Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Barack Obama and John McCain Town Hall debate

The second of three Presidential debates will be held tonight, October 7 2008. It will be a "Town Hall" style debate held in Belmont University's Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
The rules as follows:
- It will be Moderated by NBC's Tom Brokaw
- The questions culled from a group uncommitted likely voters in the audience and another one-third from the Internet
- Gallup are tasked with ensuring that the questioners selected reflect the national demographic
- Audience members will ask predetermined questions with no follow-up. The questioner's reactions will not be seen or heard. The moderator cannot ask a followup question nor make comments.
- The candidate's will have designated area where they must stay within. Seats are provided but they may stand.
- The candidate's are not permitted to ask each other questions.
- The stips were agreed upon by both campaigns in partnership with the debate commission.
Read the rule overview from Chicago Sun Times - McCain, Obama deal puts limits on "town hall" debate
Read the Belmont Debate FAQ here

You'd be forgiven for not realising there was a debate coming as the news has focused largely on the serious state of the world Economy. The recent news focus has also been on the descent of civility in both campaigns as the November election looms and McCain trailing, his campaign having to take off the gloves as they scramble for parity.

Interestingly the negativity can be linked to TownHall debates if we are to take McCain's words at face value. In June, he suggested the reason his campaign went negative was due to his opponent's refusal to engage in a series of Town Hall meeting as McCain insisted. Speaking on 'The View', McCain said:
"If we had done what I asked Sen. Obama to do, I don't think you'd see the same tenor of this campaign," he said. "Why don't you ask Obama the next time he's on this show why won't he be in town meetings with me?"
Read the full report from CNN

The rough and tumble TownHall debate format might have ordinarily suited McCain in this new "no-holds barred" climate. But this is a different beast, defanged and tightly defined by both camps under the purview of the Debate Commission . This debate is unlikely to bring out the tables, chairs and foreign objects McCain might need.

As featured previously, a caller speaking to APF pundit Pete Dominick offered this assessment:
PETE DOMINICK: ...Barack Obama why is he refusing to do these Town Hall meetings with John McCain...?
CALLER: I believe the Republican party love to fight in the trenches... I don't see Barack wanting to fight. The American people are like "we believe in the WWF, American football and in your face style...
Listen to the audio here

Below is a new wallpaper featuring John McCain, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama and Joe biden.
john mccain, barack obama, sarah palin, joe biden, town hall, debate, wallpaper
McCain/Palin VS Obama/Biden Wallpaper

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