Here's What McCain Should Do on the Debate

John McCain's debate plans are still very much up in the air. The negotiations over the bailout bill have pretty much broken down, so it's very unlikely that any agreement will be reached today. There is a debate scheduled tonight in Mississippi and here's the announcement that John McCain should make:

"My friends, it's clear that the economic crisis we are facing right now will not be solved today. There is still much work to do to ensure that the government doesn't simply give away a trillion taxpayer dollars without getting something tangible in return. The process is difficult, but it will be done.

It's also clear that the American people want to hear from both of the presidential candidates in the debate tonight, so right after this announcement I will be flying to Mississippi to participate in tonight's event.

The subject for tonight was supposed to be "foreign policy", and while the candidates' views on that important issue need to be aired, I'd like to announce right now that I'm open to questions on any issue the moderator would like to address. Given the importance of the economic situation right now, I think a discussion of the current crisis and each candidates' proposals for solutions would be very timely. I'll be glad to address any questions on that issue that might come up.

We shouldn't restrict this debate to one particular issue. As my opponent has stated, presidents need to be able to do more than one thing at a time. Likewise, I think presidential candidates should be ready to discuss more than one issue at a time.

See you in Mississippi."

What would a statement like that do? For one thing, it would cause an immediate change of underwear on the part of Obama. He's been spending weeks memorizing short, trite answers on foreign policy issues and probably has a specially crafted zinger or two that he plans to use tonight. Changing the subject matter would completely throw him for a loop. He would immediately complain, but what's he going to say?

"This isn't fair because I've been studying for foreign policy but now you want me to take a test on economics just because the economy is threatening to meltdown. Waaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

Do it, John. You can use my statement verbatim if you want. It could be a game changer.

UPDATE: Jim Lehrer does not feel constrained by the announced debate format:

The debate on Friday night would appear to play to Mr. McCain’s strengths: Its subject, by the agreement of the two campaigns and the debate commission, is supposed to be national security and foreign affairs. But the debate’s moderator, Jim Lehrer, said Thursday that he did not feel constrained to stick to those two topics, considering what has been going on in the country the past two weeks.

“I am not restrained from asking questions about the financial crisis,” Mr. Lehrer said in an e-mail message. “Stay tuned!”