Let Obama and McCain make their cases standing alone before skeptical audiences

Sure, it would be great if Obama and McCain could break their impasse and agree on some joint campaign confrontations -- whether they're all forums (McCain's preference) or a combination of debates and forums (Obama's preference).

But why not single-candidate appearances before groups whose views are 180 degrees opposite?

Wouldn't it be interesting to see how McCain would fare before advocates of an accelerated U.S. troop pullout from Iraq, or before a group of working-class Americans who make less than the median income of $32,140?

Wouldn't it be just as interesting to see how Obama would do before opponents of an accelerated Iraq pullout, or maybe entrepreneurs who think his tax plan would punish them for being successful?

Confrontations between candidates occasionally become moments of history -- like the Kennedy and Nixon debate in 1960 -- but most of the time they end up being forgettable.

Let's see McCain and Obama make their cases alone in front of an audience of questioning, skeptical Americans. That's not likely to be forgettable.