Why can't Barack first campaign on the issues and spend these first few months after grabbing the nomination to introduce himself and campaign like McCain did while the primaries were still going on? It's amazing to me that as soon as he grabbed the nomination, he wants to debate, but not giving him time to introduce himself. Some of the clinton supporters that are going over to McCain side or not voting complain that they don't know Obama, but when he out there trying to get his policies out and where he stands on the issues so you can get a better feel, they complain he's not accepting the challenge with McCain. He'll most likeley wait until after the convention because first he needs to accept the nomination and make it official then go out and debate afterwards. Besides, we still have a few more months to go, so I think it's fair to say we can hold off a little while longer.

Town hall debates…go to South America after you finish touring the Middle East…maybe go back to Iraq one more time before the election.

Only the underdog tries to dictate like this (remember Hillary and the "one more debate").

Obama needs to call his own shots in his campaign. Let McCain whimper about no more town halls while he brushes up on his geography.

The so-called media, is in the "tank"; ither "for this canidate or against the other", totally bias reporting……………look at the "New Yorker", for example………..

Waaah! Whiner! McCain is a whiner. Niner , niner niner. John McCain is a whiner!

Hey, Rip Van Wrinkle, times have changed since you last ran for president, and lost..

John Mc Bush admits that he doesn't know how to use a computer , he is learning how to get on-line????!!!!! Who the heck wants a President that doesn't even know how to use a computer. He is not able to work a computer how would he run an entire country. Mc Cain doesn't know that Czechlosvakia is no longer a country. This man would NEVER be my President and anyone who votes for him is as dumb as he is. Barack will wipe the floor up with him in a debate so Mc Bush supporters better hope he doesn't debate with him. Mc Bush will embarace their party.

McCain what I really think you are saying is …… wait, um, um, um, I'm drawing a blank…..

McCain = Bush

Let me see, Mr McCain is drawing how much disability and retirement from the Armed Forces,How much for being a terminal Senator,How much from Lobbiest kickbacks,not to mention his wifes money interests, and he and his Economic adviser say that the recession is in MY MIND?

McCain hates the fact that everyone of his lies ,misstatments and HUGE Gaffs is INSTANTLY available on the internet. The Days of slow news and minimal information are OVER.

If I had at least 5 gaffs a day I would hate the " Monster" too!

I have to agree with John McCain, a War Hero, oh yeah forgot Obama, how much time did he spend in the Military? the public service? oh yeah thats right 2 years in the Senate, that makes him the best choice to lead the country, right. I agree, CNN soon to be known as the Obama News Network (ONN) keeps telling me how historical it is when we all vote for him and if we don't oh we are all just old white racists. Guess Snoop Dogs going to be SECDEF next too. He is just as qualified as Obama

I think some of the whiners diverted their attention and precious gas and grocery budget to shell out money for the new iPhone..

Please vet for Mccain that has the interest of America under speciak interest and lobbyiest in mind.

DOn't vote for Obama who share your value and your interest in mind.

I hope you will be happy to live your next 4 years as you have lived your last 71/2 years.

The Obamabots won't even show McCain the courteousy and respect of using his real name. They refer to him as McSame, McShame, McBush and other childish references. Yet nobody that opposes Obama can even speak his actual middle name, Hussein, or they are accused of being a racist. Even posting an unaltered picture of Obama in muslim garb is considered racism. Even though Obama had the picture taken because it was in his political best interests at the time. It just happens that it is not in his best interests now, so anybody that posts is a racist. How pathetic.

PUMA — Vote McCain

Mcsame needs to go home and try to do something at home not be a president because he will not remember what he is doing. At this age he needs to think of what is important to him because if he remembers that he is lucky. I am not close to his age but I am a senior and trust me I would not want that job, just enjoying the grandkids and everyday is enough for seniors. He needs to do a decent job and he can not do a decent job at this age he has proven that by his speeches.

I'm an Obama supporter, but i got to tell you, This is the smartest thing John McCain has said.

Obama won't go up against McCain because he really stunk up the joint the last time he went head to head against Hillary. If it is not written down for Obama to read, he will do a poor job. He cannot think on his feet.

Biting the hand that feeds him…

My oh my ! what ever happened to the Jimmy Carter plan for energy and gasoline for your SUV.

Funny how it is coming back to bite both parties on the backside because they were to busy to pay an attention.

Carry on, nothing to see here

Why is McCain the one complaining about this? He's had cushy coverage from the press, while Obama has had to battle relentless coverage about every little thing, whether substantial or not. And yet it's McCain who's complaining and Obama is accused of being a whiner.

During the primary Obama stated he would debate McCain anytime, any place. Now, he changed his mind. What a flip-flopper!

Obama is avoiding the town hall meetings with McCain because, without his speech writers and teleprompters, he is "speechless." There are YouTube videos showing Obama's verbal bumbling in action!

In fact, I doubt Obama's ever had an original idea….it's all from his speech writers…..and so he can't possibly respond extemporaneously in debates. We saw that loud and clear when he debated Hillary. Obama's performance was a joke.

Was for Hillary, now for McCain!

McCain speaking of gaffes was it not you who made a huge one in Pittsburg this past Thursday? You sir, did this all by yourself……Hmmmmm are you sure you want a townhall meeting?

Wow, Obamalism: You live in a scary little world, don't you? Try not to kill too many innocent bystanders when you get into a shootout with ATF at your "compound."

dear Obamalism i will vote no to redneck rule. you stupid angry white man. you dont want to pay more taxes for the U.S. but will have your children pay FOR THIS WAR. you like every other GOP hate this country and should be led to a boiling hot volcano and vanish forever

McNo is just another phony patriot he cant fly a plane what makes you think he can fly as president

In a senate hearings a few weeks ago, a University of Maryland professor, Michael Greenberger said Phil Graham removed the word, energy, from the government oversight papers, in the dark of night.
This is why the price of oil and gasoline is the price it is.
So now we know who to thank!
But the big question is why does not the congress do something to lower the price of oil and gas, now that they know what happened
Could it be that they are in the pockets of big oil?!

IAM a democrat for life
but that does not mean I;ll vote for obama or mccain
they both want to give the U_S_A aaway
I guess if you give some one a free ride for breaking the law you will
let all the law braekers out of jail to

John McCain makes some very valid points. It reminds me of "Kane" in Citizen Kane when he said "If the headline is big enough, it makes the news big enough." The cable networks treat politics as if it were a game where points are awarded for each small gaff. This is an extremely important election. We need a thoughtful media that provides us with the information needed to make a wise decision in the voter's booth.

When I said to a banker friend, "The tax cuts by Ronald Reagan were immoral," (referring to his cutting the maximum income tax rate from 70% on income over $400,000 to 28% on all income over $29,750.); my banker friend told me the truism, "Dick, in capitalism, there is no morality. The only morality is the bottom line of profitability."

That is why for the capitalist, there is no "Inconvenient Truth." If correcting global warming threatens profits, then the correction must be abandoned.

That is why it is not immoral to ship American jobs overseas, because that action maximizes profits for the corporation.

It's ok to destroy unions, because they impinge on the profit-making ability of corporate America.

If there is to be morality in a capitalistic society, it must be imposed by those outside the corporate world; that is, it must be imposed by changing the Tax Code of this country back to what we knew back when this was a kinder and gentler natioln – back to when we were proud to be a Democracy, not a ruthless republic.

McSame needs to stop making jokes about bombing Iran. There's nothing funny about killing innocent people. Didn't he learn from Iraq? I guess not, he wants to stay for possibly 50 – 100 years. Then again he changed that to 2013. Flip Flop! Then he panders to the voters in Pennsylvania saying that he gave the names of the Pittsburg Steelers when he was being tortured. That's funny, he previously stated that it was the Greenbay Packers. He can't keep his stories straight. I'm tired of this phony!

Obama regrets his recent decision to regret his previous postion, which was regretfully someone else's fault.

vice president clinton

or

president john mccain

What I think would be VERY INTERESTING is a town-hall meeting between the two presumptive presidential candidates BEFORE each party's convention and THEN see if the delegates/super-delegates still vote in each of the presumptives. Wonder how the tally would go after such a meeting. Would Sen. Obama have to cancel Mile High or would Sen. McCain have to cancel his arena? Or would they both have to cancel? Any takers???

Obama and his disciples are trying to play out the debates on TV in short sound bites with no response from McCain. Or via their pundits on the major networks, CNN and MSNBC… all liberal news orgs. Barack is avoiding direct debates with McCain because…

DEBATE!!!

John McCain is the one thats afraid of the truth in the daily reports because the surrogates are "his people" and they will be with him after the election when they won't have to worry about letting the "truth" slip out!

John McCain wants to continue the Bush administration policies but, he would like to change the topic and do the meet and greet "baby kissing" like old time politicians!

Why is John McCain and his people afraid of the press?

mccain go home dude were tired of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obama heards goats

There will be town hall meetings and debates between Obama and McCain, but Obama has way too much campaigning to focus on introducing himself. Most people still don't know who Obama is and what his background is. People still don't know he is Christian and not Muslim. Once people know who he is, he'll be able to concentrate on debating McCain.

Obamalism you are a selfish fear mongerer and CNN should erase your post!

It's ok for McCain to constantly misquote or take Obama's and surrogate's comments out of context, but he doesn't want anyone doing it to him. I don't know what he's complaining about, the press is giving him an unbelievable free ride. If Obama or his camp made the statements and blunders that McCain and his people do every day, the press would be unrelenting.

Be kind-he's old and has alzheimer's

CPT Smash: Do you have anything intelligent to add to the comments? He has a son overseas and you don't think he worries about his safety everyday? Just because you don't agree with Sen. McCain's contributions to this country, doesn't mean that you should label him as a killer. It is people like him that give you the freedom of speech. Let's just hope that you will come up with something intelligent next time.

Proud OIF Vet

What a cop-out. McCain just blames the media when he makes insane comments about killing Iranians. Pathetic.

Bitter – New Orleans, LA–You should just put your white robe and your white hat of 3K; you have such hate for Obama.

How many town halls has Regean, Bush I, Clinton, or Bush II done? Give me a break!

The presidential election has about three debates; Obama wants those debates with McBush. It is McBush who wants town halls meetings because the old man thinks he is better at it. Obama has made a counter-proposal that McBush turned down. So forget the town halls and stop whining. You will have the three debates.

"Obama won't do the townhalls. He has too much to lose which should tell you something. He's scared to face a question that he is not prepared for. He did it with Clinton and the voters let him off. This guy needs to be vetted. There are just too many unanswered questions. I want to hear HIM answer the questions rather than a statement read by his staff.

BUT BUT he aggreed to do 5! yeah right. 3 were already scheduled and one he wanted to do on July 4th when few would be watching.

What's he scared of? Americans might actually see who he is through there own eyes instead of the media?"

Really? If obama is so terrified why did he do over 20 during the primiaries? And he did soo bad that he won the nomination. All you people have is the last debate which he got blind-sided with irrelevant questions like "why dont you wear a flag pin" when he was expecting to discuss the issues that are affecting the american people. And when that time came he did just fine, and to say otherwise is just pure, blind hatred.

I agree. It's time to DEBATE!!!

That's funny . When they repeat Obama's surrogates "misstatements" he is fine with it . In fact he continues to repeat them

Wake up gramps.. soon you'll figure out google and everything !

LOL @Czechoslovakia —– yeah that is sooo typical .. he not only needs to learn the internet he needs a NEW MAP !!

Right!

And, the obfuscating Obama is Mr. Prevaricator in person. He feeds the monster media all by himself. Unfortunately for him, it is beginning to do him more harm than good!

McCain 08, the only wise choice!

mcsame you are in no position to tell sen. obama what he should or should not do. he does what's best for him, and you do whats best for you. obama 08

I was a Republican, but not anymore (well at least not this election). Obama is the only way to move forward. McCain is the worst I have seen up for President in many years.

Obama should be the next President.

To "Bitter in New Orleans."
I hope you take the trouble to read the interview concerning Obama's discussion of the entire world, which revealed his broad understanding of global Islam, and how best to address the many problems of the entire world; beginning with our own.
In a debate, McCain's relative ignorance will soon come to light, and the comparison will be illustrative of his comparative inadequacy in addressing a thousand issues with which he is barely familiar; and about which he is seemingly bereft of ideas.
After the 2004 election, European headlines read, "How can 59 Million people be so stupid?"
If Obama is not elected, similar headlines will explode all over the world!

Hey Dictator—If Obama willdo what he thinks is best—THat is the defintion of a dictator—
It's what the people think —
you have no idea what your talking about—that is what is truly scary—even you get to vote—
What a country—!!

MCCAIN IS A IDIOT JUST LIKE BUSH A DANGEROUS IDIOT …. IDIOT=A DANGEROUS AND UTTERLY FOOLISH AND SENSELESS PERSON= MCCAIN !! (YES OBAMA CAN)!!!!

McCain only wants to have these meetings to boost attendance for people to hear him speak. Right now, all eyes are on Obama. McCain just wants exposure. Surely, if all of Obama's surrogates were screwing up and if Obama was mixing Sunni/Shia, Czech Republic, etc., McCain would not want to have meeting with him. if McCain were ahead in the polls, he wouldn't rock the boat either.

In time, they will debate but in the meantime, why give McCain more media exposure than he needs to have.

McCain needs to accept the invitation for the record setting number of debates offered instead of crying like a 2 year old about not having 20 of the same debates before the conventions.

Obama really, if you think he is an improvment you're dreaming. His kind of change with further hurt the U.S. All you have to do is look at the socialist countries in Europe to see where we are heading with Democrats. Just look at what has happened in the past 2 years once they took control of congress.

I'm tired of the whole circus every four years. Let's have a dictatorship just to shake things up a little. Please?

I'm tired of this administration. I'm certainly not going to vote for 4 more years of the same old thing.

Barack the vote.

O/08

Are you WHINING John?

as much as i can't stand mccain, i have to agree with him on this one. The media has too much power. they decide what is important, and what is not based on what gets them ratings, as opposed to what the American people need to hear, so in the end, we the people end up losing!

SHAME ON THE MEDIA!!

but on the other hand, GO OBAMA!!! WE GOT YOUR BACK 100%!!!!!!

I'm not a McCain supporter but credit where credit is due – he's right about this one.

Obama 08 & 12.

Your right McCain–Americans don't want to hear misstatements. They want to hear Presidential sounding statements like "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran…"

Actually, McCain is right about others' misstatements. The media should stick to the ones that McCain makes himself. There's more than enough for everybody to harp about.

McCan't you've had a Free Ride for way to longggggg. Now MY FRIEND they are holding you and your advisers accountable. "NO MORE GAFFE"

McCain actually uttered these words or just handed a statement written by someone else: “We are in a situation today where all words are parsed, all comments are diagnosed and looked at for whatever effect they might have,” he told the newspaper. “We have to feed the beast, the hourly cable shows, the instant news in the blogs and all that. That is just the situation that we’re in, and I’m not complaining about it, because that would be both foolish and a waste of time.”

I'm accustomed to the McCain who is helpless without a teleprompter, can barely read let alone construct a simple declaratory statement on his own. He actually talked about parsing and diagnosing comments. I would have asked him to spell and define the word parse. McCain presents himself as a candidate who is utterly at a loss and incapable of relying on his own faculties. A la McCain responds to Viagara question. Uh…I don't know…I'll get back to you….I don't remember how I voted…. uhhhhhh…. mmmmm…. well I don't know….

Mr McCain …….Obama has yet to agree to a town hall-style campaign eventsYou have yet to ask him personally …….It's always publically as though he is avoiding you ……Call him !!!

Interesting how McCain harps on the fact that Obama wouldn't join him for 10 town hall meetings, but when the Obama camp counter-offered with a mix of debates and a town hall, McCain said his way or nothing. So who is really being intransigent here?

For those of you who for some reason believe that Obama, a Harvard graduate, head of the Harvard Law Review, a lawyer, for crying out loud, is afraid of taking unscripted questions, you must also believe in the tooth fairy. Here's an alternate scenario — Obama has very little to gain, but a lot to lose, in town hall meetings with McCain. There's already been a worked example of this — when W was debating Al Gore. The expectations for W were nil. Al Gore won every debate, and the press said so. But Bush came out of those debates stronger because Gore didn't win them by enough, or he was sighing at the wrong time, or pretty much anything other than the actual content of the debate.

If McCain's attitude is take it or leave it, I think Obama is doing fine by leaving it. Let McCain keep talking to himself about Iranian cigarettes and Czechoslovakia…

I tend to agree with McCain that there is too much focus on every little turn of phrase and that it is due to the 24 hour cable news phenomenon. But that is the reality he is campaigning in and by complaining, he is showing his lack of familiarity with 21st century technology and ways of communicating.

The American voters, Candidate McCain, are tired of George Bush, his policies, his double-standards and his supporters … which include Senator John McCain.

Corrupt corporations using their media clot to advance their agenda. I tuned out MSNBC, CBS, ABC and CNN a long time ago..

Old man yells at cloud.

I can see why John McCain would complain. With all those news cameras, he can't control the image. People are actually seeing him screw up and reveal his true self. The "Straight-Talk Express" facade is cracking and McCain doesn't want anyone to notice. C'mon, it's not the surrogates making "gaffes" – it's McCain himself — Let's count some of them, shall we: Czechoslavaki, Viagra v. Contraceptives, Veteran voting record battle with the veteran, stance on gay adoption, flip-flop on tax breaks and oil drilling, economic problems that are just psychological (McCain said it first – NOT Gramm), and promising to balance the budget in his first term! Anyone who thinks this guy is a centrist is not paying attention. He thinks Roe v. Wade should be overturned, he's a hawk who wants to start more wars, he votes against veterans over and over again, he's against women's issues involving healthcare & sexism, he's against FAIR trade that would protect the American worker against the unfair free trade of NAFTA type agreements, he's against environmental protection and progressive solutions to oil dependence. . . America – please start paying attention.

I'm an independent voter here in Arizona, and I have a question for the folks of CNN.. I was wondering if this guy John McCain running for President that you seem to do a lot of favorable reporting on, and you seem to overlook the completely idiotic things he says on a daily basis, is he related to the McCain that's a Senator here in Arizona? The McCain that's a Senator here in Arizona refers to people of oriental heritage as g word (a very negative slaying). The Senator we have has a very negative voting record concerning veterans rights. The Senator we have said in an interview that; "He was not proud of America until he was deprived of her company". The Senator we have is the only politician that I have seen in my life that is on EVERY single side of EVERY single issue.. So basically, I was wondering if this guy John McCain that's running for President that the media thinks so highly of, if he doesn't win the White House. Is it possible that he could move here to Arizona and run against the McCain that we have as a Senator here now…

I'm not voting for McCain. But here I have to agree with him.

But wait, there is more… McCain doesn't want to debate Obama

Obama has my vote, I could not in my right mind vote for another war mongering President

Saad from NJ, how did you turn this article into your own attack on free market capitalism? Would you prefer a state sponsored news organization so you don't have to make your own decisions about what to watch? By your incoherent rambling I can only guess as to what a total nut job people must think you are when you start spewing our socialist ideas over a cup of chocolate milk at your school's cafeteria.

Americans “don’t want hear the misstatement,” McCain said

If that is the case, McCain should just keep his mouth shut

I am sure Obama will pacify the old man with a couple of town hall meetings, but only after the DNC. Obama needs to get more money and he can't get it, fooling with mccain. Mccain has support from lobbyist and special interest groups and the sale of cindy's beer company.

Obama has only the people to support his campaign.

And Merci, we really don't care about your vote, It is only one

dear mr.mcBush:

—-i'm tired of your and your wife…………

Well said! Cable need news so they will keep it going and going………………………………………….

I, and everyone I know, heartily agree with you, Mr. McCain. 24/7 "news" usually isn't news at all, and it has the additional negative effect of causing people to ignore the real news.

They can't separate real news and junk news after a while. It's a sad comment on journalism American style. The "news" is becoming no more than a vehicle for selling prescription drugs and life insurance.

Hey, America, I have an idea! Newspapers! Read them!

Try it. You'll like it!

This Guy need to get with the new age.Anyone ever explained to this oldtimer about the information age. The world is for ever changing it is not static and information is instant 24/7 this is not the 1930 McPiehole wakeup.

true sen. i am sick of the stupid sound bites. im sick of the campaign supporters blabbering on and on. im sick of seeing obama's face every time i turn on the news. i want to see a debate on the issues. and no sen. mccain, the other guy is never going to agree to town hall meetings. he cant answer a question without a teleprompter, a speech writer, and some one else to copy from.

Bitter: Obama is not scared. There are lots of reasons why Obama did not take McCain up on the Town hall meetings the first time asked/. The first one was to soon after he became the Presumtive nominee, and Obama had his own schedule. He could not just drop everything because McCain said to. Also, if Obama had said yes he would look weak. Obama did respond to McCain. Why did not McCain respond back and sit down with Obama and figure out what would work for the both of them. Doesn't McCain know that life is compromises. What is McCain afraid of?

I would LOVE to see Obama and McCain do a townhall, debate, whatever. I'm tired of hearing Obama sound great from a prepared speech. Let's hear what the empty suit has to say on the cuff. Let's hear some real substance for a change. Talk is cheap, buddy, especially from a speech writer. Let's find out what you're really made of.

I'm not tired of it. The more information the better informed we will be.

Democrats Unite!!!

McCain and Obama use the media every chance they get and then bite the heads of those who feed them. They don't like instant media and bloggers because well–bloggers DO catch every word and God forbid people take you for your word…Instant media and bloggers and Cable TV keep America informed and on track–so back room cigar smoked deals are exposed right away. We The People want to know it all and that is what scares McAmnesty and ObomAsty!!!

"i will not pay more taxes so he can add more cradle to grave social programs. I will not pay more taxes to pander to 'ILLEGAL' immigrants. I will NOT learn Spanish. I will own a gun. I will make my own decisions about my healthcare. I will not allow Iran to become nuclear. I will not pacify terrorist. I will not walk away from a war that we are winning. I don't want the government to pay for my and others gas with my tax money. I won't pay more taxes for the man made global warming hoax. I will not contribute to Al Gores bank account. "

i pray to god you are kidding, but in case not, would you people PLEASE get your news from REAL news sources, and that does NOT include limbaugh, oreilly, and ANYONE on FOX Noise!!! those people are ENTERTAINERS, and not very good ones at that. they prey on your fears and insecurities, and you spout off their lies verbatim. you donthave to like obama, but you DO have to know what you're talking about if you're gonna share!!

your life is going to be ten times better with president obama anyway!

To: Call him UP,

Put a sock in it already. I can't wait until the debates. Obama is going to rip McCain a new one. McvCain continues to tell lies on Obama, just like McCain lied about "300 Economist" gave an approval on his…."Economic Plan", which they later told the media that McCain plan sucks. He is a panderer and a liar, and when the debates come about….he will be called out on all of the flip-flopping that he has done since he got the nod from the Rethugicans. I can't wait!!!

Why call him up? Would he agree to it. No! If you understand Chicago style politics you know Barack is not going to agree to it. When he abandoned his church for political expedience he lost my vote. Whether I like the Church's dogma or not I can't stand a man who will toss 20 years away because he wasn't man enough. He says he believes in a new kind of politics, principles and change we can believe in but he does the opposite. Without the church and its parishioners (well connected pols and affluent community people) he wouldn't have gone this far.

McShame:
Sorry, BARACK is not going to debate on your senile terms, he will debate when he is good and ready…Besides stop trying to get an audience from BARACK just because you can't. They will come to hear and see HIM not you.
BARACK THE VOTE !!!

Obama's got my vote, but McCain is frickin' on the mark here.

There are debates scheduled during the General Election. McCain wants extra debates with out mediaters, which is ok. McCain knew that Obama would not agree the first time asked. but Obama did respond with his idea on extra debates. McCain never got back to Obama. He just wanted to say the Obama rejected the Townhall debates. Why doesn't McCain call Obama and they talk about it and check their schedules and then reach a Compromise. I am sure that Obama is willing, but not McCain. McCain wants to dictated the How, when and where.

McSame won't fix anything and he is WAY TOO OLD FOR THE JOB.

No More McWar.

He only wants to do this so he can change the subject and not have a moderator to make sure he answers the question.

No War, No McWar

No War, No McWar

No War, No McWar

No War, No McWar

Although I am not voting for McCain, I will say halleluja to him today. I for one am tired of getting partial news and truth.

He's right…they take apart everything he says and put disparing comments to it but do not do the same to Obama. The CNN ticker is constantly full of articles of praise, etc. on Obama. Obama can say what he wants and get away with it and then in the next blog he's going to give a historic speech to the NAACP. McCain cannot even blink without being put down. Time to quit being so biased. By the way, you can quit knocking Clinton…she's out of the race remember?? And if he picks her for VP live with it, she'd be a whole lot better than Dodd or Richardson.

Hey "Call him UP", McCain knows that what Obama says in private cannot be trusted. Think public financing and Obama's other lies. Obama does not have the guts to face McCain in a forum that real people will ask tough quetions. McCain does it all the time. Of course, McCain is used to standing up like a man.

I'm tired of Republicans "RepubliCults" like McWar.

What McWar isn't talking about is that his "town hall" meetings are cherry picked for the crowd that he wants.

Like everything else McWar talks about it's what he isn't telling you that makes all the difference in the world.

Just another American Whiner. No More McWar.

I am an Obama supporter but this is the first thing John McCain ever said that makes sense to me. Obviously he has a new speech writer to tell him what to say, but when all is said and done, he is still McCain. You can't have someone telling you what to think at every turn, or can you? Who will actually be running the WH if he does get elected — the new speech writer? Something to think about.

What's with Jon McSame and his "Town hall debates"? I mean, this guy blows his teleprompter news conferences and expects Obama to cater to his weakness? C'mon. What does John McBush expect to do when he has to address the nation or foreign politicians; call a town hall meeting in Iran? It sounds to me like we're in for another round of “Bushisms”.

you did not say that when rev. wright stayed on the news for two weeks straight

Praised. arsed???? Communication's… Aint it just Fantastic???
But I feel for John… I was thrown into Commincations 50yrs ago, otherwise I would have been so much like him, and many other's… Speedy! The Man, that think they can Manipulate, the rest.. I am way out in front most….. But only because,,,,,,,,,,, Of the Armed Forces… Borack Obama missed the Boat……

Obama, please hold some televised joint town hall meetings. This would bring some sanity to this election.

They said on CNN today that Cindy loves speed.

Hmmmmm – a lot of teenagers do too.

OF COURSE HE WANTS TO HAVE A TOWN HALL MEETING HE'S AFRAID OF HAVING A REAL DEBATE.i HOPE OBAMA DOSEN'T GIVE IN TO HIS WISHES.

Obama is too cowardly to debate.

McCain was not even born in the US!!

He'll also need diapers in his 1st term!!!

Time for grampa to take a nap! No McLies

Oh McCain…now you might admit your campaign might have made a mistake when you called all of us whiners and told us the current economic situation is all in our heads! Yep, that might have been a really big mistake.

McCain is just reinforcing how out of touch he is with modern communication. I think it was this interview where he revieled he needs aids to read out websites and doesn't see the value in email.

There is merit in direct dialogue, but basing your campaign comms strategy around hanging out for a town hall meeting… waste of time McCain.

I agree that Fox News is the cable monster.

Cindy McCain is now going to make Billions from selling Belgium's Budweiser! What next can we sell McCain?

Convenient position for McCain to take just days after his top economic advisor declared that we're in a "mental recession", and people who are upset about the housing crisis, rising gas and grocery costs, etc are nothing but "whiners".

I'm surprised McCain even knows what cable is.

Hey John, how about becoming the "official" nominee before getting too disappointed in your supposed opponent's lack of response to townhall -style meetings.
For someone complaining about those sound bites you sure like to feed them with comment like this one!

ViVa McCain

IT'S NOT THE MEDIA OR THE BLOGGERS , RESPONSIBLE

FOR THE MCBUSH LOSSES. MCSAME AND HIS SURROGATES

LIKE DAVID REMNICK, THE NEW YORKER EDITOR, WHO PULLED

A NAZI TACTIC OF TRYING TO DEMONIZE SENATOR & MICHELLE

OBAMA, WHO ARE TOTALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR IT ALL.

Linking Sen. McCain to President Bush is like trying to link the planet Mars to Neptune. Yeah, they're both planets but they are very different.

Anyone who knows anything about politics knows that's a fact. It's why McCain is having trouble with the conservative side of the Repub party.

Of course, Joe….you know that too but then you're not tryig to tell that story to the politically astute are you…you're looking to feed that talking point to the less aware.

Still, it's called a lie no matter how you slice it.

Interesting…we shouldn't link Sen. Obama to the pastor of his church he has attended for two decades, quoted repeatedly in his books, married he and his wife, blessed his house, baptized his children, took huge financial donotations from and supported Sen. Obama in his political climb through the sewers of Chicago politics….but let's link McCain to Bush.

Sad.

Honestly, I could care less about what some bitter pastor says in some south Chicago church…that's his business. What upset me was the way the congregation was jumping out of their seats….hollering AMEN!…clapping their hands…nodding their heads in agreement.

Wright: "Thank God for letting me know who my enimies are!"….he was referring to white people.

Was Sen. Obama nodding his head then…clapping his hands…jumping out of his seat?

you, my friend, are the KING of Misstatements!!! this newfangled age of technology is your WORST nightmare!!!

"He once again challenged Barack Obama to a series of town hall-style campaign events, calling it the only way to have an uncluttered dialogue with voters."

what nonsense!!! mcCON holds his "town hall" meetings at large corporations who donate money to him—not very townhallish, johnnycakes!!!

mcCON's "town hall meetings" are a waste of President Obama's time!

What does a debate have to do with any thing McSame?

You want to control Obama's time! No to debates!

Go Bam! You don't have to get on the same stage asMcSame!

He can't defend himself without dragging your name!

Obama knows he can't connect with the common people on real issues besides empty rhetoric. That's why he refused to do townhalls with McCain.

Even though I am a stanch Obama support but I have to agree with McSame here cable TV on this year political coverage is just way too much gotcha. As Barack say’s it the silly season of politics.

Oh, come on. It was the McCain campaign that jumped on Obama using the single word "refine" in a speech about his Iraq policy and started this huge uproar suggesting that he is changing his Iraq policy. They like the news cycle, and they like parsing and sound bites… until of course his Top Economic Advisor calls us all whiners.

He knows as soon as the media is finished bashing Obama they are going to start on him. Keating 5, here we come.

Can't wait to hear about Cindy and her "medical problems" – uh, benefits for other countries medical problems – uh whatever.

Comment on the story, not just "Obama has my vote" or some idiotic "McBush" statement.

McCain has a point– meaningful debate is squashed by (1) cable news sound bites and (2) Obama's refusal to have a meaningful debate. Got Hope? Yeah, I do– I'm hoping Obama and McCain will have a town hall meeting instead of surrogates on news shows.

Obama has my vote too.

I completely agree with John McCain. The news media in America is a joke now. At least in Europe, the news broadcasts which are 24 hours focus on world events. For some reason, the news channels in America don't realize that there is an existence outside of our borders. I want to hear issues, not political gaffes. I'm still voting for Obama, but McCain is right.

media = fiction

For once I actually agree with the old guy.

The media in the US is about sensational and dramatic "stories". They've twisted my words, my sisters words and have cut people out of interviews at my school that didn't portray the story they were trying to tell.

i.e. media = fiction

Sen. McCain HOW WILL YOU PAY FOR THE $10 TRILLION IN NATIONAL DEBT?

HOW WILL WE CONTINUE TO FINANCE THE WAR IN IRAQ, COSTING THE HARD-WORKING-AMERICAN PEOPLE, $1.38 BILLION A DAY?

HOW WILL WE FIGHT IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ……. AND BOMB….
BOMB……..BOMB……… IRAN?

HOW SIR, WILL WE CONTINUE TO BORROW MONEY FROM SAUDI ARABIA, CHINA AND DUBAI TO PAY FOR OUR WARS???????????

AND GIVE EVERYONE TAX BREAKS???????

IF YOU WANT MORE OF THE SAME, VOTE FOR MCSAME!

Since Bush had a transmitter beneath his coat with ear implants to aid him in his second debate with Kerry after his laughably atrocious performance during the first, will McCain have Lieberman beneath the podium coaching him?

I do agree, tho. Anybody misspeaks, or is misunderstood, or misconstrued gets drawn and quartered by the press, the "other side", and is blogged over and over miserably. Nobody can make a simple mistake anymore, Inexperienced wives can't make a simple mistake, and they are used over and over in certain ads. We need to stick with the issues, and do the best we can to elect people who care, and want to do what's best for this country. so far, in my 56 years on this planet, I haven't seen many that do that. This is a time when things are not going so well, we need the best possible in all parts of government to get things done.

More and more each day, I am disliking BHO. What is Obama afraid of? I have been a Democrat all my life and I am very close to voting for Mc Cain. Obama needs to put his party first before himself. All I hear is lies to get elected. Mc Cain atleast has plans

It's not the news we're tired of, it's the spin of the politicians we're tired of. Yes, Obama feeds the news 'beast', but at least he feeds it (and us as a result) with a fresh message, and an alternative to 4 more years of Bush politics through a surrogate named John McCain. And at least Barack Obama went into this race knowing, and accepting, the rules of the game, i.e., feeding the 24-hour news beast is a necessity, and at least he's not whining about it.

People want real change, not an out-of-date candidate who complains about the structure and rules of the game. If McCain wanted to be in a campaign that has town hall debates as it's main fodder, then he should have run in 1908, not 2008. This is the 21st Century; we all watch TV, and read websites nowadays. It's called progress, and progress is what Barack Obama stands for, not this false harking back to an ideal that never really existed in the first place.

Give me progress over parochialism any day of the week.

While I am an Obama supporter, McCain is right here. If cable news has nothing new to report, on politics, they should find another topic. CNN, FOX and MSNBC are all guilty of recycle reporting and pulling bites out of context; Fox is just the most offensive than the others.

McCain's got that right.

Less Speeches. More Debates.

A speech is a one sided debate. A true debate is the best because it forces the listeners to HEAR both sides of the story instead of the side they keep hearing with just speeches.

Obama has no intention of doing any debates with McCain except those few that he's REQUIRED to. He's trying to build up a big enough cushion in the polls to survive the impending fall from a bad debate.

McCain should not back down and keep calling him out on it until the political pressure get too high for Obama to ingore.

What I'm tired of the most is Republicans telling me what I'm tired of.

Hey, McCain people—-Pay attention to what your man is saying. He does not want to DEBATE. He wants town hall meetings. Great way to compare and contrast points, huh?
"Gee Senator McCain, you sure look nice tonight. Tell me, sir, what can we do to stop the godless Democrats and protect our own backward way of life?"

Actually, I do want to hear what's going on. The evening does not cover muchof anything and sound bites lead to investigation of what actually happened. McCain, your truly colors are showing and they are not pretty, but we are learning about it.

So McCain is only tired of the soundbites and of quotes from surrigates when they are are about his gaffes, flip flops and inconsistencies. This man is a hypocrite!!

He's right. The press distorts the candidates by the very fact that they choose what does or does not air. For example, last week when Obama pulled ahead by eight it was big news. Now that the gap has closed to four, where's the headlines?

Yeah, but if you're reading this now, you're feeding the cable monster, aren't you?

After ~2 years of Obama.

McCain should never speak ill of the media. It is his most loyal base. I have no idea why he has to raise so much money to attack Obama in the general, the media does that on a daily basis for free. Catch a clue McCain, don't down cable, your most serious mistakes are covered by your buddies. They are doing an excellent job to earn their seat with you on the plane. You said that they had to earn it ,or you won't cooperate with them. So far they have been good little boys and girls.

Tired of lies. Tired of the raping of our nation. Tired of the false christians. Tired of profit before people. Tired of senseless and unjustified war. Tired of republicans de-funding alternative energy. Tired of John Mcain. Tired of war criminals running our country. Tired of Gitmo. Tired of our constitution being ignored.

McCain doesn't have to wait for a surrogate to make a mistake speaking. He does just fine by himself.

dumped his wife when he returned from Vietnam because she was too old…

Maybe if you didn't dump her then Ronald Reagan might have helped you…

now don't complain if we don't want and old guy running the country

IT'S THE MEDIA'S FAULT THAT MCBUSH IS LOSING.

IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT HE CAN'T

EVEN REMEMBER WHO & WHERE, WE ARE FIGHTING.

AND IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS SUPPORT OF

EVERYTHING BUSH, IN RETURN FOR THAT MONEY.

McCain knows that the Huffington Post and Countdown with Keith Olbermann are printing the truth. He appears to be suffering from Alzheimer's and does not make much sense must of the time. This is the main reason Cindy McCain and his sidekick — Joe Libermann are always by his side but they cannot control his mouth and he ends up making the gaffes himself. He should take responsibility of this instead of blaming his surrogates. McCain does not have any problems in slamming Obama, especially when Obama used "refine" and McCain turned in to, he is agreeing with me, he has changed his mind about the war ending. The lapdogs — main stream media — are right there with McCain covering all his mistakes, but making up stuff about Obama or what he says.

He has no problem with FOX "noise" which continually spins lies and misinformation for him. Believe me, he doesn't want to debate Obama who will make him look like the forgetful person he is.

“A lot of Americans have a expressed their frustration with the sound bites, the charges back and forth, the cable monster that has to have a news story every hour,” – Then why are you participating in just these same practices in EVERY speech?

Americans “don’t want hear the misstatement,” McCain said. “They don’t want to hear the surrogate who may have made a mistake.” – Then why do you have them speaking for you? You are just as ridiculous as Carly was over the weekend, you know, the surrogate that was speaking on your behalf saying that we don't pay attention to what she is saying?

McCain has just realized that the media is actually recording EVERYTHING he says.

I watched the last half of his speech today and the Q & A session after that. The last couple of questions had him running off stage like his rear was on fire. He even got a little heated with the first question. It was really funny and I have a feeling he lost a lot of potential votes today. These people did not seem to embrace him at all.

I'm don't like how Obama does not want to have town hall meetings with McCain….why? Not even 1 town hall meeting, why???
Reminds me when Clinton wanted to debate him more & he refused.
Obama is a wimp!

On this point (and this point only) I agree with McCain. The cable shows have too much power. They present a one-sided view of the stories. They do more to make news than report news. I am tired of them too.

Your surrogates don't slip up nearly as much as you do McCain.

I really really REALLY don't want to hear McCain making the same tired old excuses….if they did a town hall debate, Obama would eat him alive. He really needs to work on the teleprompter thing, you know?

CNN PLEASE POST_________________

Your comment is awaiting moderation.
two things strike me as being funny with this…
1) McCain even flip flops on complaining
and
2) McCain is cool with the press as long as they (including CNN) say nothing about the USS Forrestal, the GI Bill, his flip flop on immigration, off shore drilling, abortion, his own voting record, Phil Gramm, Keating 5 and so on and so on and so on.
John McCain has no idea as to what he is doing, this is NOT an American Hero, for to be a Hero one must show bravery…not give up Military information to the enemy…IF he is such a HERO why do most Vets think of him as a ZERO?

The MSM continues to perpetuate a divisive gottacha mentality, rather than focus on the issues, the lies, and the hope & progress of the future!

Last I checked we're all Americans!

Obama 08

I agree with McCain here, though I would never vote for him. I miss the days of Walter Cronkite. We don't need twenty-four hour news broadcasts. I'm tired of all the analysis.

two things strike me as being funny with this…
1) McCain even flip flops on complaining
and
2) McCain is cool with the press as long as they (including CNN) say nothing about the USS Forrestal, the GI Bill, his flip flop on immigration, off shore drilling, abortion, his own voting record, Phil Gramm, Keating 5 and so on and so on and so on.
John McCain has no idea as to what he is doing, this is NOT an American Hero, for to be a Hero one must show bravery…not give up Military information to the enemy…IF he is such a HERO why do most Vets think of him as a ZERO?

MCBUSH COMPLAINING ABOUT THE MEDIA & BLOGGERS.

AND IT MAKES SENSE. HAVING 300 VIDEOS CONTRADICTING

HIMSELF, NOT EXACTLY SOMETHING HE CAN DEAL WITH.

I doubt I could stay awake long enough during a town meeting with McBush babbling to get much out of one:)

John, its like pulling teeth to get Obama to do a debate good luck with that.

I am still for Edwards………or Huckabee

McCain welcome to the "LIMELIGHT" If you cant takethe heat of your media mishapps, you might wanna quit the race "FRIEND"

I don't recall McCain saying anything like this when the Rev. Wright clip was being played over and over and over and over.

Say no to socialism. Say no to Obama.

Say no to his policies.

I will not pay more taxes so he can add more cradle to grave social programs. I will not pay more taxes to pander to 'ILLEGAL' immigrants. I will NOT learn Spanish. I will own a gun. I will make my own decisions about my healthcare. I will not allow Iran to become nuclear. I will not pacify terrorist. I will not walk away from a war that we are winning. I don't want the government to pay for my and others gas with my tax money. I won't pay more taxes for the man made global warming hoax. I will not contribute to Al Gores bank account.

Merci Beaucoup

how about 'this' latest misstatement from the man himself –

McCain Defends Czechoslovakia, A Non-Existent Country — Again

Czechoslovakia, of course, split into two separate countries in 1993.

Ha ha ha…. welcome to capitalism… in which we have seen a revolution or evolution or whatever the heck one wants to call it….. like never ever before…..

Technology is, or indeed could be a beast…. it has resulted in us being more of an "EFFICIENT SOCIETY" than we have ever been before…. News used to take a million years to get around, some never got it…. now, we get it right away, scrutinize it and manipulate it on immediate basis…. with good or bad intentions is a different story…. nonetheless, that's called "Efficient" in business terms.

It has no ending so one has to adjust or they will stay behind… isn't that what the basis of capitalism is?

Americans “don’t want hear the misstatement,” McCain said. “They don’t want to hear the surrogate who may have made a mistake

You're right, Americans have had more fun listening to your own Gaffes. Why blame a surrogate for a misstatement when you have made plenty yourself.

McCain just wait until Oct-Nov and you can have your townhall debates, unless they have them on the weekend and we all know McCain doesn't work weekends. The old man needs his rest, lol.

gee…he sounds like one of those "whiners" his chief economic advisor talked about last week.

DEM,
you are a old fool and you are the misstatement, old goat

"….Unless the networks are supporting me"

…BUT, Republicans have benefitted from this more than anyone. This is the whole reason for Fox News existence, after all.

I agree 100% with the town hall approach.

I think Americans would love to hear unscripted unfiltered debates on policy issues, to really understand where the candidates stand on each important issue.

Enough with the speeches and the soundbites. Let's hear real debate. And by that I don't mean generalized questions asked by moderators. Let's let the candidates ask each other questions, pick apart each others proposals. We need a new kind of politics!

Why not run a magizne cover with screaming and flesh burning women and children with Mcwar singing in his jet, dropping Napalm. He could be singing bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran. This would be an outrage to the GOP right wing rethuglicans.

THE SURRAGATES' GAFFES!! GET REAL – MCBUSH LEADS THE PACK IN GAFFES – BRING ON THE DEBATES AND WE SHALL SEE WHO HAS THE STRAIGHT TALK AND CAN ACTUALLY REMEMBER WHAT HE HAD FOR BREAKFAST, MUCH LESS HIS VOTES ON WOMEN'S ISSUES AND VETERANS ISSUES, NOT TO MENTION HEALTH CARE, EDUCATION, IRAQ, AND ON AND ON…..

OBAMA 08

Obama is too scared to talk to anyone now that he has flip flopped on most all of his issues.

"The term "Oreo" is often viewed as a derogatory term toward some African-Americans who appear not to exhibit certain stereotypes of their race."

I saw how you took down every single one of my comments, but its OK Alexander Mooney. How about you go ahead and explain what the black stereotypes are since you know so much about black people. You are in the tank and everyone knows it. You only post blogs that are beneficial to Obama. Tell us the stereotypes you racist!!

I'm not a supporter of McCain, but I couldn't agree more.

mccain just knows people are seeing his 1000 flip flops

Hey John, we're living in 2008…not 1908.

Obama won't do the townhalls. He has too much to lose which should tell you something. He's scared to face a question that he is not prepared for. He did it with Clinton and the voters let him off. This guy needs to be vetted. There are just too many unanswered questions. I want to hear HIM answer the questions rather than a statement read by his staff.

BUT BUT he aggreed to do 5! yeah right. 3 were already scheduled and one he wanted to do on July 4th when few would be watching.

What's he scared of? Americans might actually see who he is through there own eyes instead of the media?

McCain needs to go to sleep. I DO NOT TRUST let alone like this man. He is so full of that stinky stuff. His Hispanic conversation/speach is so off base, he will loose in this.

This constant coverage certainly does make the process seem to drag a lot.

"When I was growing up, TV had dignity. It went off. 'Goodnight. beeeeeeeep.' Now it's like some prostitute in Las Vegas, it's up all night." – Paul Mooney

I have to admit: TV is what got me interested in the details of this year's election. But TV is also what made me sick and tired of it. Now I couldn't care less if Hannah Montana is president, just stop the incessant babble about flag pins.

There was no mis statement, liar. And Gramm is your senior economic advisor. When Gramm calls Americans who are suffering, Whiners. He is stateing what he and McBush and most of the GOP multi millionaires think. Limbaugh says the same garbage almost every day.

We Americans don't want to hear YOUR CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISOR CALL US WHINERS because the state of the economy is hurting us with the rising cost of living.

What we want to hear is you come up with a better plan to address long term energy goals than a "300 million dollar reward to the person who invents a battery that vehicles may travel on."

What if I offer 400 Million dollars, now what? Not a darn thing.

Why not offer more in your economic policy than A REWARD AND A PRAYER to counter high gas prices.

Of course, I am sorry for whining about the gas prices.

Hey CNN, why don't you post this comment, for once.

McCain—He once again challenged Barack Obama to a series of town hall-style campaign events, calling it the only way to have an uncluttered dialogue with voters.Mr Mccain– My Ouestion to you– is why not call Senator Obama and discuss the Town hall events.You always Grand Standing calling him out ,but not personally. Do you honestly think he listening to your every word on the campaign trail

No, Grampy, we want you to acknowledge that Czechoslovakia hasn't been a country for over a decade and a half as you referred to
its current existence in your press avail today. No coverage from the MSM on this one. Big surprise! Imagine if this had been any other candidate.

I would like to see a debate… Doesn't have to be a town hall but I think it would be a good way to see the contrast of ideas as they defend them as opposed to written dialogue…

If you are tired of Bush you certainly should be tired of Mccain!

Stop dictatorship. Obama will do what he thinks is right!

Obama has my vote.

Sounds like you're a whiner to me!

Of course you are tired of it, they keep catching you looking to be the person that you are: An incapable warmongering rhelic that once committed treason as a POW and now totes yourself as some form of hero because you committed treason.

You are a lie McCain, and we will all suffer if you are elected. Just like your actions caused your fellow americans to suffer in Vietnam, you will cause us to suffer as well. It's your style, and I see through it. I will not be fooled by you.