Opinion: John McCain to Barack Obama: Let’s talk -- to the people
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Our colleague Maeve Reston reports from Baton Rouge that John McCain, the war veteran, wants a little direct engagement with Barack Obama: A series of town halls beginning June 12. The initial response from Obamaland -- not a bad idea. And apparently the two sides aren’t planning much of a summer vacation.
Reston reports that McCain has raised the idea before, citing the never-held sessions agreed to between Barry Goldwater and John Kennedy for the 1964 election. McCain told supporters this morning he had sent a letter to the Obama campaign suggesting the joint appearances.
‘I don’t think we need any big media-run productions, no process questions from reporters, no spin rooms -- just two Americans running for the highest office in the greatest nation on earth responding to the concerns of the people whose trust we must earn,’ McCain said. ‘I even suggested we travel to them together on the same plane; it would probably help out on energy savings. Given our expenses, I know my campaign would agree to it.’
McCain wants 10 joint town-hall meetings over the summer, ending before the Democratic National Convention, each held before 200 to 400 voters with an independent moderator.
From David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager: ‘As Barack Obama has said before, the idea of joint town halls is appealing and one that would allow a great conversation to take place about the need to change the direction of this country. We would recommend a format that is less structured and lengthier than the McCain campaign suggests, one that more closely resembles the historic debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. But, having just secured our party’s nomination, this is one of the many items we will be addressing in the coming days and look forward to discussing it with the McCain campaign.’
Considering the little spurt of synchronicity between Obama and McCain Tuesday on transparency, we’re astounded by all this agreeableness. Can it last? Um, probably not.
-- Scott Martelle
