Posted on 04/19/2008 6:06:02 AM PDT by southlake_hoosier
INDIANAPOLIS | Hillary Clinton's campaign on Friday accepted Gary Mayor Rudy Clay's invitation to debate Barack Obama on urban issues in the struggling Steel City -- only to have the mayor promptly rescind the offer he had extended a day earlier.
The Democratic presidential contenders squared off for two hours Wednesday night in Philadelphia. But the first half of the ABC News debate was dominated by what Obama decried as "gotcha" issues, including Obama's characterization of "bitter" small town voters and Clinton's faulty recollection of coming under sniper fire during a 1996 visit to Bosnia.
Clay, an Obama supporter, said he worked late Wednesday night and didn't get a chance to watch the entire Philadelphia debate until Friday morning. Upon further review, Clay scratched his debate invite and asked each candidate to instead spend an hour at the Genesis Center separately fielding questions about crime, education, health care and job creation.
"After analyzing the last debate, we've come up with a decision here that it's best to have a forum on urban issues," Clay said. "I'm sure both candidates would accept the debate, but we don't want the debate to get to other issues, other than urban issues."
The reversal came just hours after the Clinton campaign told reporters the New York senator had accepted Clay's invitation, as well as an earlier debate offer made by the Indiana Debate Commission.
Howard Wolfson, Clinton's communications director, challenged Obama to shake off his "bad debate" in Philadelphia and give Hoosiers a chance to hear the Democrats parse the issues.
"There have been 21 Democratic debates and four one-on-one debates with Senator Clinton, all televised nationally," responded Obama campaign spokesman Kevin Griffis. "Our focus will be on meeting with voters in Indiana and hearing directly from them. We will make a decision about debates shortly."
Griffis said Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, did not ask Clay to change his invitation and the campaign had not been in contact with the mayor's office since the debate invitation was made Thursday morning.
Clinton campaign spokesman Jonathan Swain said Clinton is eager to discuss urban issues but needs some time to consider the revised offer of a televised forum Clay presented late Friday.
"Senator Clinton accepted the debate invitation. Unfortunately, in just a couple hours Mayor Clay changed his invitation." Swain said. "We'll take a look at this new proposal."
He's backing out because he's the front runner and will win the nomination barring some catastrophe. If he doesn't debate, there will be no chance for a catastrophe at such an event. Why on earth should he provide a nationwide forum for his opponent for no good reason? Just to satisfy the wags, pundits and desperate Hillary aides?
Nope, Obama is being politically smart as he sits back and observes Hillary flailing about in frustration as she charges Windmill Obama with her Don Quixote lance.....the one with the broken tip.
Leni
The new one, Sleazy. Or was that Bill Clinton?
lol, and stolt
National Socialist rallys do appear to be similar, indeed.
If Obama or the Battleax is elected, there will be cheering in Tehran, Damascus, Moscow, Havana & other anti-American dictatorships out to bury us.
Very disturbing pictures.
If he does not have access to a teleprompter when getting a question he turns into the babbling idiot that he really is.
If he does not have access to a teleprompter when getting a question he turns into the babbling idiot that he really is.
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I don’t think you’re being fair here.
Obama isn’t a babbling idiot, he just has ideas that his handlers realize are quite unpopular with the electorate so the particulars of his policies would be best kept under wraps.
Obama just doesn’t have the political acumen to present his policies in a way that the people won’t see him for the raving moonbat he is- in other words, he’s no Clinton.
Crissy Matthews leg to be amputated !!
He sure as heck has no business being our president. Of course he would never be mine in my view.
exactly. If he opens his mouth all his anti-american venom comes spewing out. He does not have the brains required to keep his yap shut.
I think he has brains...but more significantly, he is a very committed leftist that is also very committed to deception, in order to hide his true intentions.
Yup. They should be ashamed obama is in the running and has made it this far.
My favorite one I saw was something along the lines of “YAY we will finally have our act and humanity together as a nation”
Well if he does have brains he is pretty arrogant to say what he did about the people in rural Penn.
I don’t think a smooth, smart politician would have said that. Unless things have become so bad in our country that the majority would view those remarks as a positive thing. Maybe I am out of touch with how stupid the average voter is.
Shame on you.
Huh?
Why would you want Obama to have a clear sailing from here on out?
Not pretty arrogant, extremely arrogant.
I don’t think a smooth, smart politician would have said that.
These definitions are have different meaning for liberal/socialists like Obama and his core followers. How would you describe John Kerry?
Maybe I am out of touch with how stupid the average voter is.
I doubt that...it's a challenge for conservatives to understand how the hard core liberals truly operate...deception is rampant.
IMHO, he’s an empty suit and McCain will eat him alive during the debates. Hillary, who should have been defeated in Texas, is a far more dangerous opponent. I put nothing passed the Clintons and want them off the stage NOW. With polls showing most of her voters will not support Obama but will cross party lines, the time is ripe to get rid of her.
“So Obama is ready to debate Armanajinadad, Kim Il-Sung, Castro, Chavez and assorted bad guys but not in front of the American people.”
If he did, they’d find out how much he admires Armanajinadad et al.
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