On Thursday afternoon, the Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan emailed reporters about the McCain campaign’s suspension — in scare quotes — noting that “despite ‘suspension,’” Gov. Sarah Palin was still attending a rally and holding a press availability. He pointed toward the “key point” in a new AP story:

Although the McCain campaign said Palin was suspending her activities - McCain on Wednesday called a halt to his campaign to deal with the financial markets rescue plan being negotiated by Congress and the Bush administration - Palin was heading to Philadelphia for a rally at the airport. (emphasis added)

For anyone paying attention, Obama is betting, it will be hard to believe McCain’s stated rationale for evading Friday’s debate if he’s not even going through the motions of halting his campaign.