One If By Land

So McCain's ride to Washington didn't go so well.

He showed up just in time to help make things even messier, all while doing essentially nothing. And the notion that he 'suspended' his campaign has proven not only false but increasingly ridiculous. (oh and Sarah Palin didn't have such a good day either)

There's plenty to keep you busy out there so here are just a couple of snippets.

Steve Bennen:

A few phrases come to mind to describe this madness, but "country first" isn't one of them...

There was one participant at the White House who took on the role of "the old hand at consensus building, and as the real face of bipartisan politics," but his name was Barack Obama.

For his part, McCain "rarely came close to the Capitol suites and committee rooms where the talks were taking place." He showed up for a meeting at the White House -- which, according to the Bush gang, was McCain's idea -- but while Obama pressed Henry Paulson on policy details, McCain sat silently. At one point, McCain briefly touted the House GOP "plan," which Bush immediately rejected. After the meeting, McCain did some interviews, and was back in one of his homes by 6 p.m.

His day of destructive grandstanding and substance-free work was complete. For McCain, who obviously couldn't care less about the economy or the nation, it was "mission accomplished" -- nothing got done, it was at least partially his fault, and there's now a chance he can pick up the pieces of a process he helped break and pat himself on the back.

EJ Dionne:

John McCain's sudden intervention in Washington's deliberations over the Wall Street bailout could not have been more out of sync with what was actually happening...

But McCain's boisterous intervention -- and particularly his grandstanding on the debate -- was less a presidential act than the tactical ploy of a man worried that his chances of becoming president might be slipping away.

And Paul Krugman on the fallout:

So what we now have is non-functional government in the face of a major crisis, because Congress includes a quorum of crazies and nobody trusts the White House an inch.

As a friend said last night, we’ve become a banana republic with nukes.

Fun times, I can't wait for the Debate (even better link).

Slate thinks about what might come next.