While Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton spent the weekend bickering over the need for more debates, Obama turned most of his personal attention on the presumptive GOP nominee, again sparring with John McCain in what is quickly becoming an acrimonious battle as well.
Clinton launched the first salvo on Saturday, engaging in the time tested method of calling for new debates, all the well knowing that your opponent will likely say no.
"Clinton Camp Calls for Lincoln-Douglas Style Debates," read the release that popped up on my blackberry on Saturday afternoon.
Team Clinton noted that Obama has declined debate invites in both North Carolina and Indiana, so with this year the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, why not have another round?
The proposal was a 90-minute format - "no questioners, no panelists, no video clips," said a letter to the Obama campaign.
The two candidates would speak in two minute time intervals, able to ask each other questions, allowing them to address just about anything.
It was no surprise that the Obama Camp declined the debate invitation, as their candidate has the most to lose - proven by the last debate in Philadelphia.
The Obama camp noted that "We have participated in 21 nationally televised debates" already, though only four of those have been one-on-one encounters with Clinton.
(If Clinton were in the lead, I bet she'd be the one saying "we've had enough debates.")
Meanwhile, there were more barbs exchanged over the weekend between the Obama and McCain camps as the Democratic Party released a new ad attacking John McCain on the "100 years in Iraq" spat that's been going on for several weeks.
McCain and Obama also tangled over the Rev. Wright controversy, with Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan accusing McCain of sinking to a new low in campaign jabs.
"John McCain has broken his word to the American people and rendered hollow his promise of a respectful campaign," Sevugan said in a statement.
Now while the Obama kindly included several quotes from McCain that were answers from questions about Wright, none of that really leaped off the page as being extraordinarily negative, especially the part where McCain seems to give Obama a pass on his relations with Wright.
"I think that when people support you it doesn't mean that you support everything they say," McCain said, later acknowledging the hot water he's gotten into as well after getting endorsements from people with troubles of their own.
"I know that for example, I've had endorsements from some people that I didn't share they views but they endorsed mine. So I think we have to be very careful about that part of it," said McCain, according to a YouTube link that the Obama camp provided.
It seemed to me that McCain's jab at Obama's opposition to a temporary lifting of the gasoline tax was more of a political punch than anything, given this lead paragraph from the Associated Press:
"Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Sunday called Democratic rival Barack Obama insensitive to poor people and out of touch on economic issues."
It's been interesting to watch how aggressive the Obama camp has been with McCain for the past month or so and vice versa. Neither side really seems ready to stand down, making me wonder whether we are going to have a real verbal donnybrook on our hands in November if it is Obama v McCain.
I don't think McCain has much patience for Obama. Obama jerked McCain around on an effort involving ethics reform in the Senate and - it's just my gut feeling here - it seems that McCain acts like he holds a grudge about that, or something else.
Like I've said, if you really think the exchanges between Clinton and Obama have been personal, just wait until we have exchanges between two candidates who actually believe different things about major issues.
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