Obama-McCain Unmoderated Town Hall Debates: Good Move for Obama

McCain has suggested that Obama and McCain hold a series of unmoderated town hall-style debates . Obama said it’s a great idea. The New Republic and others say Obama shouldn’t agree to these type of debates because McCain will benefit from the large crowds and buzz, he’ll appear pleasantly moderate instead of a Bush/Cheney clone, and he’ll get free publicity to overcome his fund raising disadvantages to Obama. I disagree.

I fail to see the “free rider” issue here. There will be debates of some kind no matter what, and both will benefit from the buzz and free publicity. The issue here is what form of debate do you want to have in front of the large crowds/audiences.

I don’t think the proposal is that the town hall format would be the only method, to the exclusion of all others. I would expect we will also have other debates in the more traditional, moderated style. For one thing, the networks are not going to want to have their anchors shut out of the moderator role. All three of the cable nets now view their political teams and coverage as a key part of their brand identity. So this is really an issue of whether to add these town hall formats to the traditional format. Candidly, neither Obama nor McCain is particularly brilliant in the traditional format. Both have a tendency to come across more stilted than they are when they have the freedom to be informal and conversational. Both may benefit, but that’s okay. In the end, you have to have confidence in your candidate. Because Obama is not as well known as McCain, I think Obama actually benefits more from the debates than McCain. Obama will come across as more youthful and vigorous compared to McCain, and more reasonable and likable than the caricature his enemies will try to paint of him.

Lastly, the style of the proposed unmoderated debates is consistent with Obama’s broader theme of transparency, openness and a willingness to engage in dialogue with opponents. To reject such debates would send a conflicting message. Indeed, it’s possible that McCain hoped Obama would reject such debates so McCain could paint him as a hypocrite or “typical politician.” But now that Obama has seemingly accepted, McCain may regret making the offer. The proposal was McCain’s first strategic error and Obama’s quick acceptance was the right move.