Running Scared: Obama Backs Off Townhall Meetings With McCain

Hmm. What happened to all that bravado and bluster from The Great Orator?

Could it be he's panicking because his poll numbers are sinking like a stone?

Perhaps it's because he becomes The Wizards of Uhhhs when he doesn't have a TelePrompter in front of him?

Whatever it is, he sure looks chicken.

Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Saturday backed away from rival John McCain's challenge for a series of joint appearances before the political conventions, agreeing only to the standard three debates in the fall.

In May, when a McCain adviser proposed a series of pre-convention appearances at town hall meetings, Obama said, "I think that's a great idea." In summer stumping on the campaign trail, McCain has often noted that Obama had not followed through and joined him in any events.

On Saturday, in a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said the short period between the last political convention and the first proposed debate made it likely that the commission-sponsored debates would be the only ones in the fall.

"We've committed to the three debates on the table," campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Saturday in an interview. "It's likely they will be the three appearances by the candidates this fall."

Asked by The Associated Press if that meant Obama would not agree to any other debates, Psaki said, "We're not saying that." She said the McCain campaign had rejected Obama's proposal for two joint town hall meetings.

Lame. They can't even get their denials straight.

You know this boob doesn't want any part of McCain in a debate, since by the time they get around to him he'll have changed his position on every issue.