McCain, Obama invited to town hall meeting in Austin

L-R: Senators Barack Obama, John McCain

By Miguel Liscano

Austin American Statesman

Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have been invited to participate in two town hall meetings next month — one in Austin, the other in California.

The invitations were extended by former First Lady Nancy Reagan and former President Lyndon Johnson’s daughters Lynda Johnson Robb and Luci Baines Johnson, according to a media release.

If the two senators accept, the meetings would be held at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

The two candidates would be questioned by audience members and wouldn’t debate each other directly, said Anne Wheeler, communications director for the LBJ library.

Invitations were delivered to each campaign today, Wheeler said. Neither candidate had responded to the invites as of 7 p.m., representatives for both libraries said.

Exact time and date of the meetings have not been decided. The audience at the meetings would be picked by an independent polling organization, the release said.

“All those details will be worked out if we are able to make arrangements with both Senators McCain and Obama to have these town hall meetings,” said Melissa Giller, communications director for the Reagan library.