Shootout

Apparently, Obama's threat to "bring a gun" to the presidential campaign has caused McCain to rethink his town hall idea.

Seriously, though, I think that Obama's macho posturing looks particularly hollow in light of the junior senator's refusal to engage McCain in a series of unscripted, unarmed encounters.

New Politics?

I think that McCain's decision to hold a town hall sans Obama in Lower Manhattan's Federal Hall was a wise decision. In challenging Obama to a series of town hall meetings, McCain has put the Messiah of New Politics into something of a strategic box. On the one hand, Obama can accept Big Mac's challenge and repeatedly show the public his sub-par extemporaneous speaking skills. On the other hand, Obama can reject the challenge and reinforce the narrative that he is a weak candidate spoiled rotten by media coddling.

Given the many tactical blunders of the McCain campaign in recent weeks, the town hall strategy is a welcome example of tactical wisdom.