On the Hustings

McCAIN CHALLENGES OBAMA TO TOWN HALL MEETINGS

Senator McCain yesterday challenged his Democratic rival, Senator Obama, to participate in a series of 10 joint town hall meetings starting next week in New York City, saying voters deserve "a new tenor" in presidential campaigns.

Less than a day after Mr. Obama clinched the Democratic nomination, the presumptive Republican nominee delivered a letter to the Democrat's campaign formally proposing an idea he raised last month. The senator of Arizona proposed flying to the first town hall meeting in the same plane as a symbol that they are "embracing the politics of civility."

"What a welcome change it would be were presidential candidates in our time to treat each other and the people they seek to lead with respect and courtesy as they discussed the great issues of the day, without the empty soundbites and media-filtered exchanges that dominate our elections," he wrote.

Mr. Obama's campaign manager responded quickly, calling the idea of joint forums "appealing" and saying the Illinois senator would favor a "less structured" format that more closely resembles the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.

"The idea of joint town halls is appealing and one that would allow a great conversation to take place about the need to change the direction of this country," David Plouffe said.

PRESIDENT CLINTON MUM ON WIFE'S PLANS

During an hour-long speech yesterday morning in Manhattan on the future of corporate philanthropy, President Clinton yesterday avoided making any comment on whether his wife, Senator Clinton, was considering an official withdrawal from the Democratic presidential primary. He made only a passing reference to her campaign.

RICE, BUSH NOTE OBAMA'S WIN

Senator Obama's accomplishment in becoming the first African-American ever to win a major party presidential nomination drew public acclaim from Secretary of State Rice and the White House, the Associated Press reported.

"The United States of America is an extraordinary country. It is a country that has overcome many, many, now years, decades, actually a couple of centuries of trying to make good on its principles," Ms. Rice, the first female black secretary of state in history, and one who serves in a Republican administration, said. "And I think what we are seeing is an extraordinary expression of the fact that 'We the people' is beginning to mean to all of us."

Press secretary Dana Perino conveyed President Bush's congratulations. "Senator Obama came a long way in becoming his party's nominee," she told reporters yesterday. "And his historic achievement reflects the fact that our country has come along way, too."

OBAMA TELLS SEIU MCCAIN IS ANTI-LABOR

Speaking via satellite to a convention of the Service Employees International Union in Puerto Rico, Senator Obama charged yesterday that Senator McCain would continue policies many in organized labor view as hostile. Mr. Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, called President Bush's team "the most anti-labor administration in our memory" and said Mr. McCain would be indistinguishable from them.

"We cannot afford to let John McCain serve out George Bush's third term," Mr. Obama said, according to MSNBC.

The senator of Illinois also highlighted the case of a Bronx nursing home worker and SEIU member, Audrey Smith-Campbell, who died from an asthma attack after her health benefits were cut off. "Audrey is no longer with us. But her spirit is. It's with you in Puerto Rico. And it's driving me on this campaign. Because we cannot accept this kind of injustice in the United States of America," he said, the Daily News reported.

LIMBAUGH WARNS MCCAIN: DON'T MALIGN BUSH

A prominent conservative radio host, Rush Limbaugh, is telling Senator McCain that his presidential bid will be doomed if he denigrates President Bush. "If you run around and you make a big deal out of trying to distance yourself from George W. Bush, you are going to pay for it in ways that you can't understand, because the one thing, of many, that separates Republicans and conservatives from those mealy-mouthed little creeps and kooks and wackos on the left, they respect a leader who they think has done his best," Mr. Limbaugh said on his program Tuesday, according to Politico. "I warn you, do not publicly disrespect him. It will kill you."