Clinton Challenges Obama to Debate, Says Let's Scrap Moderators

(CBS)

SOUTH BEND, IND. -- Hillary Clinton challenged Barack Obama to another debate today, and this time she says they should ditch the moderators. "Here's my proposal," Clinton said. "I'm offering Senator Obama a chance to debate me one-on-one, no moderators. Just the two of us."

Ever since Obama took repeated hits at an ABC News debate in Pennsylvania over a week ago, his campaign has been claiming that the moderators unfairly targeted him, possibly costing him votes there. "You know, after the last debate in Philadelphia, Senator Obama's supporters complained a little bit about the tough question," Clinton said. "Tough questions in a debate are nothing compared to the tough questions you get asked when you are president."

Over the last few days, Clinton has challenged Obama to debates in North Carolina, Indiana and Oregon. She said she would like to see an Abraham Lincoln-Frederick Douglas style debate, where the two traveled around Illinois debating one-on-one.

Clinton said the people of Indiana deserve a debate because they have been "wandering in the wilderness of American politics for 40 years," referring to the last time Indiana had a say in picking a presidential nominee.

Don't hold your breath, though. Accused of ducking another debate with Clinton, Obama said the two had debated enough. "I'm not ducking," he told Chris Wallace on Fox News today. "We've had 21 [debates], and so what we've said we're two weeks, two big states we want to make sure we're talking to as many folks possible on the ground, taking questions from voters."

"No debates between now and Indiana?" Wallace asked.

"We're not going to have debates between now and Indiana," Obama said.