The Fightin' Cardinals

 

I'm sure that there will be plenty written about this later today, but let me just say that I am proud to be a Ball State University alumni along with my fellow Fightin' Cardinal, David Letterman!

 

Dave is usually a pretty mild-mannered guy, and while he might have a cutting wit, he almost always keeps it fairly low-key.

 

Not tonight. Senator McCain was scheduled to appear on Dave's show, and called Dave to cancel, saying that he had to get right back to Washington to deal with this financial crisis...perhaps he'd appear later, and he'd bring Gov. Palin along. Wow, COOL!

 

Well, that ain't gonna happen. Letterman had plenty to say about this, and based on his comments, I don't think Sen. McCain or Gov. Palin will be appearing on his show anytime soon. Dave talked about things like how you don't just "suspend" a campaign. If you feel the need to go back to Washington, that's when you call on your running mate to continue the campaign in your absence. Ohhh, that's kind of a problem there, though, isn't it? (This all came from Letterman, but I endorse his message.)

 

My favorite exchange was Dave quoting McCain: "The economy's about to crater."

 

Paul Shaffer: "Crater?! I barely know 'er!"

 

The backup guest was Keith Olbermann, and you can imagine that he was not very kind to the McCain campaign, either. While Keith was there, they talked about how Dave got a call from Sen. McCain saying that he had to return to Washington right away. Pronto! Without delay! And then they showed footage of him in the CBS studio, sitting across from Katie Couric, as  McCain was attended to by a makeup artist prior to his interview with Katie.

 

Even Craig Ferguson, a guy from Scotland who recently obtained his U.S. citizenship, was disturbed by this. He said something to the effect of how this is the democratic process...you can't just "suspend" it, or slow it down...this is how it works. He said that we didn't "suspend" things because of Pearl Harbor, or the Nazis, or 9/11, or any other crisis that we've experienced in our past. The process goes on, our Election Day is the first Tuesday in November, and you don't just get to STOP the process! I may not have attended the same college as Craig, but I endorse his message, too!

 

As participants in this election, the American people deserve to hear all three debates between the candidates, and the debate between the vice-presidential candidates. This is OUR election, people, and any delay tactics and grandstanding, from either party, is not acceptable. Considering the state of the economy, and the dire straits that we find ourselves in, it's even more important that we get to hear both candidates' ideas and plans on how to fix this. There are 40-some days to go, and in case you've been living under a rock, THIS IS IMPORTANT!

 

 

Tags: Ball State University, David Letterman, John McCain, suspension of campaign, Craig Ferguson