Obama Forging on With Debate

In a move that can only play badly for republicans, Barack Obama has committed to an appearance at Friday night's debate regardless of whether McCain will be there or not. The Huffington Post has the details:

Barack Obama is committed to hosting a public, televised event Friday night in Mississippi even if John McCain does not show up, an official close to the Obama campaign tells the Huffington Post.

In McCain's absence, the Senator is willing to make the scheduled debate a townhall meeting, a one-on-one interview with NewsHour's Jim Lehrer, or the combination of the two, the official said.

This is great stuff. Its hard to wonder just how/what the McCain people were thinking when they hatched this grand campaign suspension ploy, but I think at this point even they realize how bad its backfiring. Nevertheless, part of me really really wants McCain to be a no show. The thought of seeing Obama on stage, doing a townhall or one-on-one interview with millions watching across the country, is just too perfect. McCain can't be that stupid though, can he?