderaker, Power Line
No One Knows - Marc Ambinder
Hedge Finds Next? - Kevin Drum
John McCain Has 13 Cars - John Aravosis, AMERICAblog


OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Bipartisan Support for Rescue Plan Emerges - NY Times
Obama Hopes to Reverse Party Fortunes in Fla. - Washington Post
Obama Wields Wall Street Cudgel against McCain - LA Times
Paulson: We Need This to Be Clean and Quick - The Hill

An AP poll suggesting racism might hurt Barack Obama in national tracking surveys has stirred debate over race in the 2008 campaign. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), meanwhile, is accused by conservatives of putting his foot in his mouth by calling Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) "disabled."

AP's racial study misses several key factors, The Plank's Nate Silver asserts after the news group found that racial prejudices among white voters could be costing Obama support nationwide. AP surveyed all adults, and racism may be less of a factor among likely voters, Silver argues, adding that the AP did not estimate how many voters may support Obama because he is black. But whether or not the AP is right, some people will still blame racism for costing Obama the White House if he loses, Ann Althouse writes.

Rangel had a public meltdown when he suggested to a New York TV station that Palin is "disabled," The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez proclaims. When asked about Palin's popularity, Rangel told CBS's New York affiliate "you've got to be kind to the disabled," and according to NewsBusters' Tom Blumer Rangel's comment proves that Palin's popularity has thrown Democrats off balance. Rangel explained in the interview that Palin is politically "disabled" because she lacks foreign policy experience; he later released a statement that "disabled" was not the word he meant to use, and that the comment was in no way a reference to Palin's son Trig, who has Down syndrome.

John McCain, meanwhile, has revealed his affinity for deregulation when it comes to U.S. financial markets in a recent op-ed, kos alleges at Daily Kos. McCain's argument, that healthcare will benefit from more competition the same way financial systems have, provides excellent fodder for Democrats, Josh Marshall declares at TalkingPointsMemo. If the Obama campaign is smart, it will harp on McCain's quote until November, Marshall says.

FROM THE BLOGS:
PDS, Harlem Style - Tom Blumer, Newsbusters
Racism Costs Obama Six Points? - Nate Silver, The Plank
Factual Accuracy and McSame Syndrome - Dan McLaughlin, RedState
Brazen Bias - Ed Whelan, The Corner
Obama Shows What Evisceration Looks Like - SusanG, Daily Kos
Race Could Hurt Obama - Jeralyn, TalkLeft
Palin and the Enthusiasm Gap - Gary Andres, The Next Right
Obama's FDR Moment - Ian Welsh, Firedoglake
Lilly Ledbetter, Living a Lie - Paul Mirengoff, Power Line
Five Momentous Days - Marc Ambinder

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Debate Pact Lets McCain and Obama Spar - NY Times
Treasury Asks for $700 Billion to Buy Bad Mortgages - The Hill
For GOP, a New Way to Campaign - Washington Post
Bush Defends Cost of Bailout - Wall Street Journal

A new John McCain ad featuring former Fannie Mae Chairman Frank Raines has bloggers arguing Friday over whether McCain is or isn't interjecting race into the campaign. Conservatives express frustration over the government's Wall Street bailouts, and Barack Obama seems to recouped his pre-Sarah Palin lead over McCain, others say.

The indirect approach most campaigns take to make race an issue makes McCain's new ad suspect, as it makes repeated mention of Raines, who is black, without mentioning Obama's closer tie to former Fannie Mae and Countrywide head Jim Johnson, who is white, writes Swampland's Karen Tumulty. The Weekly Standard's John McCormack disagrees with Tumulty, pointing out that the ad rests more on a Washington Post story about Raines than anything else.

Announcing massive government bailouts, President Bush said this is a "pivotal moment" for an economy that is facing "unprecedented challenges," The Swamp reports. Despite the current crisis and Bush's justifications, Michelle Malkin calls the move "the death of fiscal conservatism" and wonders why this bailout will help more than the previous supposedly crucial bailouts that didn't stop the bleeding.

And with economic issues playing in his favor, Obama once again leads McCain in the major tracking polls, MyDD's Jonathan Singer writes.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Obama Meanders Through Wall Street - RedState
Hell to Pay - SusanG, Daily Kos
Mark Foley Case Closed - Top of the Ticket
WaPo Editors: Obama Being Deceptive - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
Karen Tumulty Sees Racist People - Erick Erickson, RedState
Conservative Think Tanks on Bailouts - Marc Ambinder
Obama Releases In-Your-Face Hounds - Michelle Malkin
Federal Govt. Bails Out Wall Street - Big Tent Democrat, TalkLeft

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Finger-Pointing in Financial Crisis Is Targeted at Bush - Washington Post
Campaigns Target Each Other's Advisers - Associated Press
Congress, Administration to Prop Up Wall Street - The Hill

John McCain's campaign standing by the GOP standard-bearer

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin