In June, the McCain and Obama campaigns considered some proposals for expanding the presidential debates beyond the three approved and organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). Obama’s team proposed that both sides agree to the CPD events, plus a debate focused exclusively on foreign policy, plus a town-hall debate, for a total of five joint events. McCain said that wasn’t good enough, and proposed a total of 13 events.
Talks between the two sides, not surprisingly, broke down. As of yesterday, it appears we’re back to the original plan.
Obama’s campaign released a letter this afternoon from campaign manager David Plouffe to the Commission on Presidential Debates only agreeing to the traditional three sanctioned fall debates and single vice presidential forum.
“Due to the late date of the two parties’ nominating conventions, and the relatively short period between the end of the conventions and the first proposed debate, it is likely that the four commission debates will be the sole series of debates in the fall campaign,” Plouffe writes.
Not said is whether Obama is any longer considering meeting McCain for any town hall meetings outside the Commission’s debates. After initial indications in June that some would take place, it appears increasingly unlikely that the two candidates will meet on stage before the first debate at Ole Miss in September.
Plouffe also noted that Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) will be the campaign’s representative when the CPD hosts negotiations on the logistics of the three scheduled debates.
In the letter, Plouffe said that Rep. Rahm Emanuel would serve as the campaign’s debate representative for negotiations with the commission and McCain’s campaign.
The McCain campaign responded by, well, acting like the McCain campaign.
Take a wild guess what the McCain message was.
“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.”
And to think, given McCain’s obvious interest in reasonable discourse, high-minded discussions, and substantive debate, Obama didn’t see the utility in meeting this guy once a week for debates.
Imagine that.