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December 3, 2008 1:15:39 PM CST

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McCain Ditches Town Halls for Larger Crowds

Fractious Q&As and need for 'volume' forces shift to big rallies

Politico Politico Nov 1, 08 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain hasn’t held one of his trademark town hall meetings since early October, and it’s not only because they started turning nasty, Politico reports. Though the question-and-answer format revealed some distressing misconceptions in the McCain faithful, town halls also are much smaller than more spectacular rallies. “The final weeks are all about volume, volume, volume,” a political scientist said. More »

More about:  Barack Obama • Election 2008 • John McCain • campaign rally • town hall meeting

OPINION

 What We Saw: 
 Hot vs. Cool 
 Old vs. Young 

How they acted

San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Chronicle Oct 8, 08 10:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - What viewers see is as important as what they hear in debates. So what did pundits see?   "The expressions on John McCain's face, and the irritation in his voice, said it all," writes the San Francisco Chronicle. McCain “was a portrait of frustration,” while Obama looked like the proverbial “cool hand at the tiller”—just what McCain said the country needs. More »

More about:  Barack Obama • Election 2008 • John McCain • presidential election • presidential debate • town hall meeting • Nashville

analysis

 Tonight's Tango: 
 Think Dance, Not Debate 

Get ready for Barack and Mac to bust some Clintonian moves

Slate Slate Oct 7, 08 11:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - Tonight in Nashville, don’t expect either a real “town hall” format or a true debate, advises Jack Shafer in Slate . We won’t see unvetted questions or reasoned exchanges. What we can expect are some interesting moves, with the candidates taking cues from earlier performances by Bill Clinton, “the living genius of the town-hall format,” who perfected the art of debate choreography. More »

More about:  Barack Obama • Election 2008 • John McCain • presidential debate • town hall meeting • dancing • body language

ANALYSIS

 Town Hall Gives Mac 
 Preferred Platform 

Campaign sees tomorrow's encounter as chance to reroute opinion

Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal Oct 6, 08 10:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - Tomorrow’s debate will be the one town-hall-style encounter John McCain gets with Barack Obama, and analysts believe it will be crucial to keeping the presidential race from slipping away, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Republican has a reputation for excelling in the town-hall format, which brings out his spontaneity and wit. More »

More about:  Barack Obama • Election 2008 • John McCain • debates • town hall meeting

First Debate
Stuck in Limbo

'Showdown' could
switch to town hall
meet if only Obama turns up today

Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal Sep 26, 08 2:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - What if they held a presidential debate and only one candidate came? The scenario is looking like a real possibility as the federal bailout deal stalls, the Wall Street Journal reports. John McCain has said he will fly to Mississippi for the debate only if an agreement is reached in Washington this morning, while Barack Obama has made it plain he will show up regardless of the status of the rescue package. More »

More about:  Barack Obama • Election 2008 • John McCain • presidential debate • debate • town hall meeting • University of Mississippi

Cooperation at Center of McCain Speech

New setup will put Mac among GOP delegates as he accepts nom

Minneapolis Star Tribune Minneapolis Star Tribune Sep 4, 08 3:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain will reinforce his “maverick” image and encourage bipartisan cooperation when he addresses the Republican convention tonight, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The speech will describe “where, how and why he wants to lead the country," his speechwriter said. The arena setup has been reconfigured for Mac’s address, giving him a fashion-style runway that will put him closer to the audience. More »

More about:  John McCain • GOP • conservative • RNC • town hall meeting • town halls

 McCain, Obama Reject
  ABC Town Hall Meeting 

But campaigns are enthusiastic about new approach

Associated Press Associated Press Jun 9, 08 3:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain and Barack Obama turned down an invitation from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and ABC News to hold the first town hall meeting in New York, AP reports. While the candidates are both enthusiastic about the idea of such a forum, they want it to be broadcast by multiple stations. Both camps have shown interest in a series of joint stops, new to modern presidential campaigns. More »

More about:  Barack Obama • John McCain • Michael Bloomberg • ABC News • town hall meeting • campaign stops

McCain Dares Obama to
10 Informal  Debates

Face-to-face showdowns could echo Lincoln-Douglas, Obama adviser suggests

Time Time Jun 4, 08 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain challenged Barack Obama today to fight mano a mano in a series of 10 intimate town-hall meetings between now and the Democratic primary in late August. The Republican's invitation, delivered in a speech and said to be modeled on a proposed Kennedy-Goldwater series, would be “free from the regimented trappings, rules, and spectacle of formal debates.” More »

More about:  Barack Obama • John McCain • John F. Kennedy • Abraham Lincoln • debates • town hall meeting • Barry Goldwater

 Obama Shifts
 Blue-Collar Strategy 

Visits church, b-ball court amid town-hall stumping

New York Times New York Times Apr 28, 08 7:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Moving to beef up his appeal to blue-collar voters in Indiana, Barack Obama is changing the tone of his campaign there, trading big rallies for more intimate town-hall sessions; the weekend included stops at a Methodist church and a basketball court, the New York Times reports. “I’ve got to be more present,” Obama said on Fox News. “I’ve got to be knocking on more doors.” More »

More about:  Barack Obama • campaign trail • campaign tactics • blue-collar vote • town hall meeting • working-class vote

ANALYSIS

 Mac's Tour Aims 
 at Dem Strongholds   

Town-hall-heavy trip is high-risk, must be sustained to avoid looking like a stunt

Slate Slate Apr 10, 08 4:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain is planning a tour to visit core Democratic constituencies—inner cities, Appalachia, the black South—in what John Dickerson, in Slate, sees not as a direct appeal for votes, but rather a campaign to beam his authenticity, via the media, to the country’s independents. A McCain advisor says informal settings will allow citizens to “praise, chastise and argue with him.” More »

More about:  Barack Obama • John McCain • bipartisanship • independents • town hall meeting • authenticity

Hillary, Rudy
in a Dead Heat
in Nevada

Clinton leads Dems,
but looks to steady ship
at tonight's debate

Reuters Reuters Nov 15, 07 11:10 AM CST
(Newser) - Presidential frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani are tied in a head-to-head Nevada matchup, according to a CNN poll taken just ahead of tonight's Dem debate in what is now an early-primary state. But Clinton dominates her rivals for the party's nod, with 51% to Barack Obama’s 23% and John Edwards’ 11%, CNN reports. More »

More about:  Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Rudy Giuliani • John Edwards • Nevada • debate • town hall meeting

Plants and Stooges Spike Town Halls

One can’t be sure the questioner's a plain old citizen, Salon observes

Salon Salon Nov 14, 07 6:06 PM CST
(Newser) - The town hall meeting has long been an American tradition in which regular folk talk with political candidates, but Salon ’s Michael Scherer says our modern variant is so diluted by plants and stooges it should “be placed inside quotation marks.” Hillary Clinton’s campaign called attention to the “town hall” last week by getting caught scripting an undergraduate’s climate change query. More »

More about:  Election 2008 • Hillary Clinton • climate change • town hall meeting • interest groups

Diplomats Raise Stink Over Iraq Assignments

'Potential death sentence’ in required postings, staffers say

Associated Press Associated Press Oct 31, 07 5:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Foreign service officers vented anger today over the State Department's plan to require some to serve in Iraq, chewing out their director in a meeting. One senior officer called the “directed assignments”—which could force diplomats to take postings in Baghdad or outlying provinces—a “potential death sentence”; another cited a survey showing few officers thought Condoleezza Rice was “fighting for them." More »

More about:  Iraq • Condoleezza Rice • State Department • Green Zone • town hall meeting • foreign service

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