Obama agrees to debate Clinton in Texas

[ariesgem]

Barack Obama pledged Thursday to meet Hillary Rodham Clinton in Democratic presidential debates in Texas and Ohio before the March 4 primaries.

But the Illinois senator stopped short of committing to attend an event planned for Feb. 28 in Houston at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

"We're committing to the concept of doing a debate in Texas before the primary," said Josh Earnest, a spokesman for the Obama campaign.

Obama also announced he had accepted an invitation to participate in a debate at Cleveland State University on Feb. 26. That debate, the campaign said, will be hosted by NBC News and WKYC, NBC's Cleveland affiliate.

Clinton, a senator from New York, quickly accepted that offer as well.

"We are glad he finally accepted a debate with us, and we look forward to many more debates with him in the future," Adrienne Elrod, a spokeswoman for the Clinton campaign, said in a statement.

NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams and the network's Washington bureau chief Tim Russert will moderate the Cleveland debate.

The two veteran newsmen also have promised to moderate the debate the Greater Houston Partnership has been trying to organize in Houston. NBC's cable network MSNBC had committed to airing the Houston forum.

Besides the NBC affiliates in Ohio, the Cleveland debate also will be aired on MSNBC. The forum will be translated into Spanish and then aired on Telemundo that same evening.

Whether NBC's landing the Ohio debate might scuttle plans for a Houston forum two days later remained unclear Thursday.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/5523614.html

[comradebillyboy]

1. I think Obama had to agree to at least debate Clinton in

Texas and Ohio or risk looking like he was afraid to debate her one on one. At this point it is not really to his advantage to have one on one debates with Clinton, but ...

[Windy]

2. He's clearly controlling the debate schedule... these will benefit him

as they take place in states where she supposedly has an edge.

I'm glad!!

[Cha]

7. I don't think you know what you're

talking about but rattle away.

[mckeown1128]

3. He is a weak debator.

He shouldn't be doing this. This is exactly what she wants from him. She knows that he never goes to the debates as rehearsed as she does. Obama is more in the realm of how Richardson debates. Off the cuff...aka thinking about the answers. It is his BIG weakness. I am a little disapointed that he agreed to debate.

[abburdlen]

4. It will all be good

when he brings a copy of his tax records.
*ding*
debates over.

[scheming daemons]

5. Expectations will be greatly lowered.....

...and then when he battles Hillary to a draw or near draw in the debate, it will be spun in the MSM as a HUGE win.

Just like last Thursday.

[Lucinda]

6. I'm sure he will be prepared.