. . . . Bobby Fischer, circa 1972. Yes, THAT Bobby Fischer. Prior to the start of his championship match against Spassky, he complained about everything: First he wouldn't even go to Iceland to play because his favorite television program, The Jack LaLanne Show, wasn't available on Icelandic TV. Then he wouldn't play because the prize money wasn't substantial enough. Then he refused to play because the chairs were the wrong size. During the middle of one game, he walked out because he thought that the cameramen were disruptive (he later gave in under the condition that they remain 150 feet away, except that the cameras of Chester Fox, an American businessman who had procured filming rights, couldn't return). Later in the match Fox sued Fischer. At other various times, he complained about the surface of the chess board (too shiny), the proximity of the audience (he insisted that the first seven rows of seats be removed), and the ambient noise. Spassky and the organizers gave in to all his demands. All Spassky wanted to do was play. Fischer destroyed Spassky to become World Champion. No one has ever been sure whether all of this was just a big psychological ploy to unhinge his opponent, or if it was the beginning of the mental illness that would eventually engulf him. Regardless, Spassky was increasingly unable to focus on the game, and Fischer's focus just increased and improved. Fischer totally dominated the match. As far as McCain goes . . . he is doing everything he can to avoid facing Obama on the issues. Whether justified or a psychological ploy, we may never know. Soon, however, we may know if Obama is becoming flustered by it all.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/04/mccain.town.hall/index.html McCain challenges Obama to town hall debates BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (CNN) -- Sen. John McCain challenged Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday to join him for a series of 10 town-hall debates. <!--endclickprintexclude--> Calling for "no process questions from reporters" and "no spin rooms," the presumptive Republican presidential nominee proposed one debate a week from now until the Democratic party convention in August. McCain cited a 1963 agreement between President Kennedy and Sen. Barry Goldwater to hold such debates as part of the 1964 election campaign. Kennedy was assassinated before the campaign began. "What a welcome change it would be were presidential candidates in our time to treat each other and the people they seek to lead with respect and courtesy as they discussed the great issues of the day, without the empty sound bites and media-filtered exchanges that dominate our elections," McCain said in a letter to Obama released by McCain's campaign. Obama campaign manager David Plouffe welcomed the idea in principle but suggested some changes to the format. "The idea of joint town halls is appealing and one that would allow a great conversation to take place about the need to change the direction of this country," he said in a statement released by the Obama campaign. "We would recommend a format that is less structured and lengthier than the McCain campaign suggests, one that more closely resembles the historic debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. But, having just secured our party's nomination, this is one of the many items we will be addressing in the coming days and look forward to discussing it with the McCain campaign." McCain also suggested that he and his rival travel together to the first debate as a symbolic gesture. Watch McCain challenge Obama to town hall meetings » He joked that his campaign would appreciate the budget savings. "Given our expenses, I know my campaign would agree to it," McCain said to laughter from the crowd.
So? Obama challenged McCain to Lincoln-Douglass style debates instead, which McCain wouldn't agree to.
From one of the Obamaniac talking point sites: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-love/obama-should-do-the-town_b_127921.html Obama Should Do the Town Hall Debates with McCain I am completely baffled as to why Obama would refuse to have a series of town hall debates with McCain. A lot of voters are not sure they are ready to elect a relatively inexperienced black man as president. The more time they can see Obama and McCain talk about issues, the more comfortable they will be with Obama, and the less the attack ads against Obama will work. The financial crisis provides a good opportunity for Obama to reverse the bone headed decision to not have these debates. Obama can spend time explaining to the voters how we got to this amazing mess, something he is actually good at, and he can allow McCain to make a lot of blustering statements, something that McCain can't resist, but which are not helping McCain on this issue. It would also provide an opportunity for Obama to insist on some more debates between Palin and Biden, something that McCain would have a hard time rejecting, if Obama was up to the McCain challenge.
it is all about control. Controlling the process, controlling the agenda. Controlling your opponent's psyche.
It's all about accepting, so we can see the two on the same stage and their unrehearsed and unscripted answers to random questions from real people like you and I (vs. moderators).
Obama reminds me of Obama. First saying he'd take public campaign funding, and then going back on his word. http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Politics/story?id=4999288&page=1 Obama Open to Town Hall Debates With McCain Presumptive Democratic Nominee Reflects on McCain, Clinton and Historic Moment By TAHMAN BRADLEY June 4, 2008— Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., hinted Wednesday he's open to engaging Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in a series of nontraditional presidential debates. "Oh, we're definitely going to be doing some town hall debates," the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee told ABC "World News" anchor Charlie Gibson. Indicating he's not prepared to start debating McCain next week, as McCain's campaign had formally requested, Obama expressed interest in going head to head with the presumptive Republican presidential nominee as soon as his campaign fully pivots toward the general election. "I look forward to, you know, having more than just the three traditional debates that we've seen in recent presidential contests," he said. Obama did, however, caution that both campaigns would have to figure out the timing.
In my view, the format and number of the debates should be decided prior to the primaries, so neither side could be accused of trying to get some sort of advantage for their candidate. Just eliminate the gamesmanship from the get-go.
