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Obama disingenuous about debates

by thoughtfulconservative

Obama says,

“The McCain-Palin ticket, they don’t want to debate the Obama Biden ticket on issues because they are running on 8 more years of what we’ve just seen,” Obama said. “And they know it. They know they don’t have new ideas to help you send your kids to college, they don’t have new ideas to help you get health care, they don’t have new ideas to help you get increased waged. [emphasis mine]

Except that’s exactly what McCain wanted to do,

Under McCain’s plan, the candidates would have met once a week between June and the Democratic National Convention at the tail end of August. Though it left room for negotiation of details, the McCain camp suggested that the candidates appear together for 60 to 90 minutes at each meeting and take “blind questions” from members of an audience ranging from 200 to 400 people.

And Obama declined.

Posted on September 13, 2008 at 2:45 pm in 2008, Elections, presidential   |  RSS feed |   Reply   |   Trackback URL

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10 Responses to “Obama disingenuous about debates”

    
  1. scott
    September 14, 2008 at 10:35 am

    His point is quite valid: Republicans this election cycle especially, do not want to make the election about issues. They want to make it about character and narrative and hot button politics. They do not want to talk about health care reform. They do not want to talk about tilting the tax code back in favor of the middle class. They’d rather talk about hockey moms and POWs

    Reply
  2. thoughtfulconservative
    September 14, 2008 at 2:40 pm

    As mentioned in the post, his point is not valid. McCain offered to talk about the issues in town hall meetings, but Obama, knowing his weakness in that arena, declined.

    So now they’re in a pissing contest instead of discussing the issues.

    Reply
  3. Bruce
    September 14, 2008 at 2:52 pm

    Makes no difference who you vote for, Government always gets in.

    Reply
  4. scott
    September 15, 2008 at 2:05 pm

    There are two things going on here, Dean. First, Obama did decline McCain’s debate proposals. This is good campaigning. When you’re ahead (as he was), you do not give your opponent a bunch of media exposure. Especially since he, Obama, looked to have a bunch more money for paid media exposure than McCain did. He refused it for the exact same reason McCain proposed it: it would have been good for McCain in terms of media exposure. This was a sound decision on Obama’s part.

    Second thing is issues. Just because you don’t agree to eight debates in a particular format that your opponent proposes does not mean that you aren’t engaging in issue politics. Campaign speeches and media appearances can be issue-oriented or not. It isn’t tied exclusively to a head-to-head debate situation. Besides, there’s no guarantee that any debate would be focused on issues rather than “character” and other nonsense.

    Reply
  5. thoughtfulconservative
    September 15, 2008 at 6:09 pm

    I agree with both points, i.e., it was a sound decision on Obama’s part and debates don’t guarantee that issues will be discussed, but it doesn’t make him less disingenuous; it just explains it. The reasons may be valid, as Democrats look at it, or not, as Republicans look at it.

    Reply
  6. scott
    September 16, 2008 at 11:37 am

    Who is talking more about “the issues”? Who is talking more about jobs? Who is talking more about the economic problems we’re having? Who is talking more about health care reform? I think the answer is, as usual, the Democrats.

    Town hall debate, my butt. McCain suggested it because he was behind, not because he had a deep concern that “issues” weren’t being addressed. He suggested it because he was losing, and because he believes he is at his best in that format. Obama declined, not because he doesn’t want to talk about issues (he’s doing so every day), but because it would have given his opponent an opportunity to gain ground.

    Reply
  7. Jenn
    September 25, 2008 at 7:45 am

    I love how they call them all debates as if we are talking about the same thing. Town Hall Meetings sound home and nice, but the have no Moderator. MCCain has been so adiment about it, frankly I would not be surprised if he were planning to plant questions from “regular folk”. Then actually blaming Obama for the distorted negavite “tenor” of the his campaign because Obama doesn’t fall for it.

    Reply
  8. Jenn
    September 25, 2008 at 7:47 am

    OOPS , lots of typos above!! Sorry.

    Reply
  9. thoughtfulconservative
    September 25, 2008 at 8:01 pm

    NP on the typos, Jenn, but wow. It seems some left of center folks are really frothing at the mouth.

    ‘Cuz it seems, the Democrats are the ones who have experience in planting questions. And planting questioners in others’ town hall meetings.

    News media does their share at these “debates.”

    The administration has done its share.

    So maybe it is standard practice.

    This site (3rd column, third paragraph under the heading “Miscellaneous suggestions”) recommends as much,

    Planting questioners in the audience frequently helps stimulate discussion by the group.

    I’m probably going to have to moderate my own comment now. Great.

    Reply

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