Obama backs away from McCain's debate challenge

WASHINGTON - Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Saturday backed further away from rival John McCain's challenge for a series of Lincoln-Douglas debates, agreeing only to the standard three face-offs in the fall proposed by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

In a letter to the commission, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said the short period between the last political convention and the first proposed debate made it likely that the commission-sponsored debates would be the only ones in the fall.

"We've committed to the three debates on the table," campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in an interview. "It's likely they will be the three appearances by the candidates this fall."

Asked by The Associated Press if that meant Obama would not agree to any other debates, Psaki said, "We're not saying that."

The first debate planned by the commission is set for Sept. 26 in Oxford, Miss., three weeks after the Republican National Convention concludes Sept. 4. The other presidential debates are set for Oct. 7 and Oct. 15 and the vice presidential debate for Oct. 2.

Plouffe said Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois will be Obama's representative in further discussions with the commission.

What a chicken. A spineless flip-flopping JellyFish.

news.yahoo.com...

Thats the thing about the democratic party this year they know they have momentum and that Mccain is in need of cash .So why would they want free publicity for Mccain.
the Republicans are so low on cash and have so botched all attempt at pushing Mccain with Mccain putting his own foot in his mouth every time he talks.

While Obamma the smooth talker can smooth over everyone of his errors with the ease of a pro
Change we can believe in boom another 1000 converts to Obama

Republicans had better dig deep and pull out Ron Paul out of the hat at the convention. Or they won't see power for 30 years or more.

Unless the Republicans are planning on stealing another Election using E-vote machines and the specter of corrupt judges selecting a president before the vote count ends ,like last time.

Mccain chance to win a fair election o
Ron Paul chance to win the election60%

They are going to debate three times in three weeks. The "debates" that John McCain wants to have are behind closed doors, no cameras, etc. How does the American public benefit from those? We can't watch them!

How exactly does this make someone "spineless and a "flip-flopping jellyfish"?

Debating behind closed doors in front of a pre-selected audience is easy. Standing in front of live cameras, millions of Americans, and debating your opponent on the issues live, hardly seems spineless to me.

McCain knows he can't get close to matching Obama in a debate. His campaign tactics are seething with jealousy. It's pathetic.

Obama talks to Americans every single day. He doesn't back down from the tough questions, such as the other night when he spent 10 minutes talking to some hecklers that wanted their concerns addressed, in the middle of his speech. You don't have to agree with his policies, but the man has courage.

McCain has teenagers making his campaign up as he goes along, and last he mentioned, his weapon of choice in the "battle" against Obama, was a lightsaber. Yeah, let's elect that guy....

McCain wanted to debate Obama at town hall meetings. Obama should take him up on it since he loves them according to an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

What part of the campaign have you enjoyed the most?
I love the town-hall meetings, where I'm just interacting with voters, and they're asking me questions and making comments. There's an exchange there that's real. I hear their stories . . . that actually is what then informs my speeches and the message that I'm delivering.

source

I guess he no longer loves town hall meetings. I will let you decide if it is a flip, flop, isn't what he meant to say, they misquoted him...etc etc..

reply to post by kaffemoka


I couldn't agree more,,, let the debates be natural and televised or at least taped for latter viewing so we can decide on their merits...

reply to post by kaffemoka


That's not entirely true. At least one of the townhall debates, to be held at Ford Hood in Texas, was set to be nationally televised by CBS next Monday night. Obama has refused due to 'scheduling issues' (although the organizers have been offering to work with him on the date), so it appears CBS may have cancelled its plans to carry the event.

Article

[edit on 3-8-2008 by vor78]

Originally posted by solo1
Thats the thing about the democratic party this year they know they have momentum and that Mccain is in need of cash .So why would they want free publicity for Mccain.
the Republicans are so low on cash and have so botched all attempt at pushing Mccain with Mccain putting his own foot in his mouth every time he talks.

While Obamma the smooth talker can smooth over everyone of his errors with the ease of a pro
Change we can believe in boom another 1000 converts to Obama

Republicans had better dig deep and pull out Ron Paul out of the hat at the convention. Or they won't see power for 30 years or more.

Unless the Republicans are planning on stealing another Election using E-vote machines and the specter of corrupt judges selecting a president before the vote count ends ,like last time.

Mccain chance to win a fair election o
Ron Paul chance to win the election60%

You crack me up! Ron Paul is nowhere near a solution. McCain has over a 50% chance of winning, regardless of what you want to believe. Again, the debates will roll around, McCain will pick apart Obama and the vultures will come in to eat whats left.

The reason Obama doesn't want the town hall style debates is obvious. There would be no teleprompters. He would have to answer impromptu questions about his radical stances and why he has flip-flopped just to grab a couple extra votes.

McCain excels at town hall debates. Obama is afraid, that's all.

reply to post by jsobecky


You beat me to it.

McCain would crush Lord Messiah Obama in this type of debate.

Something I have noticed lately is Lord Obama supporters setting up a loss by Lord Obama as a stolen election. Fear is starting to set in. The second coming is in jeopardy.

There is no way in Hades that McCain should be tied with Lord Messiah Obama at this point in time. Lord Obama should at least have a 15% pt lead. It's not happening folks! Lord Obama is a sham and people are noticing!

McCain will win! Yes....there will be riots.

McCain keeps pestering Obama about these townhall meetings (so McCain can get free publicity) and Obama keeps saying no. Every time McCain tugs on Obama's shirt sleeve like a whining child, and Obama has to say "No" again, it's considered "backing further away". LOL

How many times does he have to say "No" before McCain gets it? Obama is not willing to just hand McCain the attention he is so desperately craving. He's going to have to get it on his own.

Get a clue.

Bring on the debates!

Originally posted by solo1
Thats the thing about the democratic party this year they know they have momentum and that Mccain is in need of cash .So why would they want free publicity for Mccain.
the Republicans are so low on cash and have so botched all attempt at pushing Mccain with Mccain putting his own foot in his mouth every time he talks.

Despite all that, McCain and Obama are running neck to neck in this election. This should tell you that Obama is not the annointed one the MSM would have you believe.

While Obamma the smooth talker can smooth over everyone of his errors with the ease of a pro
Change we can believe in boom another 1000 converts to Obama

Without the collusion of the main stream media, his errors would have ended his campaign a long time ago. He's only a smooth talker when he is reading his prompter or the questions he's being asked have been screened beforehand. It's simply an illusion like David Copperfield making an elephant disappear..

Republicans had better dig deep and pull out Ron Paul out of the hat at the convention. Or they won't see power for 30 years or more.

I think they'll win with or withour Ron Paul, but he'd definitely be an improvement over McCain.

Unless the Republicans are planning on stealing another Election using E-vote machines and the specter of corrupt judges selecting a president before the vote count ends ,like last time.

That may very well be the case solo1..

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Don't see why you say McCain is whining like a child when It is your Obama that said he loves town Hall meetings. Of course many people don't realize Obama said this in a Rolling Stone interview. like I said Obama loves town hall meetings and should have accepted the debate.

What part of the campaign have you enjoyed the most?
I love the town-hall meetings, where I'm just interacting with voters, and they're asking me questions and making comments. There's an exchange there that's real. I hear their stories . . . that actually is what then informs my speeches and the message that I'm delivering.

source

where in this statement does it say Obama is chicken and will not agree to a debate??

Asked by The Associated Press if that meant Obama would not agree to any other debates, Psaki said, "We're not saying that."

why don't you stop trying to incite arguments with this type of rubbish.
the truth about obama is damaging enough,.this type of thread undermines our stand on him.

reply to post by Fathom


The town hall format is a type of debate. The advantage is that the voters get the chance to ask the candidates questions. The questions are sometimes uncomfortable, and the candidates need to think on their feet.

That is whay Obama cannot afford to risk these formats. He is no good under pressure, and only appears viable when he is giving a speech in front of thousands where he only needs to mouth platitudes and cliches about "change". Or when he is reading from a teleprompter.

The first time a voter would ask him to define exactly what "change" was, he'd fold like a cheap suit.

But where does it say that he is turning down the debate because he's "chicken" or afraid? This man has just been to Iraq and Afghanistan. He's running for the most powerful office in the world. He may be the first black president of the US. To say he's "chicken" is absurd.

Originally posted by jsobecky
That is whay Obama cannot afford to risk these formats.

That is fantasy.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
But where does it say that he is turning down the debate because he's "chicken" or afraid? This man has just been to Iraq and Afghanistan. He's running for the most powerful office in the world. He may be the first black president of the US. To say he's "chicken" is absurd.

Riiight. He or his campaign manager is going to come out and proclaim his fear. :shk:

Are you serious, or just trolling for an argument?

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


You are right BH, it doesn't say it anywhere that he is a chicken. But he does give the illusion that he rather not get into town hall debates despite saying in a Rolling Stone interview that he loves town hall meetings. Contradictory wouldn't you agree. Let's face it Obama is best in controlled situations. This is not an insult toward Obama. He knows he can't afford to mess up in the debates.

Originally posted by jam321
You are right BH, it doesn't say it anywhere that he is a chicken. But he does give the illusion that he rather not get into town hall debates despite saying in a Rolling Stone interview that he loves town hall meetings.

A town hall meeting is the candidate and the people. That's what he said he loves. Not a debate with the other candidate in a town hall setting.

Or did he say that he loved town hall debates?

And no, it's not contradictory. And he does just fine in debates. I can't wait for the debates!

swing it, smoke it, wing it anyway you want. It is still a town hall meeting except it is a debate. The voters are asking the question and many of those questions would be questions that may stump both candidates. Obama realizes that it will look worse on him if somebody asks him a question that he is unprepared for. I give him credit he is a smart politician. He changes tunes along with the polls and tries to divert everything toward his strengths. However, i believe it would be entertaining to see this kind of debate. If nothing else for the comical relief it will bring to see both candidates stumble through a question they didn't prepare for.

In the other debates it is a lot easier to anticipate what might be asked. Most likely questions about their plans or questions about controversial or flip flop statements they have made. Very easy to prepare for. They will both be very rehearsed for this kind of debate.

I's imagine a lot of screening goes on in these Town Hall meetings, if for no other reason security. With a debate type format, I'd guess both candidates would have an equal say, like a jury selection as to who comprised the forum.

There would be no way for either candidate to salt the audience with people who were sympathetic to their campaign. I think this is why Barack Obama refuses to participate.

Most of Obama's town hall meetings that I've seen, were filled with hand-picked supporters waving signs and banners, that ask rather soft and mundane questions that he can easily answer. He's even gaffed on a couple of these.

In a real debate, he loses the edge of having a pro Obama audience, and the other candidate is also permitted to ask questions of their opponent. This would be a total disaster for Obama. No prompter, no script, no place to run.

It would also be terribly embarrassing to be bested by an old man, that most of his supporters refer to as senile.

It has absolutely nothing to do about not giving John McCain free publicity, it plain and simple self-preservation. I'd run scared too if I were Barack..

[edit on 3-8-2008 by LLoyd45]