McCain and the bail out

John McCain has exposed the inner secret of his campaign this week. Contrary to the widespread belief that he is an honorable man driven by ideology and a strategy to become President, it is now clear that every decision he and his campaign staff have made is based on short-term tactical considerations with no thought to the long-term implications.

Jonathan Chait has given up trying to figure out the deep strategy driving the McCain campaign. McCain's efforts to torpedo the bail out legislation were the last straw.

McCain seems to have made no effort whatsoever to bring the bailout legislation to closure. Indeed, he may possibly have sunk the whole thing. On the radio this morning, I heard David Corn of Mother Jones speculate that McCain may be settign himself up to rail against the bailout onm populist grounds. But McCain and his running mate have already stated publicly that a bailout is needed to avoid a depression!

And now, after insisting it would be unpatriotic to campaign and debate before bailout legislation had been completed, is debating anyway, even though a deal is further away than it was when he suspended his campaign.

So I'm abandoning my assumption that McCain had some grand method behind his campaign suspension gambit. I don't see any method at all.