Joint Town Hall Meetings in Jeopardy

“„

"We are proud to accept the invitation … As Luci Baines Johnson said in her invitation, these meetings offer an opportunity to ‘deliberate the great issues of our time.’ The American people deserve a great debate about the future of our country, and we hope that Barack Obama will join us for these important events at these historic venues."

“„

"What we’ve said is we are happy to do more than the three typical presidential debates in the fall," Obama said. "If I’m not mistaken we’ve gone back with a counter-proposal to them and are in communication with them right now and our hope is is that we will have those negotiations completed soon," he said.

“„

Ten meetings, however, seems unlikely, Obama said, "given all the campaigning that has, that I have to do since we just finished our primary election."

“„

The senator guessed the two candidates would meet less than 10 times but more than three and would probably do so in a "mix of formats."

“„

“Barack Obama offered to meet John McCain at five joint appearances between now and Election Day—the three traditional debates plus a joint town hall on the economy in July and an in-depth debate on foreign policy in August. That package of five engagements would have been the most of any Presidential campaign in the modern era—offering a broad range of formats—and representing a historic commitment to openness and transparency.

“„

“It’s disappointing that Senator McCain and his campaign decided to decline this proposal. Apparently they would rather contrive a political issue than foster a genuine discussion about the future of our country. "