John McCain sent a letter to Barack Obama requesting that, in addition to the three debates already planned for the September and October, they have ten town hall debates between next week and the general election. McCain said that the format should allow for a less formal debate where audience members can ask questions of the candidates and would last for sixty to ninety minutes each.
David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, responded kindly, saying that while it is a good idea and that he proposes the town halls last for much longer (presumably to help highlight the age difference between the two candidates) and be in the spirit of the Lincoln Douglas debates. Plouffe added that “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,”
