the politics of fear

Senator John McCain has bailed out of this week's proposed presidential campaign debate, citing the current Wall Street crisis. My personal belief is that this is just an excuse for avoiding a debate he probably cannot win.

Andy Borowitz has an interesting take on that.

Alleged President G.W. Bush is forecasting gloom and doom if his financial bailout package for greedy corporations is not passed "immediately". Sound familiar? It reminds me of the push to approve the (badly misnamed) PATRIOT Act and the ramping up to the Iraq war. Or some TV commercial: "You have to call within the next ten minutes to take advantage of this deal!"