Bloomberg, ABC propose first Town Hall

[Ron Burgundy]

Politico - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and ABC News on Sunday proposed that the presidential nominees hold a joint town hall as a 90-minute network special from Federal Hall, on Wall Street in Lower Manhattan.

Such a joint meeting would be a new twist in the rituals of a national campaign, and would help both candidates promote the message that they want to help put an end to a divisive era in national politics.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has challenged Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to a series of 12 joint town halls, which would be a more casual version of the formal debates that are a traditional part of general-election campaigns. The partners propose ABC's Diane Sawyer as a moderator.

Obama's campaign has indicated interest but has committed to nothing.

The offer keeps Bloomberg, a centrist who is a vice presidential possibility for tickets, at the center of the campaign conversation.

Bloomberg has offered to help the candidates shape the format.

ABC News President David Westin joined Bloomberg in extending the invitation in a one-page letter that says, “Our goal is simple: ABC News and the City of New York want to bring the widest possible audience to this historic meeting.”

The two did not suggest a date, but said it “can be agreed upon by all parties.”

McCain had proposed Federal Hall as a setting for a town hall this Thursday, but Obama has not accepted.

Federal Hall National Memorial, a former customs house, bills itself as “the Birthplace of American Government ... where George Washington took the oath of office as the first president, and was the site of the first Congress, Supreme Court, and executive branch offices.

Here is a copy of the letter.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080608/pl_politico/10922 [link]