Business As Usual in McCainland
With the numerous appearances by McCain campaign staff and advisers today on the cable news channels — and McCain himself scheduled to appear on all three network newscasts tonight — one can be forgiven for wondering what exactly Sen. John McCain meant when he said he would “suspend” his campaign.
Campaign ads continue to air across the country — though, understandably, it might well take a while to pull them all.
However, several campaign advisers accompanied McCain to his office on Capitol Hill, and he even brought one to the meeting at the White House with President George W. Bush and Sen. Barack Obama.
Huffington Post reports that McCain campaign offices around the nation are open for business as usual.
My colleague Joel Gay, over at The New Mexico Independent, did the leg work and actually went over to see what was going on at the McCain-Palin Victory ’08 headquarters in Albuquerque.
“„The parking lot outside the McCain/Palin Victory ‘08 headquarters in Albuquerque was full and the office was buzzing with activity this morning just hours after McCain announced he was temporarily halting his campaign to work on the nation’s economic crisis.
“„Three volunteers sat at a bank of phones in the sunlit front of the office building near Interstate-25 and Jefferson Boulevard Northeast, fielding calls and helping a elderly McCain supporter pick up yard signs and bumper stickers. “Be sure every one gets used,” said one young volunteer. “Oh, I will,” the man replied as he walked out the door with his hands full.
“„In the warehouse-like rear of the building, another dozen or so people put together yard signs, pored over clipboards and grazed at a table laid out with fruit, pastries and drinks. The walls were hung with giant blue McCain signs and banners and a large TV burbled in the corner, tuned to a news channel.
“„Office manager Burley Cain stood talking with an aide, but said he couldn’t answer questions about the campaign suspension and whether it was meant to trickle down to the local level. He referred all questions to regional campaign spokeswoman Ivette Barajas. “Sorry I can’t help you,” he said, then got back to work.
Suspended campaign indeed!
