Obama's 'Old Politics' Debate Dodge

No doubt Obama's disciples will frame their candidate's decision to go back on his word given in May to debate McCain when he said at the time  "if I have the opportunity to debate substantive issues before the voters with John McCain, that’s something that I am going to welcome,” as a principled refusal.

As it turns out, the messiah doesn't "welcome" any kind of a debate outside the three that are scheduled for this fall:

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.

Needless to say, this is a classic dodge drawn from the "Old Politics" playbook for the front runner to refuse debating the fellow who trails in the polls. Never mind about all of Obama's pious mouthings about practicing a "new kind of politics." Never mind that it would be good for the country to see the two candidates taking questions from ordinary Americans so that we can see how they think on their feet and not simply reading words off of a teleprompter.

Obama doesn't have to debate so he won't. Personally, I think it a wise political choice in that McCain would be able to pin The One down on any number of issues that he has been all over the map on recently. His positions on FISA, Iraq, energy, and a half dozen other issues he has flip flopped on recently will remain obscured.

Will breaking his promise to debate the issues with McCain by using the old politics strategy of dodging his rival stop talk that Obama represents a new, "post partisan" kind of politics?

Are you kidding?