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."
When you do as badly as he did in Philadelphia, there is no way his handlers are going to let him get near another debate.
I don’t know, but if there are a few more Obama “exposures” that show he can’t hold the muster, or can’t charm the media, I suspect a BHO meltdown. Like they say, he can talk the talk, but he can’t walk the walk. No leadership capabilities, only empty suit filled with hot air. He is just an immature, smooth talking, lie-telling con artist with a huge chip on his shoulder. Hillary is not any better, just more “EXPERIENCED!” LOL
He is acting like Grumpy but could end up being Dopey if he thinks he can avoid debates in the general election.
Roger that!
From the article: "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.
Obama isn't going to fight, and he isn't going to play "rope a dope", so he's left the arena for an undisclosed location to make some campaign sound bites.
He can’t afford any more tough questions.
Gee, if Obama whines like a little girl because he can’t handle some semi-uncomfortable questions from reporters, how could he stand up to negotiating with world leaders?
Hmm. Looks disturbingly similar to...
Right. “He’s getting better”! “No, no, he’s died”!
Nah.
It’s Obama’s racist anti-Semite and domestic terror friends, big government and abortionist views that are similar to that bunch.
Almost forgot: the hypnotic speeches too
The time is late, he is clearly ahead, and there is nothing further to be gained vote wise.
It certainly would pump up MSM ratings, but Barack is wise enough to know that they will be in his corner anyway should he prevail in the primaries.
I cannot stand even the thought of an Obama, but I also refuse to whistle past the graveyard. - This is a smart move.
We had all better be prepared for the new affirmative action political mantra: “How dare you ask such a question? Can’t you see I’m black?”
Racist, elitist coward.
And he wants to run the country?
It worked, Obamas cousin was named PM of Kenya last week.
Supporters of Raila Odinga (BARAK OBAMAS COUSIN!!), the leading presidential challenger, rallied in Kibera, a slum near Nairobi.(According to the NY Times, this is a "rally")
Mr. Odingas (BARAK OBAMAS FIRST COUSIN, WHO HE CAMPAIGNED IN KENYA FOR)followers tried to march from Kibera to Nairobi.
A supporter of the presidential challenger Raila Odinga (OBAMAS FIRST COUSIN, WHO HE CAMPAIGNED FOR IN KENYA IN 2006) in Kibera, a sprawling slum near the capital, Nairobi.
Odinga supporters riot in December 2007(ODINGA IS BARAK OBMAMS FIRST COUSIN, OBAMA CAMPAIGNED FOR HIM IN KENYA IN 2006)
Obama campaigns for his cousin Odinga, the new PM of Kenya who was installed under threat of additional violence.
Hundreds were killed in the rioting following the election.
He backs out because he is a stupid chicken chit.
Actually, its a smart move on the part of Mr. Obama. He knows that debates can only hurt him.
I expect his team be looking to weasel out of debates in the fall campaign as well. He’s running a campaign based purely on concepts like “hope”, and they have found that it doesn’t help to be pinned down to specifics when getting the word out.
Oh no. I think the debates are FINALLY getting around to showing the American public what Obama is really all about (radical socialism, anti-American, etc.).
Let him keep tripping over himself and his numbers will fall, fall, fall.
He didn’t back out, he got his Mayor goon to cancel the stupid thing and change it to a forum of soft balls so he didn’t HAVE to publically back out.
Ding Dong is a coward and a weasle.
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