Saturday, August 2, 2008

Obama Agrees to 3 Debates with McCain

And it won't include any third party candidates.

Democratic candidate Barack Obama's campaign has accepted a proposal by the Commission on Presidential Debates for three debates with Republican candidate John McCain and one between their vice presidential candidates.

In a letter sent Saturday to the commission, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said Congressman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois will be their representative in further discussions about the debates.

Plouffe signed off on debates for September and October.

Now watch McCain whine about how Obama won't debate him because he is afraid.
Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Saturday backed away from rival John McCain's challenge for a series of joint appearances before the political conventions, 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.

On Saturday, in a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said the short period between the last political convention and the first proposed debate made it likely that the commission-sponsored debates would be the only ones in the fall.

"We've committed to the three debates on the table," campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Saturday in an interview. "It's likely they will be the three appearances by the candidates this fall."

Asked by The Associated Press if that meant Obama would not agree to any other debates, Psaki said, "We're not saying that." She said the McCain campaign had rejected Obama's proposal for two joint town hall meetings.

The McCain campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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