McCain calls for weekly town hall debates with Obama

[Josh/Devilman88]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/04/mccain.town.hall/index.html

Go for it Obama

[Verily]

Politico reported that he basically said yes but wanted to wait a bit to pick up the pieces from the primary first. All of which makes sense.

[Gustaf]

This sounds like a pretty typical political move...politicians generally avoid debating if they can and who wants to be stuck in a town hall? Obama will refuse and then McCain can use it against him. Though, given these particular candidates and circumstances, I can imagine McCain would actually enjoy doing it, so it could be win-win from his perspective.

[7,052,770]

um...OF COURSE Obama is going to accept this, and annihilate McCain in the debates

You have to seriously wonder if McCain is up to the job of president if he doesn't even realize that he's nowhere near as good of a debater as Obama...

[TheresNoMoney]

The Obama campaign thinks it's a good idea and will likely make it a go, but not next week. He needs more time to get things together after the primary and unite the party.

I do love the idea of town hall meetings with both candidates. The Bush-Kerry debates were horribly scripted affairs with nothing but memorized talking points.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I think this would be a really good idea.  Both men have good points to bring up and I think they need to be together more during the campaign.

Does anyone know if these meetings are just until the conventions?  or are they until the actual October debates?  Will they be televised at all?

[jimrtex]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/04/mccain.town.hall/index.html

Go for it Obama

How do they have time for these debates and their duties as senators?  They should resign now so that the Governors of their States may appoint a temporary replacement, and the People of Arizona and Illinois may elect their senator.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Fantastic... a new supposed "gaffe" for the media to exploit every week.

I'm all for it, provided the mainstream media isn't allowed to "discuss" the contents of this debates.

[YRABNNRM]

This would be a fantastic move and would show that perhaps both of these men actually do want to see a change in the political system as it is today. Anyone who follows politics should hope that this comes into fruition.

[JSojourner]

This would be a fantastic move and would show that perhaps both of these men actually do want to see a change in the political system as it is today. Anyone who follows politics should hope that this comes into fruition.

Great post Bob, I agree.

And while I agree that Obama is the much better debater, I am pretty sure McCain does well in town hall settings.  This will not be a cakewalk for my candidate.

LOL -- but will Nader, Barr and McKinney scream bloody murder at not being included?  LOL

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I think it's a great idea.

[Mr. Morden]

LOL -- but will Nader, Barr and McKinney scream bloody murder at not being included?  LOL

They should wear disguises and get themselves into the audience, then ask McCain and Obama leading questions....e.g.:

Anonymous Questioner: "Why is Ralph Nader's lobbying reform proposal so awesome?"

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Where is everyone getting the idea that Obama is a much better debater than McCain? I know John's no spring chicken, but listening to Obama mumble and stutter up at the podium in any setting other than a rehearsed stump speech is painful at times. He's a wonderful orator, but claiming he'll annihilate anyone in a debate is a bit much.

I'd love to see this happen, though, and if Obama is all about the change he talks about, he'd accept it. I heard today he wanted to make it a Lincoln-Douglas style, in which each made scripted stump speeches, which would be sad. I'd be disappointed if he didn't agree to the town hall meetings, but not surprised.

[GPORTER]

I think that this is one of the best decisions that McCain has made so far in this campaign. McCain may not be a Ronald Reagan or John Kennedy or Bill Clinton win it comes to debate skills, but McCain can talk about the issues and he can slam Obama for not having the experience to be President. McCain can say that Obama does not understand the War in Iraq, he just thinks that he does, because Obama has never been to Iraq and McCain has been to Iraq four times. Also on the war, McCain has served in a war and he knows how the war game is played, Obama on the other hand has never served a day in uniform and has not been there to experience war. McCain showed his war experience when he reccomended to surge to the congress and the white house and the surge is working.

Again on foreign policy, Obama says that he wants to meet with many dictators around the world that are our enemies. One of which being the new Castro in Cuba and other dictators around the world.

I think that Obama can be stronger when they talk about domestic issues than he can on foregin policy. But, I believe as George H. W. Bush said of Bill Clinton in 1992. That the only way the Obama can win is to convince everyone just how horrible things are. The economy is not as much in the tank as what Obama, Clinton, and the press will say that it is. They will say that we are in a recession. We are not in a recession. I am not denying that these are hard times, but republicans have a history of working through hard times. Obama may say that the republicans gave no aid to the katrina victims. That is not true, we gave aid to the katrina victims but maybe not as much as some people would have wanted, but we did not totally ignore the katrina victims.

The republicans are stronger going into the fall. McCain has more experience than Obama. Obama thinks that when he is president that the clouds will part and a light will come down and everyone will be happy. This is not the way that it will be, this is never the way that it has been. McCain has experience in difficult times and he will be a better President than Obama.

[12th Doctor]

um...OF COURSE Obama is going to accept this, and annihilate McCain in the debates

You have to seriously wonder if McCain is up to the job of president if he doesn't even realize that he's nowhere near as good of a debater as Obama...

Maybe he is hoping that people will actually care more about the issues than how well someone packages himself.  Imagine that.

[GPORTER]

um...OF COURSE Obama is going to accept this, and annihilate McCain in the debates

You have to seriously wonder if McCain is up to the job of president if he doesn't even realize that he's nowhere near as good of a debater as Obama...

Maybe he is hoping that people will actually care more about the issues than how well someone packages himself.  Imagine that.

I could not agree more.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

um...OF COURSE Obama is going to accept this, and annihilate McCain in the debates

You have to seriously wonder if McCain is up to the job of president if he doesn't even realize that he's nowhere near as good of a debater as Obama...

Maybe he is hoping that people will actually care more about the issues than how well someone packages himself.  Imagine that.

Wow, I didn't even read all of HARRY'S outrageously stupid post. Obama is a mediocre debater at best. He never won a debate during the primary season .. he just didn't lose any.

[12th Doctor]

um...OF COURSE Obama is going to accept this, and annihilate McCain in the debates

You have to seriously wonder if McCain is up to the job of president if he doesn't even realize that he's nowhere near as good of a debater as Obama...

Maybe he is hoping that people will actually care more about the issues than how well someone packages himself.  Imagine that.

Wow, I didn't even read all of HARRY'S outrageously stupid post. Obama is a mediocre debater at best. He never won a debate during the primary season .. he just didn't lose any.

Everyone remember what happened during the primary season when Obama tried to talk about issues for about four minutes?  His poll numbers went down and he lost all most all of the next 10 primaries.

Obama is only a good candidate when he is spurting off idealistic platitudes.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

um...OF COURSE Obama is going to accept this, and annihilate McCain in the debates

You have to seriously wonder if McCain is up to the job of president if he doesn't even realize that he's nowhere near as good of a debater as Obama...

Maybe he is hoping that people will actually care more about the issues than how well someone packages himself.  Imagine that.

Wow, I didn't even read all of HARRY'S outrageously stupid post. Obama is a mediocre debater at best. He never won a debate during the primary season .. he just didn't lose any.

Everyone remember what happened during the primary season when Obama tried to talk about issues for about four minutes?  His poll numbers went down and he lost all most all of the next 10 primaries.

Obama is only a good candidate when he is spurting off idealistic platitudes.

Which debate? I remember the one when ABC was asking him the questions about his relations with a terrorist, Rezko the crook, and Reverend Wright and he looked like he had been shot. When it came to issues, Obama would mostly say he agrees with Senator Clinton but make a slight modification in his policy, like talking to rogue leaders without preconditions, which he now denies he ever said.

Perhaps he doesn't know much about the issues and confuses himself when he talks about them.

It would make sense that he'd want a Lincoln-Douglas style debate, as he can spirt off platitudes rather than interacting with the voter and discussing policy, rather than going on a tangent on how historic his campaign is and how only he can bring change to Washington. He says McCain refuses to acknowledge his accomplishments, yet he refuses to acknowledge that McCain actually HAS brought and FOUGHT for CHANGE in the  Senate for 24 years ticking off a lot of his party members in the process.

What has Obama done? Vote lockstep with his party which gave him the title of most liberal senator in the US Senate.

[Saxwsylvania]

The Democrats have their script - portray McCain as a tired old man who cannot be trusted with the executive office because of his Republican affiliation.  Let us alter their script entirely.

One of McCain's problems is that in a debate format he comes across as irritated.  The Democrats will no doubt want to exploit this.  The McCain we see in the debates ought to be the McCain we see on the Daily Show.  He should never allow himself to be portrayed as "angry old white man".

There is one exception to this.  Any attacks on his character, or any distortions made, must be retaliated to angrily.  Obama will no doubt reference McCain's "100 years" comment.  As soon as Obama does this, McCain has to jump on it.  He must say that Obama is distorting his statement, and has been doing so repeatedly.  And then he must call him a liar.  He should then sneer and say "You say you represent the politics of change, but you're lying about my statements and distorting them to get votes.  You're not an agent of change.  You are one of the most conniving, spineless politicians I have ever seen."

It will make for great TV.  Obama will get pissed (as all politicians get when people see through them).

For every distortion/lie Obama makes, McCain must retaliate in like manner.

This election will about either two people: Barack Obama or George W. Bush.  If the election is about the latter, we lose.  But if Barack Obama is the great social issue of 2008, we win.

I believe one commentator had it right when he put it this way (paraphrased): "The voters want John McCain, but they don't want a Republican.  The voters want a Democrat, but not necessarily Barack Obama."

Fortunately, making Obama unacceptable to 50%+ of Americans should not be that hard to do.  Obama has helped us immensely with his stupid pastor/stupid comments/stupid wife.  We have not even begun to scratch the surface.  This is why Hillary Clinton is staying in the race.  There is still a chance that Obama will be defeated ... before we even get to the conventions.

[12th Doctor]

um...OF COURSE Obama is going to accept this, and annihilate McCain in the debates

You have to seriously wonder if McCain is up to the job of president if he doesn't even realize that he's nowhere near as good of a debater as Obama...

Maybe he is hoping that people will actually care more about the issues than how well someone packages himself.  Imagine that.

Wow, I didn't even read all of HARRY'S outrageously stupid post. Obama is a mediocre debater at best. He never won a debate during the primary season .. he just didn't lose any.

Everyone remember what happened during the primary season when Obama tried to talk about issues for about four minutes?  His poll numbers went down and he lost all most all of the next 10 primaries.

Obama is only a good candidate when he is spurting off idealistic platitudes.

Which debate? I remember the one when ABC was asking him the questions about his relations with a terrorist, Rezko the crook, and Reverend Wright and he looked like he had been shot. When it came to issues, Obama would mostly say he agrees with Senator Clinton but make a slight modification in his policy, like talking to rogue leaders without preconditions, which he now denies he ever said.

Perhaps he doesn't know much about the issues and confuses himself when he talks about them.

It would make sense that he'd want a Lincoln-Douglas style debate, as he can spirt off platitudes rather than interacting with the voter and discussing policy, rather than going on a tangent on how historic his campaign is and how only he can bring change to Washington. He says McCain refuses to acknowledge his accomplishments, yet he refuses to acknowledge that McCain actually HAS brought and FOUGHT for CHANGE in the  Senate for 24 years ticking off a lot of his party members in the process.

What has Obama done? Vote lockstep with his party which gave him the title of most liberal senator in the US Senate.

I was referring to his post-Super Tuesday speech, actually.  The long awaited one when everyone was waiting with baited breath to hear him talk about the issues.

[War on Want]

Obama would crush McCain. Last time I checked McCain has no better debating skills than Obama and I don't think his rhetoric flies with 55% of the American people.

[Saxwsylvania]

Obama would crush McCain. Last time I checked McCain has no better debating skills than Obama and I don't think his rhetoric flies with 55% of the American people.

Obama would crush McCain because McCain has no better debating skills than Obama?  Whatever you say, hack.

[Reaganfan]

McCain wants these because he is great in the townhall format. Obama says "uh" too much and squints.

[7,052,770]

um...OF COURSE Obama is going to accept this, and annihilate McCain in the debates

You have to seriously wonder if McCain is up to the job of president if he doesn't even realize that he's nowhere near as good of a debater as Obama...

Maybe he is hoping that people will actually care more about the issues than how well someone packages himself.  Imagine that.

They don't, but even if they do, Obama still wins.