North Carolina Democrats hit the primary polls in two weeks, and CBS News
was
to have hosted a debate this Sunday between front-runner Barack Obama and
underdog Hillary Clinton. Alas, it was not to be. A press release from the
North Carolina Democratic Party says that the party has decided to spend
more
time with its family:
We regret to inform you that the proposed Democratic
Presidential Debate scheduled for April 27 has been
cancelled due to time constraints and logistical issues
associated with such a large, national event. . . . There
were also growing concerns about what another debate
would do to party unity.
CBS News has what almost certainly is the real story:
Hillary Clinton had accepted the invitation to Sunday's
proposed debate but Barack Obama's campaign had not. In
an interview with the Charlotte Observer earlier this
month, Obama voiced skepticism about participating in
too many debates. "I will tell you, after the 21st debate,"
Obama told the paper (in advance of last week's 21st
debate), "all of which have been nationally televised...
North Carolinians have had ample op****tunity to watch
these debates. . . . I don't know that they are ending
up being more informative than the kinds of town hall
meetings that we've scheduled."
Of course, after last week's debate--which turned out to be highly
informative--Obama has got to be wi****ng he had stopped at 20. Given that
he
seems to have the nomination nearly locked up anyway, it makes tactical
sense
for him to run out the clock and stay far away from anyone who may ask him
a
tough question.
But does it make strategic sense? It strikes us that Obama may be setting
a
trap for himself. Consider the experience of John Kerry in 2004: He won
nomination easily, with the media largely buying into his "war hero" story
and
not asking tough questions. One notable exception was ABC's Charlie
Gibson,
who almost exactly a year ago confronted Kerry about his ****fty behavior
vis-à-vis his medals.
Once Kerry was past the convention, the questions that should have been
asked
much earlier began coming out. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ended up
doing the media's job for them. If Obama succeeds in avoiding the tough
questions now, someone will end up asking them in the fall. Will he be
prepared?
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