I honestly can't see any downside to this for Barack Obama. From the AP a few minutes ago:
John McCain is challenging Barack Obama to join him in 10 town hall meetings with voters between now and the Democratic National Convention in August. McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting, sent his Democratic rival a letter Wednesday outlining the offer. He suggested the first town hall be held June 12 in New York.
Diidn't Obama also mention something like this weeks ago? And given the contrast between their rhetorical styles last night - and the fact that Obama simply appears much more vital than McCain - how could these go wrong for us?
Let's discuss this below the fold.
More from the AP:
He said President Kennedy had made such an agreement with former Senator Barry Goldwater for the 1964 election before Kennedy's assassination.
"I don't think we need any big media-run production, no process question from reporters, no spin rooms," McCain said. "Just two Americans running for office in the greatest nation on earth, responding to the questions of the people whose trust we must earn."
Of course, the devil may be in the details. Does McCain want these carried exclusively on Faux News? June 12 is a week from tomorrow: Does that give the campaigns sufficient time to hammer out the details?
Still, I am intrigued. How about you?
Update: Here's the reply from the Obama camp via MSNBC (thanks deaniac83):
The Obama campaign issued a statement welcoming the idea.
"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," his campaign stated. "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."
Brilliant! The more times Obama can evoke Lincoln this year, the better.
"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," the statement said.