I just heard that John McCain is in negotiations to return to David Letterman next week around the time of the last debate. I don't think Barack Obama should let Senator McCain have a monopoly on the talk show circuit during the last four weeks of the campaign.
Senator Obama needs to hit the talks shows again during the last month of the campaign. BIll Clinton used the talk shows to great effect when he was running for President in 1992 and 1996 and Barack Obama should do the same.
I think Barack Obama will get a very enthusiastic response with the Tonight show audience and with the Letterman audience.
I would even go so far as to suggest appearances on Rachael Ray, Bonnie Hunt, and Ellen. The View would be another good place to make an appearance. I most definitely think he should also make an appearance on Oprah.
He could even consider appearances on Jimmie Kimmel's and Craig Ferguson's shows although since they are on so late and their audiences are relatively small he simply might not have time for these shows.
Getting an enthusiastic response from talk show audiences while garnering a large amount of free publicity in front of millions of Americans is a good way to further connect with voters during the last four weeks of the campaign.
I think right now what Americans really want is to get to know Barack Obama better as a person. The talk shows are a great place for that. If Americans get to a place where they feel completely comfortable with Barack Obama (and I don't think undecideds and leaners are there yet), it could be the final piece of the puzzle for Senator Obama's quest for the Presidency.
If time is a concern I would suggest hitting the talk shows in New York and Los Angeles all on one or two days. As for Oprah you can go on her show on a day when Senator Obama is back in Chicago (if that's going to happen again before the campaign is over).
If you want to make sure he spreads his talk show appearances out over the whole month have him do a campaign appearance in say Colorado or New Mexico or Nevada and then make a quick flight into Los Angeles for a talk show appearance. The same could be done with New York after campaign appearance in any of several important battleground states like Virginia or North Carolina or Ohio.
I'm adding a poll to see what Daily Kos readers think of this suggestion.