By Ruth Marcus
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Democratic voters are having a hard time choosing between two strong candidates. Here's an idea that could help them decide: debates.
Had enough of those, you say? After 20 Democratic debates, the last three one-on-one between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, even the most diligent voter could be forgiven for not being enthused. No one craves another seminar on the merits and drawbacks of an individual mandate to buy health insurance.
My modest proposal is different: The Democratic candidates should debate John McCain. Think of it as Lincoln-Douglas-Douglas --
especially fitting in a year that marks the 150th anniversary of those famous encounters.
The optimal arrangement would be to have all three contenders on the same stage. This would be one-stop shopping for voters, who would get a chance to see how the Democrats stack up against the man whom one of them will face in November. Conveniently, Clinton and Obama are planning to meet for a debate in Philadelphia on April 16. The sponsor, ABC News, could just set an extra place for McCain.
True, that could be dangerous for McCain, who would be exposed to incoming fire from Clinton and Obama simultaneously. In addition, a three-way debate creates the risk that McCain, having decided that he would prefer to run against one of the Democrats, could go easy -- or easier, anyway -- on his favored candidate in the hope of a matchup in the fall. This doesn't worry me too much: McCain isn't one to throw a fight, and in any event it's not entirely clear at this point which candidate he'd want as an opponent.
I'd be willing to settle for separate debates -- McCain against each of the Democratic contenders. Again conveniently, there's another debate scheduled next month, this one in North Carolina on April 19. Obama has accepted; Clinton hasn't yet RSVP'd. So have a
Clinton-McCain debate in Philadelphia, then Obama-McCain in North Carolina.
Talk about must-see TV. It's hard to imagine voters in either party not wanting to tune in.
But why would the candidates agree?
Start with McCain, who's arguably got the least to gain here. After all, the longer and nastier the Democratic battle, the better off the Republican nominee will be. But while McCain has the luxury of pacing himself, raising money and coalescing the party while the Democrats bicker, he's also out of the spotlight during this stretch. Hard to imagine a better way than this to get some attention.
In addition, turning up with the Democrats, together or separately, would give McCain the chance to make his case to the independents and Reagan Democrats he says are crucial to his success in November.
And this is the kind of challenge McCain enjoys. He might just say yes because it appeals to his risk-taking side and reinforces his image as a maverick. Back when it looked as if Obama was about to clinch the Democratic nomination, McCain's staff was discussing the prospect of holding presidential debates this summer, well in advance of the normal schedule.
"He loves debates," campaign manager Rick Davis said last month at a lunch sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. "We will want as many as we can possibly get." Excellent -- why not start now? Indeed, when I mentioned my modest proposal to a different senior
McCain aide the other day, he dismissed the notion of a three-way debate but didn't rule out separate encounters.
As for the Democrats, Clinton's interest in this kind of matchup is clear. Of the two candidates, she is the more experienced debater. Lagging in pledged delegates, she has more to gain from a potentially game-changing event.
That doesn't necessarily mean that Obama would be walking into a trap. He wins the Most Improved Debater award of Campaign 2008; there's every chance that he could hold his own against McCain or even a McCain-Clinton combo. (I'm not giving up on seeing them all on stage at once.) Imagine how much a bravura Obama performance could quell Democratic nerves about how he'll stand up to the inevitable GOP assault if he wins the nomination.
In any case, if Clinton and McCain were to agree to a meet-up, this would be an offer Obama couldn't afford to refuse.
Candidates?
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