The reason John McCain likes Town Hall "meetings" is because he can gloss over

[Bread and Circus]

the questions with canned talking points because in order to give "fair time to everyone" people can't ask probing follow up questions. Also, when McCain filibusters or bluffs his way through a question, the "ordinary people" are not in a position to say "answer the question, you are stalling". It's a setup for folksy questions with folksy non-answers.

The illusion the McCain campaign wants to weave is that these town hall formats are the "real deal" to get rid of the "media filter" but what it really does is enable a talking point based campaign that's founded on false sloganeering to flourish.

I think Obama is wise to avoid them but I think he should either give a rationale or agree to weekly debates that are no holds barred, man to man where they actually ask each other questions and debate back and forth.

However, the Town Hall meetings that McCain wants are a ruse and a way for him to keep spinning his yarn of sounds-good-but-makes-no-sense prepaid talking points.

Without follow-up and challenge, such folksy question and answer sessions would mean nothing and that's not even considering that the McCain campaign would want to stock the pond with friendly questioners and rig the format to allow McCain to get away with outright falsehoods and not be called on it.

[nc4bo]

1. If just a handful of people fired back: But Senator, you didn't answer my question -

it'd do a world of good. As they stand now, planted audiences, pre-fab questions asked by targeted supporters, nah.

But, I think you're right - a true back and forth Q&A session, one on one would do a good job exposing the real m.

[Lasher]

2. Good point.

And we could be sure McHoover would do his best to 'stock the pond' as you succinctly put it. One reason he likes the town hall format is that participants are carefully screened supporters. Both he and Junior have come to believe that's what we all are like.