town hall meeting – News Stories About town hall meeting - Page 7

What We Saw:
Hot vs. Cool
Old vs. Young

OPINION

Oct 8, 2008 10:01 AM CDT

What We Saw: Hot vs. Cool Old vs. Young

How they acted

(Newser) - What viewers see is as important as what they hear in debates. So what did pundits see?

"The expressions on John McCain's face, and the irritation in his voice, said it all," writes the San Francisco Chronicle. McCain “was a portrait of frustration,” while Obama

...

Facing Actual Voters
Can Be Tall Order

OPINION

Oct 7, 2008 2:20 PM CDT

Facing Actual Voters Can Be Tall Order

Candidates won't be as easily able to duck pointed questions in tonight's debate format

(Newser) - The presidential candidates will be walking into a lion’s den tonight, forced to face those most dangerous of creatures: undecided voters. The town-hall debate could be a “snooze-fest,” writes John Dickerson on Slate, but there’s also a chance “Ponytail Guy”—the town-haller who famously...

Tonight's Tango:
Think Dance, Not Debate

analysis

Oct 7, 2008 11:11 AM CDT

Tonight's Tango: Think Dance, Not Debate

Get ready for Barack and Mac to bust some Clintonian moves

(Newser) - Tonight in Nashville, don’t expect either a real “town hall” format or a true debate, advises Jack Shafer in Slate. We won’t see unvetted questions or reasoned exchanges. What we can expect are some interesting moves, with the candidates taking cues from earlier performances by Bill Clinton,...

Town Hall Gives Mac
Preferred Platform

ANALYSIS

Oct 6, 2008 10:10 AM CDT

Town Hall Gives Mac Preferred Platform

Campaign sees tomorrow's encounter as chance to reroute opinion

(Newser) - Tomorrow’s debate will be the one town-hall-style encounter John McCain gets with Barack Obama, and analysts believe it will be crucial to keeping the presidential race from slipping away, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Republican has a reputation for excelling in the town-hall format, which brings out his...

First Debate
Stuck in Limbo

Sep 26, 2008 2:01 AM CDT

First Debate Stuck in Limbo

'Showdown' could switch to town hall meet if only Obama turns up today

(Newser) - What if they held a presidential debate and only one candidate came? The scenario is looking like a real possibility as the federal bailout deal stalls, the Wall Street Journal reports. John McCain has said he will fly to Mississippi for the debate only if an agreement is reached in...

Cooperation at Center of McCain Speech

Sep 4, 2008 3:33 PM CDT

Cooperation at Center of McCain Speech

New setup will put Mac among GOP delegates as he accepts nom

(Newser) - John McCain will reinforce his “maverick” image and encourage bipartisan cooperation when he addresses the Republican convention tonight, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The speech will describe “where, how and why he wants to lead the country," his speechwriter said. The arena setup has been reconfigured for...

McCain, Obama Reject
ABC Town Hall Meeting

Jun 9, 2008 3:10 AM CDT

McCain, Obama Reject ABC Town Hall Meeting

But campaigns are enthusiastic about new approach

(Newser) - John McCain and Barack Obama turned down an invitation from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and ABC News to hold the first town hall meeting in New York, AP reports. While the candidates are both enthusiastic about the idea of such a forum, they want it to be broadcast by multiple stations....

Why the Town Halls? It's All Mac Is Good at

OPINION

Jun 5, 2008 2:45 PM CDT

Why the Town Halls? It's All Mac Is Good at

And why it's been so difficult for Clinton to feel defeated

(Newser) - The shocking disparity between John McCain and Barack Obama’s performances on Tuesday night—Barack soared while John looked awful—is a perfect reminder of why the Republican is calling for a summer of town hall meetings, Gail Collins writes in the New York Times: it’s the only format...

McCain Dares Obama to
10 Informal Debates

Jun 4, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

McCain Dares Obama to 10 Informal Debates

Face-to-face showdowns could echo Lincoln-Douglas, Obama adviser suggests

(Newser) - John McCain challenged Barack Obama today to fight mano a mano in a series of 10 intimate town-hall meetings between now and the Democratic primary in late August. The Republican's invitation, delivered in a speech and said to be modeled on a proposed Kennedy-Goldwater series, would be “free from...

Obama Shifts
Blue-Collar Strategy

Apr 28, 2008 7:18 AM CDT

Obama Shifts Blue-Collar Strategy

Visits church, b-ball court amid town-hall stumping

(Newser) - Moving to beef up his appeal to blue-collar voters in Indiana, Barack Obama is changing the tone of his campaign there, trading big rallies for more intimate town-hall sessions; the weekend included stops at a Methodist church and a basketball court, the New York Times reports. “I’ve got...

Mac's Tour Aims
at Dem Strongholds

ANALYSIS

Apr 10, 2008 4:29 PM CDT

Mac's Tour Aims at Dem Strongholds

Town-hall-heavy trip is high-risk, must be sustained to avoid looking like a stunt

(Newser) - John McCain is planning a tour to visit core Democratic constituencies—inner cities, Appalachia, the black South—in what John Dickerson, in Slate, sees not as a direct appeal for votes, but rather a campaign to beam his authenticity, via the media, to the country’s independents. A McCain advisor...

McCain’s 'All-In' NH Strategy

Dec 20, 2007 2:32 PM CST

McCain’s 'All-In' NH Strategy

No longer the maverick, the Arizona Republican makes his last stand in the Granite State

(Newser) - His maverick days over, John McCain is making his last stand as presidential timber in New Hampshire, the first-in-the-nation primary he won in 2000 only to get bulldozed by George W. Bush. McCain is banking on big Granite State momentum to set off a financial and popularity surge in Michigan,...

Hillary, Rudy
in a Dead Heat
in Nevada

Nov 15, 2007 11:10 AM CST

Hillary, Rudy in a Dead Heat in Nevada

Clinton leads Dems, but looks to steady ship at tonight's debate

(Newser) - Presidential frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani are tied in a head-to-head Nevada matchup, according to a CNN poll taken just ahead of tonight's Dem debate in what is now an early-primary state. But Clinton dominates her rivals for the party's nod, with 51% to Barack Obama’s 23% and...

Plants and Stooges Spike Town Halls

Nov 14, 2007 6:06 PM CST

Plants and Stooges Spike Town Halls

One can’t be sure the questioner's a plain old citizen, Salon observes

(Newser) - The town hall meeting has long been an American tradition in which regular folk talk with political candidates, but Salon’s Michael Scherer says our modern variant is so diluted by plants and stooges it should “be placed inside quotation marks.” Hillary Clinton’s campaign called attention to...

Diplomats Raise Stink Over Iraq Assignments

Oct 31, 2007 5:02 PM CDT

Diplomats Raise Stink Over Iraq Assignments

'Potential death sentence’ in required postings, staffers say

(Newser) - Foreign service officers vented anger today over the State Department's plan to require some to serve in Iraq, chewing out their director in a meeting. One senior officer called the “directed assignments”—which could force diplomats to take postings in Baghdad or outlying provinces—a “potential death...