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Would McCain attack less if there were town-hall debates?

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It’s not surprising at all that the Washington Post’s David Broder would prefer to see the presidential candidates stick to responsible, substance-driven campaigns. It’s also not surprising that Broder would enjoy a series of town-hall “debates” between the two candidates.

What’s odd, though, is seeing Broder try to connect the two, suggesting the lack of the latter has a causal relationship with the lack of the prior.

The first question I asked John McCain and then Barack Obama was: How do you feel about the tone and direction of the campaign so far?

No surprise. Both men pronounced themselves thoroughly frustrated by the personal bitterness and negativism they have seen in the two months since they learned they would be running against each other.

“I’m very sorry about it,” McCain said in a Saturday interview at his Arlington headquarters. “I think we could have avoided at least some of this if we had agreed to do the town hall meetings” together, as he had suggested, during the summer months.

First, it’s interesting that McCain is “very sorry” about the tone of the campaign now, given that it was just one week ago when McCain told reporters, “I’m proud of the campaign that we have run. I’m proud of the issues that we have been trying to address with the American people.”

Second, the notion that the campaigns “could have avoided … some of this” if there’d been 15 debates instead of three doesn’t make any sense. It’s a classic non sequitur — whether McCain runs a relentlessly negative, substance-free campaign has nothing to do with his proposal for extra debates.

And yet, Broder really seems to think there’s something to this.

Since the idea of joint town meetings was scrapped, the campaign has featured tough and often negative ads and speeches. […]

When I asked Obama how he thought the campaign could be returned to the issues, he said he hoped that the two conventions would “offer each party a chance to showcase its best ideas” and that the three scheduled presidential debates then “will allow people to see Senator McCain and myself interact in a way that keeps people more honest because you’re standing there face to face.”

I told Obama that McCain made exactly that point in arguing for the early joint appearances. What McCain actually said was: “When you have to stand on a stage with your opponent, as I’ve done in other campaigns, you obviously have a tendency to improve the relationship…. When you have to spend time with somebody, I think it changes the equation.”

Let’s not brush past this too quickly. McCain seems to have told Broder that he’s running a negative campaign because he hasn’t built up a strong enough rapport with his Senate colleague. He wants to “improve the relationship,” and “spend time with” Obama, but since there haven’t been extra debates, McCain feels justified launching a series of ridiculous attacks (which he’s “very sorry about”).

This is terribly silly. If McCain wanted to run a substantive, grown-up campaign, he could. Whether there are three debates or 300 is irrelevant. It’s not like McCain and Steve Schmidt got together one day on Cindy McCain’s private jet and said, “Well, I wasn’t going to accuse Obama of wanting to lose a war and of being responsible for high gas prices, but since there are only going to be three debates, we might as well.”

Why would Broder find this message compelling?

When Broder pressed the point with Obama, he responded, “I think the notion that somehow as a consequence of not having joint appearances, Senator McCain felt obliged to suggest that I’d rather lose a war to win a campaign doesn’t automatically follow. I think we each have control over ourselves and our campaigns, and we have to take responsibility for that.”

What a concept.

Comments

  • TomB

    says:

    I don’t understand why Obama didn’t agree to some town-hall debates or appearances with McCain. Maybe my bias is blinding me, but I can’t help but think that he would come across as far more substantial, intelligent and in touch with voters than McCain. To me it’s a missed opportunity because I really don’t see a downside.

  • Ed

    says:

    The closer election day comes, the more ridiculous McCain looks. His campaign’s essential failure to grasp the nature and tone of new media is what’s going to undo him as a candidate. You can’t reverse positions so rapidly and then expect people not to notice these days. There are no whistlestop tours of the Internet.

    Be that as it may, the American people are still very easily fooled. It’ll be a lot closer race than it really should be come November.

  • rege

    says:

    I think we are getting a better picture of who John McCain is and why the press loves him. He’s a charmer who will say exactly what he thinks the current listener wants to hear. This is what he’s been doing this to the press for years. This works as long as long as no one compares notes. Now with the scrutiny given to a major party nominee the notes are being compared.

  • TR

    says:

    I don’t understand why Obama didn’t agree to some town-hall debates or appearances with McCain.

    I think we’re seeing it. McCain wanted it badly, and by denying him that pleasure they (1) got McCain’s crankiness going and (2) forced McCain to spend his time campaigning in more traditional ways. Both make him look worse, and when the debates finally do get here, the anticipation levels will have been hyped from McCain’s end, and Obama’s performance there will look so much the better.

    P.S. On (2), the Daily Show had more extensive footage of McCain at Sturgis. Holy shit, is he awkward on the stump. He makes Bob Dole look smooth.

  • Jesse

    says:

    I think we have to wonder why exactly McCain is willing to do additional debates only if they are in the town-hall format. Is it only me that finds it obvious that this style would leave the event open to corruption from an unscrupulous candidate willing to get his “people” to plant completely partisan but supposedly “uncommitted” people in the audience to ask custom-tailored questions which make him look better?

    This isn’t an idea I’ve seen anywhere else, and I’m just curious why that is. Am I crazy for thinking that this is why McCain wanted them, and why Barack refused (knew his opponent would take the low road and unwilling to do the same to fight it)? Maybe there’s another, more obvious reason that I’m not seeing…

  • JC

    says:

    I don’t understand why Obama didn’t agree to some town-hall debates or appearances with McCain.

    The only way McSame can draw a crowd is if he goes somewhere where a crowd already exists. His desire for town hall meetings with Obama is so that Obama can draw a crowd. The town hall concept is all plus for McSame and no real plus for Obama.

  • Racer X

    says:

    Why would anyone volunteer to spend time talking to someone who basically accuses him of treason?

    I agree with Jesse, McCain wants the “town hall” because that’s how he can get someone else to fling the poo at Obama. He can tut-tut and look “presidential”, and still get the poo flung on national TV.

  • Ed

    says:

    I totally agree with TomB — perhaps the Obama campaign wanted to see how far out the limb McCain would go before they’d have to start sawing? From the looks of it, they may never need to put saw to wood…

  • sparrow

    says:

    McCain as President and Broder as Press Secrtetary. What a concept. Two dottering old fools leading us into the land of Oz.

  • Greg

    says:

    I think we’re seeing it. McCain wanted it badly, and by denying him that pleasure they (1) got McCain’s crankiness going and (2) forced McCain to spend his time campaigning in more traditional ways. Both make him look worse, and when the debates finally do get here, the anticipation levels will have been hyped from McCain’s end, and Obama’s performance there will look so much the better. – TR

    I disagree, Obama is just giving McSame ammunition to use against him. He refused to debate Clinton after Pennsylvania, before several critical contests, and now the perception is that he is continuing to run scared by refusing to show up for the town hall debates which he promised to do. This makes him look weak, scared, and once again is going back on his word.

    I would like to buy Obama a pair and super glue them to the area where his balls used to be, maybe then he could start rebounding in the polls and remove the doubt from the minds of the democrats who are starting to have buyers remorse.

    God help us.

  • brent

    says:

    I don’t understand why Obama didn’t agree to some town-hall debates or appearances with McCain.

    Obama did. He proposed that they have two townhalls. McCain wanted ten and he rejected Obama’s offer.

  • Bob Dole

    says:

    TR: “[McCain makes Bob Dole look smooth.”

    Indeed. Seeing McCain read really simple lines from a piece of paper is just sad. After Vietnam the guy has just cruised through life and hasn’t even had to learn to do a decent stump speech. And his personality is so fake, he comes across as really jovial, but the stories about him publicly calling his wife a cunt tell you all you need to know about his true nature. I’d rather have a root canal than have a beer with such a cranky old jerk.

  • Racer X

    says:

    McCain wanted ten and he rejected Obama’s offer.

    Yep. And McCain would have gotten ten free advertisements.

    Now he’ll have to ask Exxon for some more money.

  • Greg

    says:

    Obama did. He proposed that they have two townhalls. McCain wanted ten and he rejected Obama’s offer. – brent

    Do you have a link to an article about this? I’d be interested to see it, because this is the first I’ve heard about it.

  • TR

    says:

    I’d rather have a root canal than have a beer with such a cranky old jerk.

    You’re not alone. Obama won the have-a-beer-with poll by 52% to 45%.

    Now that the Democrat is leading that all-important metric, the media doesn’t seem to care anymore.

  • Katie Chop

    says:

    I think this would go under another of John McCain’s famous flip-flops: 73. McCain was “proud” of the way his campaigning was going before he was “very sorry” about the negative tone.

  • TR

    says:

    Here’s the last I saw on the debate negotiations.

    http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/mccain-obama-debate-debate-deals/index.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

    The traditional proposal was three debates, McCain wanted ten town halls, and then Obama offered a compromise — three traditional debates, a fourth town hall on the economy, and a fifth debate on foreign policy.

    McCain rejected that compromise, and talks pretty much ended at that point. They’d secured what they needed — a media narrative that Obama was refusing to give McCain everything he wanted — and that was that.

  • N.Wells

    says:

    First, it’s interesting that McCain is “very sorry” about the tone of the campaign now, given that it was just one week ago when McCain told reporters, “I’m proud of the campaign that we have run. I’m proud of the issues that we have been trying to address with the American people.”

    I’m not sure that he’s simply telling people what they want to hear. That must be part of the explanation, but he clearly can’t keep himself from insulting his wife in front of reporters, and he seems unable to refrain from uttering simple and unneccessary contradictions, so I think he has poor impulse control combined with poor judgement. There’s so little connection between what he says now and what he’s going to say tomorrow that I suspect that for him more depends on what sounds like a good answer depending on the immediate context, rather than on his past thinking on the question.

  • Dennis_D

    says:

    Broder’s next suggestion – Obama and McCain should share all of their small dollar contributions. The negative attacks are done to drive up small dollar contributions. If the candidates pooled their small dollar contributions, then the need for negative attacks would go away. What’s that – that would be a huge boon for McCain and huge hit for Obama? Well, some sacrifices have to be made in the name of bipartisanship and the High Road.

  • olo

    says:

    Dems taking advice from broder again? …would be big pile of stupid.

    A fighter doesn’t need 15 rounds debates to deliver a win. In fact three rounds is too many for a great one. (We do love our sportaphores)

    But an election is a timing game, more like futbol than fighting. A fight can end anytime after it starts. A scrimmage has a clock and must carry on till the anointed instant. A team can build a big lead & coast to a win (Ike 1952) or stay close and score big & late to win in the closing. (49rs vs Cowpukes in ‘1981 with “THE CATCH”).

    I think Barry will stay close then drill a few 3-pointers late in the debates = pull away & that will be, as they say “History”

  • Mick

    says:

    I don’t understand why Obama didn’t agree to some town-hall debates or appearances with McCain…To me it’s a missed opportunity because I really don’t see a downside.

    McCain had been portraying himself as the leader with the experience, the candidate ‘in control’ of foreign policy issues (he was going to show this young Obama character a thing or two about politics).

    Giving into what were basically McCain’s demands for debates (less than a day after wrapping up the Democratic Primaries) would have given the McCain Camp free face time to the public since it virtually had none. Obama’s camp did a good job of slamming the brakes on McCain’s demands and did a great job of keeping him from grabbing any spotlight. No wonder McCain has been screaming the CELEBRITY!!! mantra. McCain was out maneuvered after positioning himself to swoop in and was left stuttering and dumbfounded after being shut out. He looked ineffectual. After Obama didn’t play ball, he wasn’t left with much (an empty coffer and a forgotten platform to stand on). But what did he expect – a free pass to the presidency? I actually think he did. And I actually think he was banking on his own celebrity to get him there. He’s John McCain afterall. I don’t think he had a plan B if the ‘in-control’ & ‘experience’ schtick didn’t work.

    McCain’s vicious Plan B was handed to him by his party. (I don’t think Obama’s camp was expecting this one althought they should have). It’s a strategy that may seem ridiculous to people who pay attention but it may work in the long run. It’s no longer about experience really, it’s about energizing the anti-Obama vote to gain momentum and traction in polls, followed by pandering to the independent vote closer to the election.

    At this point if McCain doesn’t mop the floor at the debates he’s pretty much done. A lot has already been decided. If he even comes across as old, tired, or cranky – the camera will not be forgiving (especially side by side Obama). Becareful for what you wish for Senator…

  • brent

    says:

    Do you have a link to an article about this? I’d be interested to see it, because this is the first I’ve heard about it.

    That’s interesting. I had assumed that it was common knowledge with respect to the debate negotiations. Here is one article I just looked up on google:

    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/5837182.html

    but I actually remember reading a fairly long piece on it over at TPM back when McCain first made his ridiculous proposal to do 10 debates.

    My sense of this is that TR is basically right. McCain never wanted to do 10 townhalls. He just wanted to put the perception out there that Obama wanted to avoid debating him face to face.

  • bcinaz

    says:

    I don’t believe for a minute that McSame would ever have agreed to unfiltered town hall meetings. You know, with some democrats and some republicans, on a stage where he would have to stand there looking short, old and pale, spitting out his confusion.

    Especially up against a guy with vast and deep understanding of ALL the issues facing Americans today.

    There may have been one – however, McSame would have found the experience more than a little humiliating and would not have participated in another.

    My fear now is that Obama is going to appear so much more competent, intelligent, empathetic and charismatic face to face with the old white dude, that some might perceive the contrast very negatively. And if the old white dude totally loses it – the rageaholic come out – Obama will be on thin ice almost immediately.

    I’ve been thinking about this a lot – If McCain forgets where he is and blows his top – the Presidential Termperment thing will be obvious to everyone – However is it a win for Obama or would the sympathy trolls come out of the woodwork and somehow use McCains unteated PTSD against Obama?

  • Lance

    says:

    TomB said: “I don’t understand why Obama didn’t agree to some town-hall debates or appearances with McCain.”

    JC said: “The only way McSame can draw a crowd is if he goes somewhere where a crowd already exists. His desire for town hall meetings with Obama is so that Obama can draw a crowd. The town hall concept is all plus for McSame and no real plus for Obama.”

    Exactly. The Town Halls were just a cheep stunt to get free airtime at a point when everybody thought Obama was going to vastly outraise JSMcC*nt’s funding. Turns out it was not quite so bad for the RNC, and they are using their money the way they always do, lying to the American People about their opponents.

    “Why would Broder find this message compelling?”

    Broder asked JSMcC*nt why are you being so negative and JSMcC*nt replied “I didn’t want to be, but Obama wouldn’t come to my Town Halls (boo hoo!)”. And Broder, being a twit, bought it and wrote a whole f**king column on it too.

    What a waste of paper.

  • slappy magoo

    says:

    2. On August 7th, 2008 at 10:32 am, TomB said:
    I don’t understand why Obama didn’t agree to some town-hall debates or appearances with McCain. Maybe my bias is blinding me, but I can’t help but think that he would come across as far more substantial, intelligent and in touch with voters than McCain. To me it’s a missed opportunity because I really don’t see a downside.
    _____________________________

    It’s a snake-eating-its-own-tail thing. McCain would’ve only accepted Obama accepting his offer, no less. That’s a lot of town hall debates where McCain would look like a complete and utter dolt, and Obama’s command of the language, the stage, his ideas and his own sanity would shine through. In fact, the more this happened, the more the media narrative would be Obama’s TOO hard on McCain. He looks TOO good, it’s like he’s going out of his way to make McCain look bad. YES, we GET IT, Barack, you’re a smooth talker, are you finished beating up the old man already? The old WHITE man? Come on, enough’s enough, you’ve had your fun, now leave McCain alone, he’s a war hero, fer chrissake…

    Next thing you know, Fox News is jumping over Barack for not being “respectful enough” of McCain during the debates. Right-leaning editorial cartoonists are drawing caricatures of Obama mugging McCain with a dictionary, and next thing you know, everyone’s hailing McCain as the Jake LaMotta-like fighter (because Hillary co-opted Rocky) who went up against a younger scrappier “hungrier” opponent…but didn’t ever get knocked down.

    Who the f*** needs that? Obama doesn’t. As it stands, Fox News and the supposed legitimate news outlets will have post-debate focus groups who will, by and large, decalre McCain the winner even if McCain literally sh*ts himself on stage (“a bold statement on what Washington politics has REALLY become”). Anyone who watches the debates will know it’s nonsense…but the low-info voters who tune in afterwards (when their “stories” are over) to just gleam the basics of the event will see person after person say “John McCain, home run, John McCain, home run, Barack Obama, out of his league, too young, too inexperience, talks pretty but what does he STAND for, John McCain, war hero, maverick McMavericky Maverickson of the Cape Cod Mavericksons…and the conventional wisdom will be so.

    Don’t get me wrong, I fully expect Obama to hand McCain his ass during the debates. I just don’t expect it to be reported as such. So why should Obama agree to be underrepresented, and accused ot being offensive to an old war hero, THAT many more times? He’ll make his points within 3 debates.

  • BuzzMon

    says:

    So we see that McCain can add blackmail to his list of questionable activities. Let’s see, do everyting I want (no compromise, that’s for wimps) or my Rovian campaigners will hurl so much crap at you, something will have to stick. Hey it worked against Bill Clinton.
    But it won’t be my fault, and they’d probably do it anyway, they’re like rabid dogs.

  • joey(bjobotts)

    says:

    the 13y/o Broder brain never grows up. I couldn’t stand to watch McCain talk that much…didn’t Broder watch McCain’s performance at the republican debates? McCain would use the ‘debates’ to lend credibility to his being a viable alternative candidate merely by appearing. What ‘nice’ things can be said about McCain now that he’s shown his capability for lying (it amazes me how pundits refer to lying as negative campaigning).

    McCain is saying, “I could be better…I really could…if only we could have more town hall meetings and debates (with obviously biased toward me moderators to help)”. My god, with the Bush radicalism McCain agrees with and promotes what makes people think there wouldn’t be fights breaking out at town hall meetings between supporters. There is no compromise with thugs, no debate with proven failure and disaster. Broder needs to STFU with his annoying and shallow insights.

  • Greg

    says:

    This and other articles like it are what I heard about, I guess the excuses that were given by the Obama camp didn’t make it big on the mainstream media.

    Obama backs away from McCain’s debate challenge

    WASHINGTON – Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Saturday backed away from rival John McCain’s challenge for a series of joint appearances, agreeing only to the standard three debates in the fall.

    In May, when a McCain adviser proposed a series of pre-convention appearances at town hall meetings, Obama said, “I think that’s a great idea.” In summer stumping on the campaign trail, McCain has often noted that Obama had not followed through and joined him in any events.

    Obama’s reversal on town hall debates is part of a play-it-safe strategy he’s adopted since claiming the nomination and grabbing a lead in national polls. Advisers to the Illinois senator, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss strategy, say Obama is reluctant to take chances or give McCain a high-profile stage now that Obama’s the front-runner.

  • Chad

    says:

    I seem to recall Obambi saying “anywhere, anytime” when asked about the townhall debates. I have yet to hear of him accepting any of those offers. To me, that makes Obama a chicken. Townhalls is an opportunity for everyday people like you and I to ask questions to those who aspire to be the next POTUS. Taking it to the people and letting them decide. No scripts, no teleprompter, no cards, just straight honest answers. From what I’ve seen, Obama can’t give straight answers.

    IMO, Obama is afraid to be in a townhall with McCain. He’ll stutter and stammer up there and be genuinely lost.

  • Steve

    says:

    I think everyone can safely say that those McCain “townhalls” would have been like competing against a loaded pair of dice in a crap-shoot planned, staffed, and back-funded by the guy who wants to steal everything you own, max out your credit cards, put your name in every government database as a close associate of ObL, sell your kids to a Chinese sweatshop, rape your wife, and kill your dog….

  • Cal Gal

    says:

    “Why would Broder find this message compelling?

    Because he’s a senile old woman.”

    As a senile old woman, I resent the comparison.

  • Bose

    says:

    If McCain wanted rapport with Obama, he could have shown up on the Senate floor for key vote or two.

  • Steve

    says:

    From what I’ve seen, chaddie, McFlippy can’t function unless (1) the audience is “fixed” heavily in his favor, (2) there’s a platoon of “reporters” ready to ‘report” the pre-supplied fairy tale, and (3) the “handlers” are ready-and-waiting to revise, expand, and redefine what The Great White-Haired-Dude Guy just said.

  • Patrick

    says:

    Poor McCain. He is hurt and angry that Obama isn’t spending enough time with him. He is being bitchy to him cause Obama doesn’t pay attention to him as much as he used to. If they could just spend some quality time together and Obama would listen to him, maybe he could make Obama care more about his feelings. Maybe Obama likes somebody else better. Time to spread some nasty things about him. I know, say he is hanging out with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. That will make him notice McCain again. He will have to talk to him then. If he gets really mad, she can just slap Obama in public and really make a scene. Hell hath no fury…

  • Greg

    says:

    I’m no McCain fan, but honestly a debate or two couldn’t possibly hurt Obama any more than he is already hurting in the polls. Rasmussen has him beating McSame by 1 point for the 7th straight day in a row, and he is now ahead by 3 according to Gallup, but only because McSame lost a point not because he gained any.

  • Always hopeful

    says:

    Chad, you should have your testosterone checked. It isn’t all about a dog fight. Obama’s strategy of not having town halls worked in his favor because he had all the money at the time and didn’t want to give McCain access to huge audiences that would come out to see Obama for FREE. There will be debates and we will see if your theory holds true. IMO just seeing each one of them in separate campaign stops, McCain is a stammering fool and he has no one opposing him.

  • ET

    says:

    No. Because he doesn’t have anything else.

    He has nothing to run on.
    He is running away from the Republican brand, except when he isn’t.
    The base doesn’t love him.
    There is little enthusiasm for his candidacy and for many individual members.
    Campaign dollars aren’t what they usually are for Republicans.

    I am sure I can think up a few more with more though.

  • Lance

    says:

    Greg said: “I’m no McCain fan, but honestly a debate or two couldn’t possibly hurt Obama any more than he is already hurting in the polls.”

    Obama is winning the electorial college. Who cares about a nationwide head to head?

    JSMcC*nt needed Obama to give him something McC*nt can’t get himself, and audience of more than 100 people. Why give him that?