Writing in Time’s Swampland blog, Joe Klein says John McCain‘s handling of the current bailout negotiations and the decision to suspend his campaign point to a lack of measured response to times of crisis:

“John McCain faced another crisis yesterday–a political one, not the financial emergency he used as an excuse for his rash actions–and once again he overreacted. This is becoming a pattern (as is his “greatest crisis since…” formulation: yesterday, since World War II; previously–on Georgia–since the end of the cold war), and it is not very reassuring behavior in a potential President…

“Happily, in the end, McCain did the responsible thing…but he did it foolishly, in a panicky fashion. He did support the emerging compromise. He took the Democrats’ modifications–on oversight, homeowner and taxpayer protection, and restrictions on payouts to the executives who made these disastrous decisions–and made them his own. His support will help widen the majority of legislators who will support the bill.”

Read more here.