Is McCain getting ready to tell us the dog ate his homework?

So here we are in the midst of arguably the biggest financial and economic crisis in a lifetime, and just when most people would probably argue that we need more public discussion and debate, McCain wants to postpone the presidential debate, so he can focus on the economy, or so he says.

In the meantime, Alaska Governor and VP candidate Palin, whose running mate said a few weeks ago that the “fundamentals of our economy are sound,” warns that if Congress doesn’t act, we’re headed for a repeat of the Great Depression.

On the surface these seem like reasonable things to say. But what’s the political result?

• We don’t get to watch the candidates debate each other head-to-head. Argubly Obama has a real advantage in a live debate, being cool-headed, articulate, and a charismatic speaker. (All real talk of the issues aside: after all we know most Americans don’t vote on issues, but instead vote on image, persona, and any of a number of other personal factors that have nothing to do with governing.)
• McCain gets to appear as though he’s taking the high-road and doing “real” work on the crisis.
• McCain’s campaign and proxies get to slam Obama for inaction on the crisis while he goes on campaigning for the Presidency. Moreover they get to replay the cult-of-personality critique they used so effectively during the RNC.
• McCain gets to get out of the public eye a bit. After all he can’t draw a crowd all that well without Palin there anyway.
• Palin gets to continue to stay out front where the McCain campaign wants her, saying all the harshly critical things she’s been saying about Obama ever since her nomination.
• The right-wing underground or non-MSM-press and blogs get to continue to imply that Obama is where he is because of some misguided Affirmative-Action-like, white, left-wing guilt complex.

Then what happens when we get back around to a rain-check on the debates? Well, after a couple weeks of bashing Obama for not taking the economy as seriously as McCain, they have a debate, Obama trounces McCain (as expected), and McCain gets to say, “Well, where were you, Barak? I for one was busy fixing the economy and making sure everyone didn’t get foreclosed on their homes, while you were practicing in the mirror for the debate. [To Wolf Blitzer] Don’t blame me if he’s a better actor than I am. After all, he’s just like Brittney, right?”

My take?

McCain wants to take Obama out behind the school, kick his ass for a while while his friends hold him down, and then tell the next morning, tell his teacher (the electorate) that the dog ate his homework. When what he was really doing was kicking the class nerd in the nuts, and laughing all the way to the bank with his real estate buddies.