Country first... and second... and third...

As recently as a few hours ago, McCain put his campaign on hold to convene with government officials to propose a plan helping the economic situation facing the country. I know many people believe this move to be a poor one for McCain's campaign. I was unsure of how I felt when I immediately heard McCain's announcement. The more I think about McCain's actions, the more I feel it was a smart move on his part. He is not doing this to gain the approval of the American people within the polls. The economic situation can not be fixed in a matter of days, but what McCain states to be "leadership meetings", is a start. I think it is the perfect opportunity to see our presidential candidates step up to the plate and see how they react in an American crisis. For McCain, he was the first of the two candidates to address the situation. The action of putting his presidential campaign aside in order to focus on the interest of the American people is Senator John McCain's most noted quality- you know, putting "Country First".

His message to the American people can be found here: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/24/campaign.wrap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview#cnnSTCVideo

Throughout this campaign, I have gained more and more respect for Republican nominee John McCain. I admire his "Country First" approach within his campaign, especially when he detailed his Prisoner of War experience in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. I respect the numerous times he has addressed the negativity within presidential campaigning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZf05ijVFtc&feature=related
He has faith in the American people, and by heading to Washington in the middle of his campaigning to formulate economic strategies in order to better the American people, it is evident he truly does put country first.
After reading other political blogs on this topic, many have Barack Obama quoted:

"It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to
hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for
dealing with this mess," said Obama. "Part of the president's job is to deal
with more than one thing at once."

(http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/09/mccain_suspends_campaign.html?hpid=topnews)

I agree with Obama's statement, and because I agree with his statement, I find it odd that he is not stopping his campaign in order to help a crisis that he quite possibly might be in charge of handling come January. Both candidates should want to formulate a plan in order to change the current situation because they are Americans too. The president has the ability to change American policies to better not only the country but themselves as American citizens.


John McCain has not forgotten about his campaign, he merely is putting it second and dealing with the economic crisis currently facing the country. He did ask Obama to join him in his act of putting the economic situation ahead of the presidential debate and campaigning. The negative campaigning needs to take a back seat for the next few days so these presidential candidates, current president and government officials to economically secure the future of all Americans.