It's hard to see the logic or value in Republican nominee John McCain's move yesterday to suspend his presidential campaign, thus hoping to avoid his first debate with Barack Obama tomorrow night.

Presidential campaigns took place in 1864 in the midst of the Civil War, in 1932 with the Great Depression and in 1944 during World War II. Suddenly the nation's Republican standard bearer needs to retreat from campaigning because Congress is working on a financial rescue plan.

Three of the presidential and vice presidential candidates in this race, Mr. McCain, Mr. Obama and Democrat Joseph Biden are senators, but their involvement on Capitol Hill is not essential to work on the proposed bailout. In any case, their votes on a package could still be cast once the plan is wrapped up.

Another, less charitable, interpretation of Mr. McCain's action is totally self-serving. It unfolds like this.

The Republicans have mismanaged the economy for eight years, with President Bush in the White House and Mr. McCain as a Republican senator, resulting in the recent dramatic events affecting the nation's financial institutions. The Bush administration proposes an enormous bailout, somewhere above $700 billion in more borrowing which would go largely to the Republican base, the country's rich. But it's bad news for the GOP when Congress, where Democrats hold a slight majority, balks at handing over this huge chunk of taxpayer money to the people who mismanaged the economy in the first place.

The Republican Party and its nominee see not only a rout coming, but also their attempt to blame Democrats for the debacle failing. Trying to head off a landslide vote against him and his party, Mr. McCain tries a rash ploy to slow the Democrats' momentum by crying "crisis."

He also avoids a debate in which he would almost certainly be asked questions on the Republican administration's responsibility for the country's situation and how the GOP's base profits from the proposed solution.

Mr. McCain's campaign move put Mr. Obama on the spot. The Democratic nominee said yesterday in Mississippi that the campaign should go on because "this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who will be the next president." We hope he stays out on the trail.

It is very hard to see how Americans benefit from a suspension of discussion of the issues. The debate is now more important than ever. While Mr. McCain professes concern, his move looks more like an irresponsible campaign trick, directed against Barack Obama and the voters.