"Change Campaign" is Unchanging
There was a chance, even a good one, to restructure the Presidential fall debates. The Commission on Presidential Debate (CPD) was on the ropes following a primary filled with debate events, ready sponsors, and pressure from the new media. BUT ALAS!
Today the Obama campaign appears to have nixed debates beyond the three scheduled by the CPD.
Obama spokes person, Plouffe, wrote in a letter to the commission agreeing to their three debates:
In letter to Commission on Presidential Debates, writes
"Due to the late date of the two parties' nominating conventions, and the relatively short period between the end of the conventions and the first proposed debate, it is likely that the four Commission debates will be the sole series of debates in the fall campaign."
The campaign is putting a lot of eggs in one basket. Debates, even without memorable moments, have power to drive candidate's narrative, positive and negative, materially influencing electoral outcomes.
For a campaign that depends on the change message the decision to forgo more debates, for the staid Commission productions, appears wholly political.
