This story is a bit old, but no less disappointing weeks later. I think the big losers here are the American people and this seems to confirm my belief that Obama prefers to not actually talk about specifics.

Sen. Barack Obama “backed away from rival John McCain’s challenge for a series of joint appearances, agreeing only to the standard three debates in the fall,” the AP reports.

Wrote campaign manager David Plouffe: “Due to the late date of the two parties’ nominating conventions, and the relatively short period between the end of the conventions and the first proposed debate, it is likely that the four Commission debates will be the sole series of debates in the fall campaign.”