Mofo Politics | Hoping Obama Fails

Obama still resisting call to postpone debate

Posted September 25th, 2008 under Headlines Tags: commission, debate, mccain, obama, postpone

The Obama camp continues to push to debate this Friday, while conceding that there won’t be a debate if McCain doesn’t show up.

WaPo:

Obama “strongly believes the debate should go forward on Friday so that the American people can hear from their next president about how he will lead America forward at this defining moment for our country,” Burton said. The debate is slated to be the first of three between the candidates. The Commission on Presidential Debates took the unusual step last night of issuing a statement indirectly but unmistakably pressuring McCain to stick to the original schedule: “We believe the public will be well served by having all of the debates go forward as scheduled.”

But if McCain does not attend, “there won’t be a debate,” said one person involved in the negotiations. The event could be changed to another date, and McCain aides said that “everything was on the table” when it came to rescheduling the debate. That includes the possibility of holding it next Thursday, when the vice presidential nominees — Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — are scheduled to face off, and delaying their debate.

VIDEO: Obama Senior Advisor Robert Gibbs:

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