Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama declined a challenge from Hillary Rodham Clinton to debate without a moderator prior to the May 6 primaries in North Carolina and Indiana.
"I'm not ducking. We've had 21 [debates]," Obama told Fox News Sunday.
"For two weeks, two big states, we want to make sure we're talking to as many voters on the ground, taking questions from voters," he added. "We're not going to have debates between now and Indiana."
Clinton, who is trailing in delegates and the popular vote, has been pressuring Obama to increase the number of debates before the upcoming primaries. She spent Sunday campaigning in North Carolina while Obama took a break from the campaign trail and returned to his Chicago home.
In other political news, a new Democratic Party ad opposing Republican candidate John McCain will be released Monday. It depicts the Arizona senator as a future president who will keep troops in Iraq for 100 years, and is part of a half-million dollar, three-week national cable television campaign that attempts to link McCain's policies to those of President George W. Bush.McCain also derided Obama for opposing his idea a summer "gas-tax holiday," which McCain believes will help low-income people save on fuel costs.
"I noticed again today that Senator Obama repeated his opposition to giving low-income Americans a tax break, a little bit of relief so they can travel a little further and a little longer, and maybe have a little bit of money left over to enjoy some other things in their lives," McCain said. "Obviously Senator Obama does not understand that this would be a nice thing for Americans, and the special interests should not be dictating this policy."
