ObamaClub.com

The campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain locked horns Friday over the format and schedule of debates between the presidential candidates. One day after Obama secured the Democratic nomination earlier this month, McCain offered to hold at least 10 joint town hall meetings until the Democrats’ national convention in August.

But Obama campaign manager David Plouffe offered Friday to hold one town hall meeting on the economy in July and one debate on foreign policy in August, in addition to the three debates traditionally held in the fall before the November election.

Plouffe said the Republican’s campaign rejected the proposal.

“It’s disappointing that Senator McCain and his campaign decided to decline this proposal. Apparently they would rather contrive a political issue than foster a genuine discussion about the future of our country,” Plouffe said.

Earlier, the McCain campaign announced it had accepted invitations from the Ronald Reagan and Lyndon Johnson presidential libraries to appear at town hall meetings in July.

The McCain campaign said it was planning a town hall meeting in Minnesota next Thursday and invited Obama to attend it.

“We will hold time on our schedule for joint town halls every Thursday night until the Democratic convention,” said McCain campaign manager Rick Davis.

“I hope Senator Obama would reconsider his position and agree to join Senator McCain as early as next week,” he said.