Will Obama and McCain participate in town hall meetings together?

No moderator? Questions from real people? Sounds like the good ol' days of League of Women Voters, before networks took over.

McCain wants the free press that comes with being in the room with Obama: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/04/mccain.town.hall/index.html

I would think with the advantage Obama has with his speaking style this would be a great showcase for his talents. The differences between these two candidates is amazing, I wonder how nasty they will get with NO moderator to stop them.

I am glad you asked this question. I was going to submit it, but you were first.

Obama is VERY good when speaking in front of a teleprompter, but he is less eloquent when answering off the cuff.
I think this format would favor McCain.
I am voting "No".

I actually posted this a month ago when McCain first floated the idea but Obama shot it down since he wasn't the nominee yet.

I would be really curious to see how these go (if indeed they do). I agree Obama isn't as good off the prompter and McCain has spent his entire campaign doing these town halls, so he should certainly have the high ground. On the other hand, McCain doesn't have the charisma and stage presence that Obama does.

McCain's suggestion of weekly town halls seems excessive, but I do hope they get to do several of them.

I went with no as well, I think there may be one and McCain would flounder so with the 3 meeting caveat it's questionable.

No doubt about Obama's charisma and stage presence. Even a blind man could see how powerful it is.

when he declares 'change' and 'hope' and 'hoping for change' and 'change for hope' and 'change for a change' little girls become weak in the knees and faint

lol...
Statistics show many people getting turned on.

Actual text from a recent speech by Michelle Obama:

Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.

So the question is... When/if ever does assertiveness become spookingly authoritarian? I suspect that within Michelle Obama's mind that she considers this to be simply passionate exhortation, but I've listened to the actual taping of this speach and every time I re-read the actual words I can't help but consider that this is overstepping a call to betterment and is something else instead. Inspiration, passion, expecting the best, exhorting, all good things... but require/demand/put down/come out/move out/pushed/engaged/not allowed status quo... these words smack of a deterioration of individual liberties....IMHO

Yeah, people have notices a lot of similarities between B.O. and Jim Jones in San Francisco. They both could work crowds up emotionally, both very liberal, making grabs at personal liberties...

Anyway, I found the comparison very interesting, (& scary too).

@V&H - There is a matter of context to Michelle's speech -- she was talking to Obama supporters. (Not random people on the street or people who don't support him). Barack has said similar things frequently, in fact it may be one of the central pillars of his campaign.. His point is that he can't achieve all this change he talks about on his own. If people believe in the change/hope/world he talks about, then they have to get involved. His plans for VOLUNTARY service: http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/NationalServicePlanFactSheet.pdf

Whether you agree with him or not, or think the rhetoric in that speech was too strong or not, I hope everyone would agree the world would be a beautiful place if we cared about our neighbors a little more and our immediate interests a little less.

Indeed jenni........but the question remains; Gov't mandated "caring"?

Obama's just a bit too Marxist for me

That's why I put VOLUNTARY in caps. Its government encouraged caring not mandated.

BTW, I have no expectation of changing your mind or vote, just wanted to explain my mind and vote. You're certainly welcome to your opinion, but I hope you'll grant me mine as well.

don't want to mix things up too much, but isn't the antichrist supposed to be a powerful orator, who promises change? with followers who blindly accept his ultimate rise to power? who divides the world into those who support him, and 'all others'? who breaks with the church of his upbringing for political considerations?

@ Jenni
I appreciate your comment, your points about context and audience are well taken, and I in no way want to give an appearance that I'm impeding your opinions in any way, indeed the flourishing of opinions, like those showcased on this site is one of the things that makes America great. I also concur that a gracious consideration of others is almost always a path to improvement and by way of context my spouse and I are of different races so I have been exposed to a primarily “Caucasian” style of politics as well as an “African-American” style and I have learned to appreciate the differences between the two. However, Obama, or McCain or any other politician who clamors for the right to lead our country should, I believe, in the best scenario invoke the best in us, but the particular syntax that I hear from Obama's team sounds like something more authoritarian than simply trying to inspire. I am constantly trying to train up my sons with wisdom and discretion and one of the basic tenets I reinforce with them is the need to think critically, to examine, consider and weigh things, not to just accept things without prudent consideration, much like why this alternative news site works so well. If all the HD's were content to just ingest the news without considering it and measuring it for accuracy, honesty and completeness then this site would be pale indeed. Hope this helps, I was not trying to take a jab at you, or Senator Obama, but what I am saying is to listen to all of the candidates’ words, consider them and their actions, experiences and perspectives critically, try to think outside yourself and anticipate ‘the other guys’, point of view and motives. You wouldn't by a house or car without investigating it carefully and our sacred duty to vote should not be treated in a cavalier fashion either. Jen, thanks for all you do to keep this site as good as it is!

Interesting article from our northern neighbors:
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/3549

Big bad Barack flinches
By Michael Bates Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Yet he’s afraid to face a little, gray-haired Arizona senator? A little, gray-haired senator not known for his eloquence or clever repartee. John McCain is no more riveting a speaker than Jerry Ford. He can, however, occasionally string together a sentence or two without notes or a teleprompter or his staff’s justification.

The Democratic candidate voices his willingness to meet face-to-face, and with no preconditions, with the world’s most despicable dictators. When it comes to confronting McCain, however, Barack folds like the Cubs in September.

The reason is, for all the vague babble about change and hope, Barack Obama’s lack of depth, inability to think on his feet, and inexperience will be all too evident. Not that it’ll matter to the Obamamaniacs.

@cognos - those are important points. It reminds me again of Jim Jones in San Francisco, like I said before. Scary stuff.

Also, to V&H's quote, I don't want my neighbors or "village" to care about me or my stuff. That is what friends are for... I believe that "good fences make good neighbors"!

Obamama is afraid to debate Lettuce?!?!

My second favorite McCain gaffe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DqR7zis99I

Has anyone here read "the Audacity of Hope"? It gives you a pretty good sense of where Obama's thoughts are, and why most people don't understand his reactions to these things....

@theonecalledmichael - I did read his book. I made a point to read the books of all the candidates. Usually you can learn alot about a person who writes a book before they decide to become president and aren't restrained in what they have to say.

The title of that book is in itself damning, since it came pretty much straight from Jeremiah Wright - Baracks "spiritual advisor"...

Thought this was an interesting article on the topic: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/us/politics/14web-nagourney.html

@gognos i am very much a political observer and watch your pbs nightly with Jim lehrer i cannot agree with your comment on the antichrist
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/antichrist.asp
also the antichrist being bush if ever there was a lame duck he is one

here is food for thought http://www.bushisantichrist.com/

@curios I don't understand why people get so violently deranged when talking about our President. There never will be any president that we will agree with 100%, but that does not merit the torid outpour of hate and crazy assertions that we see and hear on such a regular basis. Compare him with Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez, or Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe - there are not nearly the outbursts of vitrol about them, and they are evil men.

The antichrist will be a religious leader, who claims messiah-like quaities, to lead people away from Christ. Let's stay rational with our comments.

< just chuckles at PBS...such a sham, sorta like the BBC