In an extraordinary development in American political history, US Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is refusing to meet his rival, US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), for a previously scheduled and long anticipated debate on foreign policy at the University of Mississippi on Friday, September 26, 2008.
Senator McCain, who has not cast a vote in the United States Senate since April of this year, does a disservice to American citizens.
It is unclear at best exactly what McCain's presence in Washington would achieve on Friday. The Congress has already been working the entire week on emergency legislation to address the country's financial mess without McCain.
The American people vote for president once every four years: there is no greater responsibility of American voters than to make an informed decision.
Far from providing leadership, McCain's last minute chicken flight is a disservice to Americans who want, and deserve, to know what the two leading presidential candidates think about the foreign policy direction of this country.
If McCain's vote is required---to pass or defeat---a bill, the Congressional leadership will surely let him know. In the meantime, McCain should keep his commitment to debate Obama on the vital foreign policy issues facing the United States.
He owes it to the voters!
