Good Move by Obama

From Marc Ambinder (the under-rated):

Frustrated with the volume of interest group forums and non-party sponsored debates, Sen. Barack Obama's campaign manager has put his foot down: Obama won't attend any more debates that aren't sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee, and he won't accept any more invitations to speak at candidate forums.

In a memo the campaign will post on its website shortly, campaign manager David Plouffe writes that Obama has already spoken at 19 different candidate forums and has participated in seven full debates and is committed to attending a total of fifteen debates.

"Unfortunately, we simply cannot run the kind of campaign we want and need to, engaging with voters in the early states and February 5, if our schedule is dictated by dozens of forums and debates," Plouffe writes. "Ultimately, the one group left out of the current schedule is the voters and they are the ones who ask the toughest questions and most deserve to have those questions answered face to face."

Screw these things. I'm so sick and tired of Democratic one-issue interest groups and their disproportionate influence in primaries.

Which leaves Obama to do the one truly radical thing to do--accept Newt's invitation to a renewed Lincoln-Douglas Debates. For the man who announced his candidacy at Lincoln's old stomping grounds, he is the perfect one to do it.

He does poorly in quick 30 second-1 minute debates. He needs to time to get through his thoughts, lay out his vision, and it would help bring back his charm factor.