Republican presidential nominee John McCain made a surprise announcement yesterday saying he would be suspending his campaign to return to Washington and work on the proposed $700 billion economic bailout.

But it turned out it wouldn’t be that easy. McCain requested that the presidential debates be postponed as well, but Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said the campaign and debates scheduled for Friday at Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. should go on.

Maybe Obama will have to debate himself.

So far, there has been no change in the debate schedule according the Commission on Presidential Debates, but nothing is certain. Changes and questions are rising daily as the House and Senate debate what the bailout will ultimately include. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson continue to get grilled on their proposal, which has included questions from Texas lawmakers.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) used his time on the Joint Economic Committee to ask Bernanke how the government would pay for the bailout. Bernanke agreed they were seeking an increase in the national debt ceiling.

Doggett said:

“You testified, not just in answering my questions in front of the House Budget Committee, but in numerous other places, about the dangers of soaring national debt. We’ve added $3 trillion and I think before this we were on our way to $4 trillion in more money borrowed from overseas, foreign creditors by President Bush than all the presidents in U.S. history put together.”

Texas Republicans are no happier with the proposal, especially since it means taxpayers are on the hook. Regardless on ideological standpoints, there is a consensus among Democrats and Republicans that something must be done, but how the proposal should ultimately look continues to evolve.

This leads us back to the debates. No one really knows when a solution will be completed, but many are betting it won’t be by Friday. So who will look more presidential when all is decided, McCain or Obama?

The irony is that the topic of the debate will be on foreign policy and national security, considered one of Sen. McCain’s strengths. How much the current economic crisis could be included in this debate would probably have to rely on the effect global markets have felt from the U.S. economy. Otherwise, a serious debate on this issue won’t happen until the final debate, which centers on domestic and economic policy.

The truth is, no one will be on Capitol Hill at 8 p.m. Friday. We could all just move on as planned, especially with only 40 days left to decide.