Last week, Main Street received an opportunity to sit in the front seat of the election, thanks to John McCain’s decision to suspend his campaign to go to Washington to help Congress fix the financial meltdown.

Whether that was an admirable decision by a man who once said he “would rather lose an election than a war” or a political stunt to boost his economic muscle, it did accomplish one thing: The rhetoric of both candidates pivoted to Middle America and working families.

Let’s hope it stays there.

Until now, chin-wagging by the political elite and endless e-mails from the campaigns and the national parties have driven the hour’s story.

“Those clowns make it difficult for those elected ultimately to govern, because governing is reality -- it isn't campaigning,” says Purdue University political science professor Bert Rockman.

Rockman says a lot of focus has been on the wrong things -- sort of like looking at the zookeepers, not the animals.

Voters lose ultimately when politics consumes governing, when style overrides substance, when tough -- usually stupid -- words override reflective thought that might prevent you from being painted into a corner.

Politics is gut stuff. Good government and serious policy-making, in contrast, engage the brain.

“We didn't get to the top of the food chain by out-muscling some of the larger mammals,” Rockman points out. “We got there by outwitting them.”

Now that the campaigns have paused (and perhaps realized that they aren’t just preaching to their respective choirs), what should they be saying?

First, the candidates should ask without preconditions why the current economic crisis happened -- and then not respond with stock answers.

They can't just shout “Regulate more!” without knowing what it is they need to regulate, and under what framework and oversight. Continued...