Say what?

So…my name's John and I'm a news junkie. Can't leave the stuff alone—New York Times, Guardian, CNN, BBC, al-Jazeera, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Aiken Standard: I read 'em all.

Seriously, I admit it: I have a problem.

I'm such a news junkie, that I've gone ahead and signed up for releases from both presidential campaigns, even though I only support one.

Anyway, what follows is a release from the McCain campaign that just showed up in my mailbox; it's long, and I'm going to summarize parts of it because it's so long:

(All emphasis is added by me.)

John McCain's Remarks on the Economic Crisis
New York, NY
Wednesday, September 24, 2008

America this week faces an historic crisis in our financial system. We must pass legislation to address this crisis. If we do not…(all kinds of horrible things will happen; Obama and McCain both have some ideas about what should be done; McCain's met with his advisers and some members of Congress).

It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the Administration's proposal. I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time.

Tomorrow morning, I will suspend my campaign and return to Washington after speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative. I have spoken to Senator Obama and informed him of my decision and have asked him to join me. (Additionally, McCain's talked to the president and asked him to get everybody together for a powwow.)

We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved. I am directing my campaign to work with the Obama campaign and the commission on presidential debates to delay Friday night's debate until we have taken action to address this crisis.

I am confident that before the markets open on Monday we can achieve consensus on legislation that will stabilize our financial markets, protect taxpayers and homeowners, and earn the confidence of the American people. All we must do to achieve this is temporarily set politics aside, and I am committed to doing so.

Following September 11th, our national leaders came together at a time of crisis. We must show that kind of patriotism now. Americans across our country lament the fact that partisan divisions in Washington have prevented us from addressing our national challenges. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country.

Let me see if I'm understanding this, Mr. McCain: The general election, during which my fellow citizens and I gather together to exercise our Constitutionally granted right to decide who gets to lead our nation for the next four years, is slightly over a month away, and you think that it would be more patriotic to not hear the two guys running for the job publicly outline precisely what their positions are and what they have planned for the next four years? You think it would be more patriotic to go up to Washington, D.C., and…do what, precisely? Bicker? Posture? Pose? Act all heroic for not providing the proper oversight for the last eight years?

In fact, Mr. McCain, most of the serious holdouts against this bailout are members of your party! You remember them, right? The guys you've been furiously trying to distance yourself from ever since your convention?

Here's my answer, Mr. McCain: no. In fact, hell no. As a candidate for president of the United States, you owe it to the people of this country to meet your opponent in a public forum for an open debate on the issues. You should be able to do this and lend a hand in ending our country's economic crisis. Nobody said the job of president would be easy: Having to handle multiple responsibilities seems to be the least part of the job.

I mean, for God's sake, man, this isn't freeze tag; you don't just get to call "Time out!"

And, by the way, I resent your comparison of the current economic crisis to Sept. 11. To equate a vicious attack on our country from outside forces with a foreseeable and avoidable economic meltdown caused by greed and neglect trickling down from the very top of our political infrastructure is to distort and smear the facts until they are unrecognizable from fantasy. Frankly, I'm insulted.

And to imply that it is unpatriotic to continue to run for president when this country so obviously needs someone at the top who can accomplish something? That's beyond insulting; it's un-American.