I thought this was very appropriate.  I’m not a Chris Matthews or Hardball fan, but he hit the nail on the head with this interview.  He flat-out asked a representative from the Obama campaign to speak to Obama’s legislative accomplishments.  This guy couldn’t even name one – that’s right,  not even one – legislative accomplishment that Obama has made during his extremely short time in the US Senate (or Illinois State Senate for that matter). This is the M.O. for the Obama campaign. 

Yet, people talk about Obama like he is the second coming – the future of politics – the next generation of global leaders – and all that garbage.  He hasn’t even done anything, yet he can throw buzzwords like “change” and “hope” around all day long, and the MTV Rock the Vote folks eat it up like he’s doing magic. 

I’ve said it before and I will continue to say that Obama supporters flock to him like moths to a flame; however, even they cannot provide substance to his movement.  The bulk of American voters – and I mean people that actually turn out to vote on Election Day (not young people who wear t-shirts and join Facebook groups, but will be too busy come the second Tuesday in November to actually figure out where they go to vote) – see through this joke. 

Not only are Obama’s supporters unsure of exactly what it is their candidate brings to the table, Barrack Hussein himself lacks confidence in any sort of substance that he knows will be expected of him by voters in the General Election. 

The WSJ is reporting that the Obama campaign has rejected McCain’s call for 10 joint appearences at townhall-like meetings where the two candidates would have a chance to respond to issues that voters care about most. 

These meetings would represent the next generation of presidential debates, getting rid of the canned questions and responses that have become commonplace in today’s political “debates” (you can’t even really call them debates), and instead adopt the approach that statesmen and political leaders used at the founding the country where they openly discussed the issues that citizens actually cared about.  This gives the candidates a chance to respond directly to voters, while also being able to challenge each other’s policy agendas and platforms. 

The problem for Obama – and his campaign realizes this better than anyone – is that he has no substance in his proposed ”agenda.”  BHO knows that if McCain has a chance to question him outright about his alleged stances on certain issues and do it in front of actual voters, he will be dead in the water. 

Let’s be clear about one thing - presidential campaigns are very careful and calculated about the decisions they make – they don’t decide against something like this because it is best for the American people.  The only reason campaigns decide against debates or forums is because they realize their strategic positioning going into these events is unstable and could cost them greatly.   

Indeed, the whole process of negotiating debates in campaigns is probably one of the most interesting aspects of any campaign, and even perhaps the only real interesting aspect.  Campaigns hire high-paid arbitrators and negotiators to work “across-the-table” from their opposition on selecting the time, city, venue, audience, format and media access for every debate.  They will negotiate how many debates will take place; what part of the country they will be held (ideally you want to be in a part of the country that is “friendly” territory for your campaign); what the format will be (i.e., moderated, townhall-esque, open, etc) and essentially every single detail all the way down to how many passes will be allowed for campaign members and what kind of soft drinks will be in the candidates’ green room.  This part of a campaign is the closest thing to true business-like operations that campaign politics presents. 

With all that being said, McCain has called for open debates, instead of the typical forums where one candidate is asked a softball question that essentially just provides a number of mini timeslots for them to give their stump speeches.  Today’s “debates” have just become an open session for candidates to give all of their speeches that cover individual policy platforms.  The only real challenge for the candidate is to make sure he (or she) recalls the speeches when asked.  Further, these have become more of a “how do I look in this tie …” kind of thing, rather than a true debate where candidates can discuss real issues and respond to real questions from voters.

Obama has agreed to one – that’s right, I said ONE – of these forums.  I can predict their strategy and can almost picture the Obama campaign team sitting around the table discussing it.  They will use this one meeting as an opportunity for Obama to get all of his key buzzwords in while talking about general items that can’t hurt him any, meanwhile staying away from any substantial policy issues or striking any true debate between he and McCain.  He will also take the opportunity to jab McCain in a couple of areas and will undoubtedly attempt to associate McCain with George W. Bush and the GOP “establishment.”  He can do this, because 1) he knows McCain won’t go personal (that’s not his style); and, 2) there won’t be any other opportunities for McCain to strike back, because they’ve only agreed to one forum. 

I guess you can say its pretty smart from a tactical standpoint, but it also makes Obama appear like a scared little kid who, when challenged to meet his opponent behind the gym after school to duke it out, will be seen running towards the school bus as soon as the bell rings.  Typical, yet not surprising. 

The biggest thing that the GOP has going right now is that McCain is the underdog.  The Obama supporters are focusing more on planning his inauguration dinners instead of campaigning because they assume he’s got this in the bag.  They think that just because there is a lot of media hype surrounding Obama at this point and there are tons of young people jumping on the bandwagon, that will be enough to give him ”fifty plus one.” 

These assumptions and Barrack’s hubris (not to mention his gross inexperience) will hopefully be what saves this country from serious consequences that would come from an Obama presidency. 

I thought this was very appropriate.  I’m not a Chris Matthews or Hardball fan, but he hit the nail on the head with this interview.  He flat-out asked a representative from the Obama campaign to speak to Obama’s legislative accomplishments.  This guy couldn’t even name one – that’s right,  not even one – legislative accomplishment that Obama has made during his extremely short time in the US Senate (or Illinois State Senate for that matter). This is the M.O. for the Obama campaign. 

Yet, people talk about Obama like he is the second coming – the future of politics – the next generation of global leaders – and all that garbage.  He hasn’t even done anything, yet he can throw buzzwords like “change” and “hope” around all day long, and the MTV Rock the Vote folks eat it up like he’s doing magic. 

I’ve said it before and I will continue to say that Obama supporters flock to him like moths to a flame; however, even they cannot provide substance to his movement.  The bulk of American voters – and I mean people that actually turn out to vote on Election Day (not young people who wear t-shirts and join Facebook groups, but will be too busy come the second Tuesday in November to actually figure out where they go to vote) – see through this joke. 

Not only are Obama’s supporters unsure of exactly what it is their candidate brings to the table, Barrack Hussein himself lacks confidence in any sort of substance that he knows will be expected of him by voters in the General Election. 

The WSJ is reporting that the Obama campaign has rejected McCain’s call for 10 joint appearences at townhall-like meetings where the two candidates would have a chance to respond to issues that voters care about most. 

These meetings would represent the next generation of presidential debates, getting rid of the canned questions and responses that have become commonplace in today’s political “debates” (you can’t even really call them debates), and instead adopt the approach that statesmen and political leaders used at the founding the country where they openly discussed the issues that citizens actually cared about.  This gives the candidates a chance to respond directly to voters, while also being able to challenge each other’s policy agendas and platforms. 

The problem for Obama – and his campaign realizes this better than anyone – is that he has no substance in his proposed ”agenda.”  BHO knows that if McCain has a chance to question him outright about his alleged stances on certain issues and do it in front of actual voters, he will be dead in the water. 

Let’s be clear about one thing - presidential campaigns are very careful and calculated about the decisions they make – they don’t decide against something like this because it is best for the American people.  The only reason campaigns decide against debates or forums is because they realize their strategic positioning going into these events is unstable and could cost them greatly.   

Indeed, the whole process of negotiating debates in campaigns is probably one of the most interesting aspects of any campaign, and even perhaps the only real interesting aspect.  Campaigns hire high-paid arbitrators and negotiators to work “across-the-table” from their opposition on selecting the time, city, venue, audience, format and media access for every debate.  They will negotiate how many debates will take place; what part of the country they will be held (ideally you want to be in a part of the country that is “friendly” territory for your campaign); what the format will be (i.e., moderated, townhall-esque, open, etc) and essentially every single detail all the way down to how many passes will be allowed for campaign members and what kind of soft drinks will be in the candidates’ green room.  This part of a campaign is the closest thing to true business-like operations that campaign politics presents. 

With all that being said, McCain has called for open debates, instead of the typical forums where one candidate is asked a softball question that essentially just provides a number of mini timeslots for them to give their stump speeches.  Today’s “debates” have just become an open session for candidates to give all of their speeches that cover individual policy platforms.  The only real challenge for the candidate is to make sure he (or she) recalls the speeches when asked.  Further, these have become more of a “how do I look in this tie …” kind of thing, rather than a true debate where candidates can discuss real issues and respond to real questions from voters.

Obama has agreed to one – that’s right, I said ONE – of these forums.  I can predict their strategy and can almost picture the Obama campaign team sitting around the table discussing it.  They will use this one meeting as an opportunity for Obama to get all of his key buzzwords in while talking about general items that can’t hurt him any, meanwhile staying away from any substantial policy issues or striking any true debate between he and McCain.  He will also take the opportunity to jab McCain in a couple of areas and will undoubtedly attempt to associate McCain with George W. Bush and the GOP “establishment.”  He can do this, because 1) he knows McCain won’t go personal (that’s not his style); and, 2) there won’t be any other opportunities for McCain to strike back, because they’ve only agreed to one forum. 

I guess you can say its pretty smart from a tactical standpoint, but it also makes Obama appear like a scared little kid who, when challenged to meet his opponent behind the gym after school to duke it out, will be seen running towards the school bus as soon as the bell rings.  Typical, yet not surprising. 

The biggest thing that the GOP has going right now is that McCain is the underdog.  The Obama supporters are focusing more on planning his inauguration dinners instead of campaigning because they assume he’s got this in the bag.  They think that just because there is a lot of media hype surrounding Obama at this point and there are tons of young people jumping on the bandwagon, that will be enough to give him ”fifty plus one.” 

These assumptions and Barrack’s hubris (not to mention his gross inexperience) will hopefully be what saves this country from serious consequences that would come from an Obama presidency.