A debate in North Carolina between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, proposed for April 27, is hanging in the balance.
Obama, the leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, declined on Friday to commit to debating in the state before the May 6 primary elections. In a telephone interview with the Observer, he cited scheduling difficulties and suggested voters might not get much out of a debate anyway.
The two candidates have appeared in 20 debates, with another set for Wednesday in Pennsylvania.
"I will tell you, after the 21st debate -- all of which have been nationally televised, and so North Carolinians have had ample opportunity to watch these debates -- I don't know that they are ending up being more informative than the kinds of town hall meetings that we've scheduled," Obama said.
Obama's comments came during an interview about his economic plan, in which he supports tax cuts for the middle class, changes to trade agreements and relief for homeowners facing foreclosure.
He declined to criticize the U.S. State Department for announcing a week ago that it was renewing its security contract with N.C.-based Blackwater Worldwide. He called for "careful oversight" of such contractors in Iraq. The company has drawn increased scrutiny since a September incident in Baghdad in which 17 Iraqis were killed.
North Carolina has never hosted a debate for its Democratic presidential primary, said N.C. Democratic chairman Jerry Meek. He said Friday that he's still confident Obama will accept the invitation.
"North Carolina is the 10th most populous state in the country," Meek said. "This is a great opportunity for North Carolinians to hear directly from the candidates about issues directly related to North Carolina."
The debate would be held at Raleigh's RBC Center, home to N.C. State basketball and Carolina Hurricanes hockey. Meek said it has helped energize the state's Democrats, with requests for tickets running 500 per hour at peak times in recent days.
Meek said the state Democratic Party and the CBS network chose April 27 because the debate would follow "60 Minutes," putting it in a coveted timeslot.
Obama made clear that both scheduling and strategy will determine his participation.
"I am always open to debates," he said, "but I think that obviously we've got to structure our campaign so that we're reaching as many voters as possible."
He had previously agreed to an N.C. debate April 19. Clinton did not agree. The Pennsylvania primary is three days later.
Clinton has agreed to an April 27 debate. Her N.C. director, Ace Smith, said, "It looks like their intention is to stop debating."
There's little incentive for Obama to commit now, said Ferrel Guillory, founder of UNC Chapel Hill's Program on Public Life. If Obama wins Pennsylvania, where Clinton is favored, then pressure would mount for her to drop out, he said.
"It may be uncomfortable for the folks in Raleigh who are setting it up, and for CBS," Guillory said. "But there's still time to let the process play out a few more days."
He also said the number of debates so far means neither candidate can be accused of ducking.
"I don't think the party folks should try to steamroll candidates into debating just for them to have the fun of having a debate," Guillory said.
In an attempt to attract undecided voters, Obama's campaign released an economic plan Friday. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius appeared in Raleigh to tout the plan, and the campaign says it's distributing 10,000 copies in book form.
Much of the 50-page plan is identical to a national economic plan he released two months ago. Among the proposals is a $10 billion fund to help homeowners facing foreclosure, a tax cut of $500 per worker or $1,000 per working family and a mortgage tax credit for homeowners who don't itemize their returns.
In the interview, Obama said it's designed to help both urban and rural areas.
"One of the central premises of this campaign is that we can't have uneven economic growth," he said. "If it's not good for Main Street, it's not going to be good for Wall Street."
Another part of the plan focuses on strengthening labor unions -- a risk given that North Carolina is among the least unionized states. It also calls for a "crackdown on China."
"There are a host of areas where China has not abided by the rules of the road that should govern our trade," Obama said.
Some parts of the plan would hurt North Carolina, said Joe Coletti of the conservative John Locke Foundation. A $10 billion relief fund for states and localities hit worst by the housing crisis would probably go elsewhere, he said. Obama's plan doesn't specify how the money would be divided up.
John Quinterno of the liberal N.C. Budget & Tax Center applauded the plan for focusing on problems that are prevalent among N.C. workers. "It ultimately will depend on the actual details and a commitment to actually do something should he win," Quinterno said.
Excerpts from Barack Obama interview
On the N.C. economy:
"North Carolina in some ways is representative of what's happened around the country. You've got a high-growth sector of the economy based around research and development and technology and finance. But then you also have a rural economy and an economy of small-town America that has been devastated by the loss of manufacturing jobs."
On trade with China:
"What I'd like to see is that first of all we enforce the agreements that we have in place. So if you are seeing China subsidize its steel industry for example and then dump steal in this country, that's a problem. If they are devaluing their currency to disadvantage our exporters and advantage their exporters, that's a problem. If we are seeing them steal our intellectual property or not enforce basic laws, that's a problem."
On economic transition:
"I think that some jobs won't come back to the United States, and we should be realistic about that. The key is to make sure that we are building off those industries where we're competitive and that we're constantly developing new industries and training our work force to be a part of those new industries."
On Blackwater's activity in Iraq:
"I am deeply concerned about Blackwater, in particular the immunity that they've had from prosecution where Blackwater operators are engaging in inappropriate activity.... It's critical that we not endanger our troops because of the misbehavior of private contractors. I also think just as a matter of principle that the use of private contractors -- who are getting paid much more than our enlisted men and women for doing tasks that in some cases are much less dangerous -- is a problem.... I'd like to have much more careful oversight of how they are used and I don't think that we should continue our heavy reliance on private contractors in the future."
