McCain Response to Obama Debate Letter

“John McCain looks forward to debating Barack Obama as often as possible, but it's disappointing that Senator Obama has refused his offer to do joint town hall meetings. We understand it might be beneath a worldwide celebrity of Barack Obama's magnitude to appear at town hall meetings alongside John McCain and directly answer questions from the American people, but we hope he'll reconsider. The American people expect and deserve no less. Unfortunately, it appears that Barack Obama's tough-guy talk on ‘duels' this week was just more empty words. Americans are quickly coming to the conclusion that it's better to look at what Barack Obama actually does and not listen to what he says.” --McCain spokesman Brian Rogers

Barack Obama Said He Would Debate "Anywhere, Anytime"

Barack Obama Says He Would Debate John McCain "Anywhere, Anytime." OBAMA: "I am happy to have a debate with John McCain and George Bush about foreign policy. If John McCain wants to meet me anywhere, anytime, to have a debate about our respective policies in Iraq, Iran, the Middle East or around the world, that is a conversation I am happy to have. Because I believe that there is no separation between John McCain and George Bush when it comes to our Middle East policy and I think their policy has failed." (Barack Obama, Media Availability, Watertown, SD, 5/16/08)

· Watch Obama Say He'll Debate John McCain “Anywhere, Anytime”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMGgyPm9kh4

Barack Obama Called Joint Town Halls With John McCain A "Great Idea" And Said "That's Something That I Am Going To Welcome." "McCain suggested the first town hall be held June 12 in New York and said he would love to fly there on a plane with Obama. He said President Kennedy had made such an agreement with Sen. Barry Goldwater for the 1964 election, though neither was their party's nominee at the time. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963. A McCain adviser first floated the idea last month. At the time, Obama said, 'I think that's a great idea.' 'Obviously, we would have to think through the logistics on that, but ... if I have the opportunity to debate substantive issues before the voters with John McCain, that's something that I am going to welcome,' Obama said in Bend, Ore., in May." (Libby Quaid, "McCain Urges Joint Town Halls With Obama," The Associated Press, 6/4/08)

Yet, Barack Obama Has Rejected Joint Town Hall Meetings

Barack Obama Has Rejected Joint Town Hall Meetings. "Avoiding town hall meetings and rejecting public campaign financing may be predictable strategies for minimizing one of McCain's greatest strengths and exploiting one of his key weaknesses. But they pull Obama down into the cynical political calculations he pledged to rise above." (Editorial, "Obama's Big Words Ring Hollow," St. Petersburg Times, 6/20/08)

Joint Town Hall Meetings Called "The Largest Step Toward Improving The Content Of The Presidential Election"

The Washington Post's David Broder: McCain's Idea "Could Turn Out To Be One Of The Best Things To Happen To Our Politics Maybe Since The Enfranchisement Of Women." "This simple-sounding idea, which stirred no great excitement last week, could turn out to be one of the best things to happen to our politics maybe since the enfranchisement of women." (David S. Broder, "Let The Debates Begin," The Washington Post, 6/8/08)

The Washington Post's David Broder Calls Town Hall Meetings "The Largest Step Toward Improving The Content Of The Presidential Election." "The Obama camp said it found the notion 'appealing,' and with that, what may be the largest step toward improving the content of the presidential election became a genuine possibility." (David S. Broder, "Let The Debates Begin," The Washington Post, 6/8/08)

· Broder: "A Genuinely Important Development." "Because the Clinton speculation consumed so much of the oxygen, a genuinely important development drew much less sustained attention than it deserves. I am referring to the challenge from John McCain to Barack Obama to hold a series of 10 joint town meetings starting this month and continuing perhaps until Election Day." (David S. Broder, "Let The Debates Begin," The Washington Post, 6/8/08)

· Broder: "Having so many of them will reduce the stakes for each one. Starting them early will also make them more manageable. Keeping the format simple, as McCain suggests, will also help. Encouraging the candidates to talk directly with each other, and with the voters who put questions to them, will help keep the dialogue fresh and the exchanges pointed." (David S. Broder, "Let The Debates Begin," The Washington Post, 6/8/08)

Editorial Board Across Nation Have Criticized Barack Obama For Not Agreeing To Joint Town Hall Meetings

Cleveland Plain Dealer: "Obama has no plausible answer for dodging McCain's town hall challenge, except that no candidate who is ahead likes to take unnecessary chances or give a trailing rival exposure. He initially accepted McCain's offer, saying he just wanted to work out some ground rules. Although the format for such joint appearances seems pretty obvious, this, too, is apparently impossible to negotiate. There's a danger here for Obama. Many Americans are still forming their impressions of him. If voters are really as hungry for change as it appears, does he really want them to think he's just another politician?" (Editorial, "Obama's Tactics Are At Odds With His Words About Change," The Cleveland Plain Dealer, 6/24/08)

The Dallas Morning News: "We've been smitten with the idea of more joint appearances in less structured formats from our presidential candidates for some time. Long before we knew Barack Obama and John McCain would be the nominees, we liked an idea from Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute for weekly face-offs in a variety of formats, one a week from Labor Day to Election Day. Not the only idea, just a good one. Our excitement grew this month when Mr. McCain challenged his fellow senator to 10 town-hall-style appearances, with the candidates effectively shedding their protective wrapping and squaring off armed only with a microphone. Let regular voters, instead of network anchors, ask the questions." (Editorial, "Obama Should Reconsider Townhalls," The Dallas Morning News, 6/19/08)

· The Dallas Morning News: "If Mr. Obama's goal is to address 'the concerns of the American people,' shouldn't he stand side by side with his opponent and take their questions?" (Editorial, "Obama Should Reconsider Townhalls," The Dallas Morning News, 6/19/08)

St. Paul Pioneer Press: "There was more, all of it interesting, if not news-breaking. We were reminded that McCain has invited Obama to a series of town-hall meetings around the U.S. This is a good idea. The two should resolve their differences on the details and make it happen. We've seen the candidates here separately, in the venues that favor them. Next time they come to town, we hope they're together, the young orator and the wizened veteran, in a venue that favors not only their campaigns but also advances our understanding of problems and the tradeoffs involved in addressing them." (Editorial, "Come On Back, Senators, Together," St. Paul Pioneer Press, 6/22/08)

St. Petersburg Times: "McCain's pitch for 10 town hall meetings with Obama starting this month would have changed the dynamics of presidential politics for the better. Those settings would have given voters opportunities to see both men react to real issues with at least some spontaneity in more informal environments. While McCain is more comfortable in such venues than in formal debates, Obama would have had a real opportunity to answer critics who claim his primary talent is speechmaking. His counterproposal of two town hall meetings, including one on the Fourth of July when few are watching television, and the three traditional presidential debates, is not a worthy counteroffer. It effectively kills the idea." (Editorial, "Obama's Big Words Ring Hollow," St. Petersburg Times, 6/20/08)

· St. Petersburg Times: "For a candidate of change, Barack Obama acts an awful lot like a traditional front-runner as he prepares for a general election campaign. The presumptive Democratic nominee for president has rejected Republican Sen. John McCain's proposal for a series of town hall meetings this summer. On Thursday, the Illinois senator announced he is declining public campaign financing for the general election after earlier pledging he would accept it. The candidate who talks of creating a new culture in Washington is not so eager to break the mold when it comes to managing public appearances and raising mountains of money." (Editorial, "Obama's Big Words Ring Hollow," St. Petersburg Times, 6/20/08)