From Politico:
Obama: Two more debates, one in Ohio
Obama said Wednesday that he didn't "think anybody is clamoring for more debates."
So he tells the Plain Dealer.
"I think we said we will do two more debates, and at least one of them will be in Ohio," he told the Cleveland paper.
"What we don't want to do is have a debate every few days, given that it is very important for me to actually reach voters, something that may be less important for Sen. Clinton to do because she is better-known in many parts of the country," he said Thursday.
We have such a compressed schedule, it is important for us to be able to travel around Ohio as much as possible. Whenever there is a debate, that is a day that is lost," he said.
More after the fold:
Obama is dead wrong on this one. Plenty of people are clamoring for more debate. I'm in California, and while it's too late here, there are countless of us who are left uncertain and confused about the who to support between senators Clinton and Obama.
And I've heard story after story of people who don't know which way to turn. Please don't say "Well, you're stupid", or "There must be something wrong with you".
Ask radio show host Thom Hartmann. He admits to having a tough time trying to make a decision between the two. He's not playing coy. He has legions of listeners on Air America who don't know who to vote for.
I supported John Edwards. He was able to draw clear distinctions between himself and the other candidates. It was a no-brainer to support him. I fully understand why voters would support either senators Clinton or Obama---each person has their own reasons why a candidate speaks to them.
But unfortunately there are a great many of us who aren't comfortable, yet. I can't tell you how many people I speak with who go back and forth. I agree with senator Clinton that there should be a debate once a week for the next four weeks and I'm disappointed that Obama will only agree to two more meetings.
He says that a debate takes too much time away from the campaign trail? Senator Obama knows full well that he'll get a much bigger audience on television than he would losing half a day on the trail.
This is extremely disingenous positioning on his part. It turns me off and pushes me toward Senator Clinton. I know one thing---John Edwards would have debated either or both, anytime, anywhere. We could always rely on him to turn in a strong performance.
Obama owes it to Americans, if he wants to be our president, to show us what he's made of---if he's as strong a candidate as he says he is, Obama should be excited to have the opportunity to debate. To show his mettle. Unfortunately, right now, he's giving me little comfort. A strong vetting process is what this should be all about.