Update below:

As usual, John McCain prefaces his personal decision with the phrase “country first.”

Sen. John McCain is suspending his campaign to return to Washington and join ongoing talks about the Bush administration’s proposed rescue package for the U.S. financial system. He also called for his scheduled Friday night debate with Sen. Barack Obama to be postponed.

Wall Street Journal — and take note of the comments!

Obama answers:

“I think that it is going to be part of the president’s job to deal with more than one thing at once,”

Why doesn’t McCain get his VP to stand in for him? Isn’t that why you have one? (tee hee)

Update

So now the second shoe drops: sheer terror of America seeing Palin in a debate.

McCain supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham tells CNN the McCain campaign is proposing to the Presidential Debate Commission and the Obama camp that if there’s no bailout deal by Friday, the first presidential debate should take the place of the VP debate, currently scheduled for next Thursday, October 2 in St. Louis.

In this scenario, the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin would be rescheduled for a date yet to be determined, and take place in Oxford, Mississippi, currently slated to be the site of the first presidential faceoff this Friday.

Graham says the McCain camp is well aware of the position of the Obama campaign and the debate commission that the debate should go on as planned — but both he and another senior McCain adviser insist the Republican nominee will not go to the debate Friday if there’s no deal on the bailout.

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U Miss reports $5.5 millio invested in debate — a loss if it does not go on.

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Her performance on Katy Couric tonight was appalling with two p’s and two s’s. As Hilzoy says: I’ve known quick studies and Sara Palin, you’re no quick study.

As Mudflats in Alaska says: Just for fun, see if you can watch this without putting your palms on your face. Other than that, I am rendered speechless.

Or maybe the whole thing has to do with The National Enquirer’s follow up to their John Edwards piece — the name of Sara Palin’s doubly adulterous liaison. [And what on earth does that finger signal mean!]