On the Hustings

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Senator McCain responds to a question after touring the Florida Everglades near Miami, Fla., Friday, June 6, 2008.

OBAMA, McCAIN COOL TO BLOOMBERG-ABC NEWS NYC TOWN HALL PROPOSAL

Mayor Bloomberg is making a bid to host the first joint town hall meeting with senators Obama and McCain, joining with ABC News to propose historic Federal Hall in Lower Manhattan as the location for the initial general election forum. Mr. Bloomberg and the president of ABC News, David Westin, made the offer in a letter to both candidates released yesterday. A town hall in the nation's "first capital," they wrote, "represents a unique opportunity to capture the interest of voters as the general election campaign kicks off." The proposal for a 90-minute, prime-time event seizes on Mr. McCain's push to hold 10 joint town hall events throughout the summer and beginning next week. The Obama campaign has signaled an openness to the idea, but it has stated a preference for "Lincoln-Douglas"-style debates, which would feature longer speeches by the candidates and could better take advantage of his oratorical skill; Mr. McCain, by contrast, excels in the town hall format. Representatives from each campaign told the Associated Press that they did not want to limit the events to a single network, and a McCain spokesman said he did not want the forums moderated by a journalist.

BUSH CALLS OBAMA NOMINATION A 'POWERFUL MOMENT' FOR AMERICA

President Bush may be staunchly in Senator McCain's corner this fall, but he called Senator Obama's victory in the Democratic nomination fight a "powerful moment" for America. "Look, I'm for McCain, and everybody knows that," the president said in an interview with an Italian television station. "On the other hand, I thought it was a really good statement, powerful moment when a major political party nominates [an] African-American man to be their standard bearer. And it's good for our democracy that that happened." Mr. Bush also noted the historic nature of Senator Clinton's candidacy, saying it was "a good sign for American democracy."

HUCKABEE COMES TO RESCUE, PERFORMS HEIMLICH MANEUVER ON GOP CANDIDATE

Michael Huckabee came to the rescue of a candidate for lieutenant governor in North Carolina — literally. The former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential hopeful successfully performed the Heimlich maneuver on Robert Pittenger when the man began choking while the two were seated next to each other at a breakfast during the North Carolina State Republican Convention. "I'm glad that Mike was in the right place at the right time and continued to lead by example," a former South Carolina lieutenant governor candidate, Mike Campbell, told the Palmetto Scoop. "We all know that [Huckabee] is pro-life, and once again he has lived up to it." Mr. Huckabee's daughter, Sarah, told the Web site that her father had been trained as an EMT in college and had been in similar situations before.

McCAIN TO OPEN FUND-RAISERS TO PRESS COVERAGE

Senator McCain will likely begin opening his fund-raisers to the press in a new bid at transparency, according to NBC News. The presumptive Republican nominee has drawn criticism from Senator Obama and grumbles from the press corps for holding his fund-raisers behind closed doors, particularly an event last month with President Bush that was moved into a private residence to keep journalists away. The network reported that the McCain campaign would open events to a "pool" reporter from print publications, but not to video cameras. Mr. Obama, who has opened his recent fund-raisers to at least one "pool" reporter, ran into trouble earlier this year when his comments at a closed-door event in San Francisco about small-town Americans were published online.

OBAMA NAMES POLITICAL DIRECTOR TO OVERSEE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION

Senator Obama is dispatching the political director of his campaign to oversee the Democratic National Convention this summer in Denver. His campaign said Matthew Nugen, who helped run the 2000 convention, would arrive in Denver today and serve as Mr. Obama's liaison to the convention. Having secured the Democratic nomination last week, the Illinois senator is moving quickly to effectively take over operations of the party.

WEEKEND OFF FOR DEMOCRAT

Senator Obama capped his victory last week with a quiet, long weekend at home in Chicago. He and his wife, Michelle, yesterday bicycled to a neighbor's house with their daughters, Malia and Sasha, and the group then headed out for a ride along the scenic shore of Lake Michigan. But the outing was cut short by a downpour. Mr. Obama's brief respite from the campaign was scheduled to end today with a speech in Raleigh, N.C., and an evening fund-raiser in St. Louis. The speech will launch a two-week tour of the country focused on economic issues.