McCain coming unglued?

Yesterday afternoon, the story broke that Sen. John McCain had suddenly decided to "suspend" his campaign, so he could rush to DeeCee to work on bailout legislation negotiations. On top of that McCain threatened to drop out of the presidential debate, scheduled for Friday in Oxford, Mississippi.

My first reaction was that McCain was pulling a bizarre stunt that would doom his already fading chances to win the election.

After seeing what has happened today, I am more sure of it than I was yesterday. Since I am for Sen. Barack Obama, I'm not only happy to see McCain self-destruct, but I remain amazed -- wow! -- that he has chosen to play his cards the way he has.

On top of that, McCain's canceling out on Dave Letterman's show, and Dave's bitter but funny reaction, will be remembered for a long time.

How is any of this making voters feel confident in McCain's ability to make good decisions? After picking Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, and "suspending" his campaign to attend a photo op at the White House, what will the obviously desperate McCain do next?

Although I have admired McCain for several good reasons for a long time, even though these developments are helping Obama, it's sad to see McCain acting like an cranky old man, who is coming unglued.

Update: McCain has reversed himself, yet again. Without a bailout agreement in place, he has decided he will debate.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a McCain supporter, said the Republican made a "huge mistake" by even discussing canceling the debate.

"You can't just say, 'World, stop for a moment. I'm going to cancel everything,'" Huckabee told reporters Thursday night in Alabama before attending a benefit for the University of Mobile. He said it's more important for voters to hear from the presidential candidates than for them to huddle with fellow senators in Washington.

Both McCain and Obama had returned to Washington on Thursday at the urging of President Bush, who invited them to a meeting with congressional leaders at the White House. But a session aimed at showing unity in resolving the financial crisis broke up with conflicts in plain view.

McCain's campaign said the meeting "devolved into a contentious shouting match" and implied Obama was at fault — on a day when McCain said he was putting politics aside to focus on the nation's financial problems.

Click here to read the AP story.