John McCain once again renewed his call for joint appearances with Barack Obama today, by reiterating his desire to hold joint town hall meetings together, including one next Thursday in Minneapolis as a way to “offer the best format for presenting both candidates’ visions for our country’s future in a substantive way.”

The Obama campaign, also amenable to the idea of sharing the stage, said in a statement, “Senator Obama believes that the American people deserve an open and accessible debate as they choose between real change and four more years of failed Bush policies, and he welcomed McCain’s invitation to offer voters ‘the rare opportunity of witnessing candidates for the highest office in the land discuss civilly and extensively the great issues at stake in the election.’”

So it would seem both sides agree that joint town halls seem to be a good idea. Let the debate begin!

Not so fast. While the two camps agree on the idea in theory, as a practical matter they’ve locked horns.

The two sides  just cannot agree on the number of joint appearances and when to hold them. While John McCain is offering ten such meetings, the Obama camp has seeking to meet five times between now and Election Day, “the three traditional debates plus a joint town hall on the economy in July and an in-depth debate on foreign policy in August,” the Obama camp spelled out.

“That package of five engagements would have been the most of any Presidential campaign in the modern era—offering a broad range of formats—and representing a historic commitment to openness and transparency,” they suggested.

In response, McCain’s campaign manager drafted a letter to Obama’s campaign manager and shared with the press. “At this moment, we fear that our negotiations over joint town hall meetings are turning into a debate about process. That is exactly what we have always hoped to avoid, and why we proposed a town hall format that would render many of these process issues moot,” the letter read.

Not to be outdone, the Obama camp chided McCain for rejecting their proposal. “It’s disappointing that Senator McCain and his campaign decided to decline this proposal. Apparently they would rather contrive a political issue than foster a genuine discussion about the future of our country,” said campaign manager David Plouffe in a statement.

When McCain’s camp first floated the idea last month, Obama said he thought it was a good idea. Last week at a media availability in St. Louis, however, Obama admitted that it just wasn’t realistic to do all ten “given all the campaigning that I have to do since we just finished our primary election,” he explained.

McCain expressed disappointment in the Obama campaign’s proposal - which he said was one joint town hall to take place on the 4th of July. “Of all times, obviously that would be the least viewed,” McCain told reporters. A McCain spokesman went further and observed, “Barack Obama has more conditions for having a town hall with John McCain than he does for meetings with Mahmoud Amadinejad.”

When both candidates were invited to hold a joint town hall by outsiders Nancy Reagan, Lynda Johnson Robb, and Luci Baines Johnson, McCain was quick to accept. Obama’s campaign plans to stick to the five forums they proposed.

For the second time, John McCain has proposed holding joint town halls with the Democratic nominee during the course general election campaign. For the second time the Obama camp responded positively to the idea.

“As Barack Obama has said before, 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.  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,” said Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.

Of course the idea of a Lincoln-Douglas moderator-less debate was originally Hillary Clinton’s idea.

She called out Barack Obama for nixing a debate in Wisconson; she said she didn’t know what he was scared of when he wouldn’t debate her in Indiana or North Carolina. Now, Hillary Clinton has issued a similar challenge to Obama one week before the Puerto Rico primary.

Speaking outside a small restaurant in Penuelas, where a translator interpreted her every sentence for the crowd of 50 Puerto Ricans, Clinton said she’d accepted a debate in the island commonwealth, and hoped that Obama would do the same.

“The issues facing Puerto Rico are serious and deserve a serious debate,” she said. “I was informed that Univision will sponsor a debate between Senator Obama and myself about the issues affecting Puerto Rico. I accept that invitation. Any time, anywhere.”

“That is the best way for the people of Puerto Rico to have their questions asked and answered, and for the rest of the United States to learn more about Puerto Rico.”

At least one member of the crowd hoped that debate wouldn’t happen; a man in his mid-20’s stood outside the pen that boxed in her supporters, holding up a sign that read simply “Quit.”

President Bush seemingly waded into the ‘08 fray during a speech before the the Israeli parliament yesterday, causing a firestorm of back-and-forth between the three ‘08 contenders. The offending comment - “Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along…We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: ‘Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.’ We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.”

While Bush didn’t name names (and the White House says the President was not specifically referring to Obama), of course it has been Barack Obama who has said on the campaign trail that he will meet with friends and foes - including Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Obama campaign quickly responded to Mr. Bush’s statement, saying it was “sad” that the president used his speech commemorating the 60th anniversary of Israel’s independence to “launch a false political attack.”

Later when John McCain “embraced” Bush’s statement, an Obama spokesman replied “It is the height of hypocrisy for John McCain to deliver a lofty speech about civility and bipartisanship in the morning and then embrace George Bush’s disgraceful political attack in the afternoon. Instead of delivering meaningful change, John McCain wants to continue George Bush’s irresponsible and failed Iran policy by refusing to engage in tough, direct diplomacy like Presidents from Kennedy to Reagan have done.”

Today, Obama responded with anger and forcefulness, while criticizing Bush’s “failed” policies abroad and hammering McCain for supporting them. “They’re trying to fool you. They’re trying to scare you. And they’re not telling the truth. And the reason is they can’t win a foreign policy debate on the merits, but it’s not gonna work. It’s not gonna work this time and it’s not gonna work this year,” Obama told voters in Watertown, South Dakota. “If George Bush and John McCain want a debate about protecting the United States of America, that’s a debate I’m happy to have, anytime, any place, and that is a debate that I will win, because George Bush and John McCain have a lot to answer for,” he said.

As evidence, Obama cited what he sees as foreign policy failures implemented by the Bush Administration. “Our Iran policy is a complete failure right now and that’s the policy John McCain is running on. He has nothing to offer except the naïve and irresponsible belief that tough talk from Washington will somehow cause Iran to give up its nuclear program in support for terrorism. I’m running for president to change course, not to continue George Bush’s course,” he said to applause.

Later at a press avail, Obama was asked if he took the White House’s word that President Bush was not referring to him. “For them to suggest that somehow they weren’t aimed – who’s this “some” that they were talking about? Is this some amorphous “some”? Or is this just a straw man that they were setting up? And if so, what was the purpose of the remarks? That’s being disingenuous,” he responded.

Of Obama’s South Dakota remarks, a McCain spokesman noted, “It was remarkable to see Barack Obama’s hysterical diatribe in response to a speech in which his name wasn’t even mentioned.”

WILMINGTON, NC — First she said that if Barack Obama didn’t like the questions he received from debate moderators, she’d debate him Lincoln-Douglas style. Now, Hillary Clinton says she’ll even take the show on the road.

Obama told reporters this week that he’s ruled out another debate before the next round of primaries, moderators or no moderators — saying “Rather than being in a studio, I want to make sure that we’re reaching out to folks where they live.”

Senator Clinton’s response? “We could even do it on the back of a flatbed truck, doesn’t even have to be in some fancy studio somewhere,” she told the cheering crowd at an outdoor rally in the shadows of the USS North Carolina.

Clinton said she was “very, very regretful” that Obama would not agree to a new debate in the Tar Heel state . “He turned down the debate that I agreed to here in North Carolina,” she said. “There were 20,000 people who had already emailed in for tickets. There was that much interest.”

“I know his supporters say well, they didn’t like the debate in Philadelphia. The questions were kind of mean and they were sort of tough. You know, I’ve gotta say, tough questions in a debate is nothing like the tough decisions you’ve got to make in the White House. And I think that this state deserves a debate.”

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When asked by reporters in Indianapolis this morning about Senator Clinton’s offer to debate sans moderator, Obama noted he only had nine more days to campaign in Indiana and North Carolina. “Rather than being in a studio, I want to make sure that we’re reaching out to folks where they live, answering their questions and having as many interactions as possible,” he explained.

But don’t rule out a debate after May 6th - “You know, I’m more than happy to consider something after Indiana and North Carolina. At this point, we just don’t have a lot of time,” Obama said.

SOUTH BEND, Ind — Senator Clinton issued her strongest debate challenge yet to Democratic rival Barack Obama, saying that if tough questions from the moderators are what he’s worried about, she’s willing to scrap them and face him one-on-one.

“After the last debate in Philadelphia, Senator Obama’s supporters complained a little bit about the tough questions,” she said to sarcastic cries from the crowd. “Tough questions in the debate are nothing compared to the tough questions you get asked when you’re president and you have to answer them to make tough decisions.”

“So here’s my proposal: I’m offering Senator Obama the chance to debate me one on one, no moderators. Just the two of us, going for 90 minutes, asking and answering questions.”

Clinton recalled the grand tradition of the unmoderated debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in their 1858 Senate race in Illinois, saying “I think that would be good for the Democratic party, it would be good for our democracy, and it would be great for Indiana.”

As she delivered her challenge at home plate of a minor league ballpark, Obama was telling FNC’s Chris Wallace that he would not debate Senator Clinton before the Indiana primary. Clinton aides acknowledge there’s not much chance that these debates will actually take place — but say that with the perfect storm of media pressure and public outcry, Obama might be forced to give in.

Given his performance in the last debate, the Clinton campaign feels that any further meetings just provide her with another chance to cut into his lead and show that she’d make a superior president

UPDATE: Obama Communications Director Robert Gibbs says no dice. It’s a matter of numbers: “We have participated in 21 nationally televised debates, the most in primary history, including four exclusively with Senator Clinton. Senator Clinton refused an earlier invitation that had been accepted to debate in North Carolina. Over the next 10 days, we believe it’s more important to talk directly to the voters of Indiana and North Carolina about fixing our economy, cutting the cost of health care and ending a war in Iraq that never should have been authorized in the first place.”

In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Barack Obama definitively told host Chris Wallace he would not debate Hillary Clinton before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries on May 6th, but insisted he’s not “ducking” a debate with Clinton.

The candidates have met 21 times to debate during the course of this primary contest; the last one in Philadelphia focused heavily on Obama’s campaign gaffes, which prompted him to note the next day during a North Carolina town hall, “It took us 45 minutes before we even started talking about a single issue that matters to the American people.” Obama also said it was typical Washington. “They like stirring up controversy and they like playing gotcha games, and getting us to attack each other. And I have to say Senator Clinton looked in her element,” he said at the time.

Clinton said he was “complaining” - not so, Obama said. “Did you hear me complain?” he asked a reporter looking for a response. “Who’s been complaining about the media for the last six months?”

But Obama never responded to a CBS News offer to debate Clinton again in North Carolina on the 27th. When asked about it by a Raleigh voter, Obama replied, “We’re trying to figure out what our schedule looks like. But, I’ll be honest with you, you know we now had 21…I could deliver Senator Clinton’s lines, she could, I’m sure, deliver mine, so what we’ve got to figure out how we fit in campaigning actively both here in North Carolina and Indiana…we’re just trying to figure what’s the best way to reach as many constituents as possible in a relatively short period of time.”

CBS News has since cancelled the debate, but Senator Clinton has repeatedly challenged Obama to debate prior to the May 6th primaries. In the past, Obama has said the more time he spends with voters, the better they get to know him, and when you’re competing against the “Clinton brand,” that’s important.

Read the Wallace/Obama exchange below the jump.

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JACKSONVILLE, NC — Hillary Clinton stepped up the pressure on her Democratic rival to agree to a new round of one-on-one debates before the May 6th primaries — accusing Barack Obama of ducking her in North Carolina.

Telling the crowd that she’s answered some 14,000 questions from North Carolinians as part of her “NC Ask Me” ad campaign, Clinton said “the only question I can’t answer is why Senator Obama won’t debate me in North Carolina.”

“I said I’ll go anywhere, any time to have a debate,” she said.

Flanked by retired admirals and generals outside a fire station in the shadows of Camp Lejeune, Sen Clinton wrapped up her military-themed event with a plea for help — but couldn’t resist yet another debate dig. “I know I have an uphill struggle here in North Carolina, but i feel good,” she said.

“If you do have questions, go to the NC Ask Me website. ask your questions. Ask why Senator Obama won’t debate me, and let’s work to try to find a time and a place where that can take place.”

An Obama aide points out that he did agree to a time and a place for a North Carolina debate — accepting an invitation to a CBS forum set for April 19th. It was Senator Clinton who declined that invitation since, she said, the date fell on the second day of Passover.

Clinton’s explicit argument is that the issues they debated in Pennsylvania differ from the issues voters in Indiana and North Carolina face every day, and deserve to be discussed. But implicit in her debate push is the recognition that forcing another poor debate performance out of Obama is one of the only avenues still available for Clinton to wrest the nomination away from the frontrunner.

With the campaign facing a cash crunch even after their $10 million day on Wednesday, reaching 11 million people as she did in the Philadelphia debate without spending a penny is also an attractive proposition.

BETHLEHEM, Penn — Hillary Clinton continued to accuse Barack Obama and his campaign of going negative despite a call for an end to such divisive politics.

“While my opponent says one thing and his campaign does another, you can count on me to tell you where I stand, and you can count on me to tell you very specifically the solutions that I offer for America,” she said.

Her explanation for Obama’s recent negativity? A poor performance in last week’s debate. “It’s no wonder that my opponent has been so negative these last few days of the campaign. Because I think you saw a big difference between us,” she said. “It’s really a choice of leadership: I’m offering leadership you can count on. You know where I stand.”

At the same time, the Clinton campaign announced a brand new :30 second ad in PA making the same argument. “He couldn’t answer tough questions in the debate. So Barack Obama is making false charges against Hillary’s health care plan,” says the narrator. “There are more and more questions about Barack Obama. Instead of attacking, maybe he should answer them.

Clinton was as aggressive in attacking Obama on Health Care and Energy… and said she takes money from people who work for oil companies because they’re Americans too. Watch that after the jump.

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