Bipartisan negotiations on the proposed $700 billion Wall Street bailout reached a stalemate last night after House Republicans, widely believed to be acting on behalf of John McCain, raised last minute objections to the plan. McCain is supposedly stalling the talks to avoid debating Barack Obama.

Personally, I don’t think John McCain is scared of debating anyone. As he constantly reminds us, McCain spent five and a half years in Vietnamese prison. A war hero like him isn’t afraid of a little deficit in the polls and he certainly has no reason to fear a debate.

People who can’t understand why John McCain doesn’t want to save the finance industry forget that he’s a Maverick©. While all the other leaders in Washington are fighting to save us from an economic meltdown, John McCain is probably trying to do the exact opposite because he remembers what a great character builder the Great Depression was for him as a young toddler or something.

On the other hand, maybe it’s all just a miscommunication. Perhaps John McCain really wants the bailout negotiations to succeed, but when President Bush was trying to conclude the talks he insensitively tallied the votes by asking everyone in favor of the plan to raise their hands.

Talks Falter on Bailout Deal [Washington Post]