what about the bail out

I think Letterman's point was that he bailed on his show under the pretense of having to urgently rush to Washington only to go on to conduct interviews with others. As Letterman said smells fishy...

UC, do you consider the topics (palins babe factor, biden terrible add, letterman ect) on your site to really be relevent.

McCain's lying to Dave isn't really that big of a deal, is it?  We shouldn't be so concerned with McCain being a man of his word, should we?
So he told Dave a story about having to fly back to Washington to "save the nation" (......and end up on Katie Couric's set).  What counts is image!
Our president must APPEAR to be strong and decisive, right UC?

Amber,

Is "relevent" a word? Or do you mean "relevant"? 

It's his frickin' blog. He can post whatever the hell he wants.

Frankly, I think Letterman has a point. McCain is being very inconsistent about what it means to "suspend" his campaign. Basically, it means he's not going to the debate. Which doesn't seem all that politically smart, but maybe . . . 

I, too, am looking forward to An American Carol. David Zucker is awesome, and if this is a passion project I'm expecting some funny. Lefties couldn't wait to start trashing the movie sight unseen, so I'm betting it'll be pretty good.

An American Carol may raise a chuckle (not a big M.Moore fan).......but "W" would be more "relevant".

So let me get this straight.  There is a blog on this very site that is critical of Oprah for not inviting the Grandma on.  Then there is a separate blog critical of Letterman for complaining when Father Time cancels under false pretense.  So you are complaining when there is not an invitation to appear and you are complaining when there is an invitation to appear.  Is that right?  I think Letterman was annoyed because he was told a story.  If McCain had simply said that he didn't think his appearance would be appropriate given the circumstances, that would have been both professional and courteous.  I think Dave would have understood and moved on.  I think Dave didn't appreciate being lied to.  When he saw an internal house feed of McCain and Katie Couric, it probably sent him over the edge.  Hey, Father Time can do what ever he wants.  If he can lie to Letterman, who is really inconsequential overall and when he didn't have to, what does that say about the "straight talker."

The Letterman incident is small but it is indicative.  McCain, who calls himself a maverick or whatever, can't seem to find his stride.  He has had a series of missteps and errors in judgment.  His biggest error thus far, the Grandma, is just now starting to unravel after a splashy and promising start.  I hope she keeps doing interviews and I hope he keeps swinging for the fences or throwing hail Mary passes or whatever other sports analogy that represents desperation you can think of.  That's what you do when you are losing.

Mr. UC: 
Your comments regarding Letterman/McCain were not unexpected considering the narrow keyhole through which you view.  It would be nice if, once in a while, you could open the door and take in the entire picture.
Let's just set the scene:
McCain called Letterman at the last minute before taping telling Letterman that he could not do the show because he had to "rush immediately" to Washington to solve the financial crisis.
Letterman understood and thanked him - while expressing thanks also for McCain's expressed urgency for the need to participate in the resolution of the crisis at hand.
Keith Olbermann accepted the request to fill in at the last minute.
Did McCain "rush" to Washington as he said?
Nope.  He lied.  Again.  It's what he does.
He went into make-up to do a bit with Katie Couric for the evening news - essentially "down the hall" on the same network.
Why?
His poor choice for a running mate had, once again, opened her mouth and nothing but lunacy fell out.  He had to get the attention back on himself and make Palin's words yesterday's news.
The CBS  evening news has the viewership that fits McCain's demographics - older Americans that cannot/do not stay up to watch Letterman.  Letterman's audience, by and large, are younger, and more analytical and politically savvy.
A DAY later, McCain finally goes to Washington. McCain plops himself in the middle of delicate negotiations and didn't just muddy the waters- he injected politics into what was being constructed with bi-partisan cooperation and nearing finalization with nearly all revisions in place.
With this, a weeks worth of work by the House and Senate finance and banking chairs and committees was destroyed- placing everyone back on square one.
This all caused by a presidential candidate who had not even READ the proposal,  saw his numbers dropping by double digits nation-wide, saw that the Palin factor had been seen for the liability that is is, and that Obama was acting like the leader that he is.  Once again, as McCain has done over and over again during this campaign- he had to draw attention back on himself. 
There is no "America first" with this man- it's all about McCain.  Period.  If you are looking for someone to take the "schmuck" title- McCain wins the prize. Hands down.
 

additionally,  while McCain claimed to "suspend" his campaign,  his surrogates were on the air on every single talking head program- both conservative and progressive- his television ads ran throughout the day, and campaign offices across the nation were open and doing business.

He's just a liar.  It's what he does.  
He thinks that he can dictate the terms of this presidential election and makes every smoke and mirror move to do this.

I hope that McCain does not attend the debate.  Obama will be there, participating in the largest "town hall" meeting ever, viewed by more Americans than you can imagine .
McCain can stay home and watch.

Do you all have some strange brain malfunction? David Letterman? Who the hell cares what he thinks or says - correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't he a comedian? You're all getting your panties twisted because of him? Gee, I thought there were more important issues, but I guess I am living on another planet - you know, the one where an economy is going down the toilet and McCain's people want us to fork up $700 billion to pay for the greed of those who know that they can get away with anything.

While you all have a pissing contest over David Letterman, decisions are being made to hand over nearly a quadrillion dollars of toxic derivatives debt to the American people, and this is not a bailout, it's a buyout, which means we own it. By federalizing the nations largest financial institutions, capitalism is being strangled to death and the lynchpins of democracy are being pullled loose with hurricane force by those who are in the process of insatalling an industrial dictatorship. 

I find it fascinating that people really don't take this seriously and have the time to argue about clowns like Letterman. You might just as well throw Al Franken into the mix. Now there's a real economic and political force to be reckoned with and argued about. Well, I guess it's worth a good laugh, huh?

America - the civilization that collapsed while it's citizens threw all of their energy into a debate about a talk show clown. What was it that they about Nero?     

It's not about Letterman, ML.  It's about McCain who continues to lie and showboat.

if i remember my history, Nero was good at scapegoating jews&christians, deflecting the blame away from him.......kinda like McCain does in this current financial crisis.

Amber! Right in the middle of all of this inane banter, you ask, "What about the bail-out?" And the rest of them ignore the question and keep on with their stupid argument about Letterman, McCain and let us not forget...Oprah - another major political and economic genuis. 

Thank you, Amber, for reassuring me that there is at least one sane person here.

This will probably never make it (the challenge will be failed) but I will go out fighting anyway... 
To all of you: Toe, David, Obama 08, Simone's Dad, Kevin, Letterman Sucks and the idiot who wrote the lead article that inspired this assinine debate...you are all a bunch of fools. 

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1831461
some humor to brighten your day!

Amen to that UC. I think it is hilarious. Poor Letterman, lashing out, typical Lib. Maybe you all can point me in the right direction, but I missed the story where McCain said he had to leave that night, in the middle of Letterman's show. Maybe "rushing" implies immediate, I just don't know. Always kinda thought it meant you had to have some time to get your ducks in a row to expedite the current set of circumstances. But that wouldn't give anybody anything to cry about, would it?  McCain needs to tell Letterman to sit and spin.

Also looking forward to American Carol, should be super funny.

ml smith.....
it is pertinent to show what a phony McCain really is 
.........and it has EVERYTHING to do with the bailout!
Can anyone trust this man(John McCain)?
Everything he does shows what a poser he really is, deflecting scrutiny from his record and involvement in this current financial crisis.

ML,
No one is ignoring the financial crisis-(although,  there are some here that don't actually believe one exists) and, unlike McCain,  some of us can actually do more than one thing at a time... even backwards, and in high heels. (David you are excused from this exercise.)

Perhaps some Americans aren't buying into McCain's BS.....
Not since 1976 has my state cast it's electoral votes for the democrat.
Now, according to WRAL(jesse Helms old station.....)
North Carolina is "Changing"?

http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/3584304/

Russell,
Why don't you review what Reid and Dodd just finished saying.
It should give you some insight as to the damage McCain has caused in this process.

Toe: Okay, I get it now, but David should not be excused from wearing high heels. Hell, I would if I thought it might help. Besides, he might just look really good in heels, now that he has shed the curse put upon him. 

Still, I don't think anyone is addressing the real issue - the fact that money as we know it has been privatized by the big financial institutions, who have created a massive "derivatives" scheme that has reached it's mathematical limits...therefore the collapse and of course, once again, Americans must foot the bill for the failure of their risky investments. The CEOs make off with hundreds of billions while we are left to put our lips to the tailpipe and inhale deeply.

I'm delusional, right? Well, if you research the paper trail that leads to where we are now, you may wind up just as delusional as I am.

Best of all, though, is the administration's insistence that "golden parachutes" should be part of the buyout plan. Terrific! Let's reward the people that got us into this mess. They shouldn't be given parachutes - push them out at 70 billion feet and they can orbit Mars.    

Actually, ML, one of the primary features being insisted upon addresses the very thing that both you and I find most objectionable in the original proposal by Paulson and Bush- that of the rewarding those who screwed up while charging the  American taxpayer the bill.  Not having this addressed is a deal breaker.  Dodd and Frank have stated this in no uncertain terms.  They are also insisting upon oversight and in releasing this money in increments and with absolute regulation and oversight every step of the way. 
There will come a time to re-visit the bankruptcy bill (which has hurt middle and lower income Americans tremendously) but I am feeling that the economy is at a very fragile point at this moment and steps need to be taken to at least stop the worst of the bleeding.
Am I angry?  Absolutely.  I have substantial (7 figures) monies at risk presently.  Do I have fingers to point at the root cause of this. Of course.  But I am also aware that before you begin to repair the dam you have to plug the leaks.  Frankly,  I would like to see some of these people jailed just for stupidity.  The fact of the matter is, they were given free reign through deregulation and took advantage of every bit of slack provided them.

Toe,
Once again, Dodd and Reid are in bed with Teleprompter Man, did you expect them to heap praises on McCain???
Why don't you review what Leiberman (Democrat) and of all people Bill Clinton said. It should give you some insight into how biased Dodd and Reid are.

Russell,  Dodd and Reid are Democrats.  Obama is a Democrat.
It's not a secret. 

McCain still has not voiced any opinion on the financial crisis except to finally acknowledge that there is one.  McCain does not have a lot of good history when it comes to banking and failures and government bail outs. 
 

And he is still the only one who is gonna bring em all together to get it passed, regardless of Reid.

Reid lied and McCain called his bluff and came to Washington. Now, all of a sudden, Reid says McCain is harming the process (which he isn't), and the deal was already done (which it wasn't). He says this because McCain's actions have left Teleprompter Man holding his you know what and doing nothing. The funny thing is all you hear on the news today are the Democrat talking points about McCain. Sooooo transparent.

Lied?  Where?  What did Reid say?

Every single person  working on this, Russell-  (including some Republicans) have said that McCain not only did not have any input, did not have any ideas, and did not offer any thoughts of his own- he was also UNABLE to get any of the HOUSE Republicans to enter into discussion.  McCain is as useless as a toad on a bicycle...and looks just as silly.

Reid told reporters Tuesday that, in a private conversation Monday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson assured Reid that McCain would eventually back the bailout legislation, which Reid has set as a precondition for approving the bill to tone down the partisan atmosphere surrounding the controversial issue. "I've got some good news," said Reid, adding that it "appears" McCain would back the package.

Before a meeting of his economic brain-trust, McCain denied that report.

Told of Reid's comment that the GOP nominee would vote for the plan put forth by Paulson, McCain said, "I did not say that."

Once again, Leiberman says exactly the opposite. But keep up the lib talking points. I know they appreciate it.

The last I heard (this morning) was Reid saying he still  had no idea where McCain stood.  I listen very closely to the news, Russell-  it's on pretty much constantly here.  I never heard anything even close to what you have said above. On Tuesday, Reid actually called upon McCain to let them know where he stood.  It was in all the papers and on every newscast I watched.  
The point is, Russell-  McCain continues to grand-stand and showboat.
He was given a sound verbal whipping last night and this morning for coming in to gum up the works and provide absolutely no input and no leadership- not with the issue at hand, and not with the House Republicans who continue to refuse to even sit down and discuss.

Don't even mention Leiberman's name around me.  His nose cannot get any browner.  No one wants anything to do with him.  Democrats don't want him and Republicans don't trust him.  Russell, you can have him.

Raise your hand if you are unbiased and without agenda........  Ok, next if you raised your hand your a liar.  Now, think about something good to say about Obama and McCain.  If you can't then you are just another biased, brainwashed (Left or Right), moron.  Letterman is a brainwashed moron.  It doesn't matter if you like what he has to say or hate what he has to say he is a brainwashed biased idiot.  Just like 90% of the country has become.  I hate politicians and their brainwashed followers. 

I dont get it , I think the title says it all WHO CARES

Believe it or not, I was unbiased not long ago.  Am am biased now, but will say something 'nice' about both candidates.

First, however, to address the Letterman thing.  Yes, Letterman was pissed off and did lash out - for quite some time, too.  But in looking at it from his perspective, I don't think it was the cancellation that pissed him off.  Truly.  He has been cancelled on before, I'm sure.  I think what got his undies in a jumble (or whatever that saying is) is that he felt deceived by John.  Think about it, how would you feel?  Say, you were supposed to go on a date and they called pretty late in the game saying that they had to fly off somewhere to take care of a crisis and couldn't go on the date (in this case, it was that he couldn't tape that afternoon).  You might be disappointed, but would understand - after all, it's an emergency.  Here's where it turns, however.

Letterman probably already knew that McCain was not the man who would assist in creating the economic plan that could make or break this country.  Then, to see him getting powdered on the Couric set, sent him over, which is why it continued.  And, on top of all that, he discovers the later or the next day that John didn't even fly to DC that day.  He waited until the following day after giving a speech.

It could've all been a miscommunication - we'll never know, but if the dialogue was as he says it was, I have to admit I'd be pretty ticked off, too.

Now, to make it worse, he discovers that McCain only spoke for two minutes in the President's meeting and didn't say too much.  Intentionally, or unintentionally, John brought the campaign into the middle of the most important economic planning session since the '30's.  Members on both sides have admitted to feeling a bit sideswiped for the photo opp.

At the end of the day, the plan will be better than it might've been had he not done that.  But that was not brilliance; it was, indeed, a stunt that didn't hurt the country, and may have only slightly hurt his campaign.  I guess we'll see about that.

Should Letterman have taken the high road?  Perhaps.  But, he is a comedian who gets his humor from not censoring his thoughts.  One of the reasons that morning show he had many years ago didn't go over.  He couldn't stop himself from doing and saying certain things that just didn't go over with that demographic.

Finally, the good stuff.  McCain is a hero to me.  I can't imagine what he went through.  I mean, I whine if I unintentionally run out of ice cream.  He's a good man who may have lost his way a bit.

Obama has his faults, too.  I don't think anyone is perfect, but Obama does believe in this country.  His story is true.  This country gave him a shot.  And he has accomplished much.  I would imagine that if we worked hard enough at digging up some dirt on nearly anyone in Congress, we would succeed.  I believe him and I believe that he understands those of us who are struggling financially.  I think he has always cared about this country and all the people in it, particularly those who need a hand up.

Thanks for listening.

Steve....
cool post.  I have issues with both candidates.  But the lie factor has to go with McCain.  WTF!  What really got me in the debates was John "talking" about how much he loves Veterans..........yet he votes AGAINST every Veterans issue that comes up in congress!  Such a liar.  If any of you want to help the people who have supported our nation by joining our Armed Forces.....don't vote for Senator McCain.

Good point, David.  I just can't imagine why he would vote against any assistance for returning vets, especially when he knows so many of them aren't getting what they really need.

I wonder if there were provisions in bills that he was so strongly against that he would vote no, or if he just didn't want to increase spending.  Either way, I haven't really heard much about that.  I mean, I know it to be true, but it seems like it would pack a pretty powerful punch if Obama brought that to the attention of voters a bit more.  Maybe he has a good argument?  I don't know.

steve.....
i guess it's because he wants to appear as a
fiscal conservative......
"I just can't imagine why he would vote against any assistance for returning vets"
Yet his crap about Loving the VETS......
it's BULLSHIT!
http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/

70 million hard working Americans that are going to vote for Obama perhaps?