McCain’s Mousetrap Springs Prematurely

When John McCain initially proposed a series of ten “Town Hall” style meetings with Barack Obama, the Illinois Senator seemed open to the idea. Many observers also welcomed the concept of a format steering clear of the normal alphabet soup network debates we are treated to in the fall. But among Obama’s supporters, the whispers were already swelling to a strong breeze.

Don’t do it! It’s a trap!

They’re setting you up!

You’ve made some rookie mistakes already. Don’t make this one!

You’re throwing yourself into a shark tank!

Well, apparently their concerns were well founded. The first of these supposedly open, unscripted events was billed as including Republicans, Democrats and undecided voters with their own questions for the candidates. The meeting, hosted by Fox News Channel, turned out to be something rather different.

(Fox News Channel’s Shepard) SMITH: “I reported at the top of this hour that the campaign had told us at Fox News that the audience would be made up of Republicans, Democrats, and independents. We have now received a clarification from the campaign and I feel I should pass it along to you. The McCain campaign distributed tickets to supporters, Mayor Bloomberg, who of course is a registered Republican, and other independent groups.”

This is far too reminiscent of the George W. Bush “town hall” meetings during the 2004 election cycle. These included such challenging questions as one veteran using his camera time to ask, “Can I stand up and salute my Commander in Chief?” Personally, I distinctly recall another of these shindigs where one of these “undecided independent voters” actually asked Bush, “How can I, personally, help you defeat John Kerry and keep our country safe from our enemies?”

Some of Obama’s critics have raised questions (many of which are clearly valid for our public debate) about the Senator’s “judgement” during the campaign. But if Barack Obama accepts an invitation to one of these GOP organized ambush festivals, that would be one of the more serious lapses of judgement we’ve seen. I am still a firm believer that it would benefit our democratic (small “d”) process for voters to witness the candidates in a truly open, equal atmosphere such as this, but allowing the McCain campaign or Fox News Channel to organize the entire affair would be suicidal. If such a meeting can be set up by an independent organization such as The League of Women Voters or one of the local universities, I would strongly support Obama accepting the invitation. It couldn’t be much worse than the network debates.