McCain Doubles Down On Town Halls

John McCain's campaign sees an opportunity in Barack Obama's refusal to accept multiple joint town hall meetings before the party conventions. According to a McCain aide, the Obama campaign has proposed one joint meeting to be held on July 4. That won't work for the McCain folks, who don't believe that folks would be watching television that day. Today, McCain's team acceptd two more invitations: one from Nancy Reagan to be held at the Reagan library, and the other from the daugters of President Johnson to held at the LBJ library in Texas. The next McCain-proposed joint town hall -- actually, the first, because last night's meeting was full of McCain lackeys -- is scheduled for June 19 in Minnesota.

Rick Davis, in a letter to Obama manager David Plouffe, writes that "our negotiations over joint town hall meetings are turning into a debate about process. That is exactly what we have always hoped to avoid, and why we proposed a town hall format that would render many of these process issues moot. As Senator Obama has said, he is prepared to meet "anywhere, anytime" for a town hall."

Comments

Well, Team Hillary's claims that Obama was ducking debates didn't seem to gain much traction for her. Not sure why McCain's team expects the outcome of their efforts to be any different.

Posted by MP | June 13, 2008 2:06 PM

Marc, why would you not include any of the letter from the Obama campaign?

Posted by Dan | June 13, 2008 2:15 PM

McCain had what, a three month lead to campaign and fundraise? Obama is now getting started. Meeting voters face-to-face is more important to Obama who has a much smaller window to campaign.

Posted by David | June 13, 2008 2:17 PM

So, people don't watch TV on July 4th?

I guess most people will be busy flying in one of their many private jets to one of their 10 homes for the 4th.

Posted by Colin | June 13, 2008 2:18 PM

I just read this on Mark Halperin's "The Page" site at Time magazine. I don't think this is Obama's letter to McCain, but it is the Obama campaign's official response to McCain's campaign's town hall letter (the link is http://thepage.time.com/obama-camp-response-to-mccain-camps-town-hall-letter/)

Statement on McCain’s Refusal of Joint Appearances Offer

June 13, 2008

“Barack Obama offered to meet John McCain at five joint appearances between now and Election Day—the three traditional debates plus a joint town hall on the economy in July and an in-depth debate on foreign policy in August. That package of five engagements would have been the most of any Presidential campaign in the modern era—offering a broad range of formats—and representing a historic commitment to openness and transparency.

“It’s disappointing that Senator McCain and his campaign decided to decline this proposal. Apparently they would rather contrive a political issue than foster a genuine discussion about the future of our country.

“Senator Obama believes that the American people deserve an open and accessible debate as they choose between real change and four more years of failed Bush policies, and he welcomed McCain’s invitation to offer voters ‘the rare opportunity of witnessing candidates for the highest office in the land discuss civilly and extensively the great issues at stake in the election,’” said Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.

Posted by JDinBalt | June 13, 2008 2:34 PM

McCain's people know that he's going to come out of the debates a dazed and bloody mess. They are desperately trying to balance this with events where he can come across all "folksy" and not have to answer tough questions requiring details or explanations of his many self contradictions.

Of course if the media treats him with kid gloves the way they did Babbling George in the first 2000 debate (the only way to say George "held his own" is if you were referring to a solo sex act), McCain may come out of it relatively unscathed.

Posted by LFC | June 13, 2008 2:36 PM

David is right. Obama need a month or so to get his general campaign organization in gear before he starts doing any "town halls." He's right not to take the bait.

Posted by Paleo | June 13, 2008 2:42 PM

More Town Halls for McCain will create more opportunities such as this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyBwMy27Aoc

where the Straight Talk Express went Head On with the 3rd Rail...

Posted by Steven R | June 13, 2008 2:44 PM

Is it just me or is this debate about town halls mindnumbingly dull?

Posted by John B | June 13, 2008 2:47 PM

Run Big Brown, run! Run for your life. Duck and hide.

Jockey sized Johnny Mack gonna whip your ass if he catchs up to you.

Posted by robert ethan | June 13, 2008 2:50 PM

Obama is right to take his time and get his general election campaign going. It's not his problem that McCain needs free press.

Posted by CJ | June 13, 2008 2:50 PM

More Town Halls for McCain will create more opportunities such as this:

There seems to be an infinite well of YouTube videos showing McCain flip-flopping on the war, staying in Iraq, taxes, and now Soc Sec. Look for these types of ads to run in profusion come September, painting McCain as a befuddled old man.

Posted by LFC | June 13, 2008 2:56 PM

Why should the Obama campaign give the McCain campaign the free media? Why squander his own $$ advantage?

Posted by jamfan | June 13, 2008 3:28 PM

Arguing over debates. Obama agreed to two pre-Convention debates, which is unprecedented. McCain refused to accept, and now he tries to get in a stupid blame game with Obama. Same old, same old. But we already know John McCain doesn't want to talk about the issues and is ducking unprecedented debates with Barack Obama. Then again, if I was John McCain, I wouldn't want to debate issues like Iraq, high gas prices, health care, trade, etc, either. So a debate about the debate. Boring.

Posted by The Bag of Health and Politics | June 13, 2008 3:33 PM

Obama isn't refusing to debate because he's too busy; he's refusing because he's scared. Obama gives a nice speech, so he wants nothing more than to give a nice speech. Why is he scared of the voters?

Posted by Thomas | June 13, 2008 5:45 PM

Arguing over debates. Obama agreed to two pre-Convention debates, which is unprecedented. McCain refused to accept, and now he tries to get in a stupid blame game with Obama. Same old, same old. But we already know John McCain doesn't want to talk about the issues and is ducking unprecedented debates with Barack Obama. Then again, if I was John McCain, I wouldn't want to debate issues like Iraq, high gas prices, health care, trade, etc, either. So a debate about the debate. Boring.

Uh, what? Are you even following this story? An actual debate is what McCain is proposing: no screened questions or little blinking lights. He's proposing the most open debate format in decades. It's hysterical to watch people try to spin this as a debate about process, because the only reason it is is that Obama won't accept more than ONE such debate. The rest, he wants restricted like all the uninsightful soundbite contests we've seen in the last few election cycles.

And this "Obama's busy setting up his campaign" stuff is unbelievable. Can people really convince themselves of such things? If time were the only issue, Obama could easily have countered with a similar proposal, but pushed back a bit. Instead, he proposed something radically different in format.

And OF COURSE McCain wants these because he looks good. Obama doesn't want them for the same reason. Look at Obama's press conferences; very mediocre. Terrific speaker, but not nearly as good on his feet. McCain is the exact opposite; poor speaker, better in an unstructured environment.

Sorry, but there's no way to spin this for Obama. McCain proposed highly open debates, and Obama wanted nothing to do with it. Period.

Posted by Punditish | June 13, 2008 6:23 PM

When Axelrod, Plouffe, and the writers aren't able to operate the strings, the Garish Mannequin with the Oversized Ears, collapses in a heap on the floor. Inert, lifeless, hollow, and grey.

Even the "rousing speeches" are written by others and read off a teleprompter (disguised as a laptop) in front of his face. The average Nightly News telecaster has more personal involvment in what they read.

Posted by robert ethan | June 13, 2008 7:11 PM

Obama wants to run his campaign on his terms and his schedule, not McCain's. Does anyone really think this is about debating issues? It is about controlling the direction of the campaign - one townhall every week and then use the rest of the week before the next townhall to argue back and forth about the previous townhall. Before you know it, it's November, Obama has not campaigned and people go to polls to vote for the most familiar name. IDIOTS!

The Republicans think they're smarter than everyone. Obama has reserved a "junk food" timetable for McCain - take it or leave it. McCain can go ahead and be crying about townhalls all day from now to the conventions - Obama will just continue to run his campaign.

Posted by Diamond E. | June 13, 2008 7:50 PM

"Well, Team Hillary's claims that Obama was ducking debates didn't seem to gain much traction for her. Not sure why McCain's team expects the outcome of their efforts to be any different"

Obama and Hillary actually debated 21 times. As time went on, Obama did worse and worse.

Obama needs to duck all of the so-called Town Halls, and also needs to cancel the three debates that he has already agreed to.

He is a horrible debater . .an empty suit.

Posted by JPM | June 13, 2008 8:53 PM

I don't think there's a lot of mystery here -- the candidate who's behind in the polls and the fundraising race always wants more debates. Debates provide free media and the appearance of equal stature with the candidate who's ahead. And he can always hope the guy who's winning has some awful gaffe. Or that the press discovers a gaffe where there was none, like Gore's sigh.

For all the same reasons, the candidate who's winning has no reason to risk changing the status quo by agreeing to a bunch of debates.

Obama's winning. Enjoy.

Posted by Rachel Q | June 14, 2008 12:40 AM

Why talk to the voters when you can talk at them? Town halls are for saps who believe in participating in the political system. Give me a media produced Debate Kabuki dance any day! That's what this country needs more of. Maybe we can get Paris Hilton to moderate.

Posted by Doug R | June 14, 2008 2:50 AM

For all the same reasons, the candidate who's winning has no reason to risk changing the status quo by agreeing to a bunch of debates.

Obama's winning. Enjoy.

Telling that this is what Obama supporters fall back on. "Yeah, so what if my guy doesn't want open debates? He's gonna win anyway." Gee, great argument, except that it undermines everything Obama's supposed to be about.

Thanks for confirming what we already know about Barack: that none of this is really about remaking the political process. It's all just dressed up political stratagem. Open debates may not be in Obama's interest, but they're in the interest of the voters. No surprise that he's balking at them, then. And no surprise that his supporters fall back on thinly veiled trash talk to obscure this fact.

Posted by Punditish | June 14, 2008 3:17 PM

July 4th??? July 4th???

Who doesn't see through this?

But: If I'm McCain, I say yes to this debate anyway. Call his bluff.

Posted by Vail Beach | June 14, 2008 5:18 PM

I hope the people will get to hear a debate soon. Speeches don't answer the specofic questions voters need answered.

Posted by NPT | June 16, 2008 11:26 AM