"I propose these town hall meetings be as free from the regimented trappings, rules and spectacle of formal debates as possible," McCain said in a letter to Obama, sent the morning after the Illinois senator clinched the Democratic presidential nomination.

Announcing the proposal at a solo town hall in Louisiana's capital city, McCain said: "I think Americans are tired of the ways presidential campaigns have been run in the past. All the gimmicks, the phony sound bites, and photo-ops."

It would just be him and Obama, McCain said, adding that they do not need "any big media-run productions, no process questions from reporters, no spin rooms."

"Just two Americans running for the highest office in the greatest nation on Earth, responding to the concerns of the people whose trust that we must earn," he said.

McCain also suggested the two candidates travel to the events on the same airplane, with a joke alluding to the financial disparities between the campaigns.

"It would probably help out on energy savings," McCain said. "Given our expenses, I know my campaign would agree to it."

The Arizona senator proposed 10 town halls, one a week between now and the two political conventions. He proposed an opening contest June 12 in New York City, possibly at Federal Hall, where George Washington took the first oath of office as president.

Campaigning in Florida as well as Louisiana, McCain also said he plans to go after Democrats and independents who backed the candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"I want to assure them I will be the president of everyone," McCain said.

During the event at a riverfront convention center, McCain praised Clinton's efforts. McCain, noting he was "a father of three daughters," said the former first lady "has inspired women all over America to believe that they can achieve the highest office of this nation."

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said Wednesday that while the town-hall idea is appealing, the campaign would recommend a less-structured, lengthier exchange more in line with the historic Lincoln-Douglas debates.

"But having just secured our party's nomination, this is one of the many items we will be addressing in the coming days and look forward to discussing it with the McCain campaign," Plouffe said.

In the Lincoln-Douglas debates, held seven times during Abraham Lincoln's losing Senate campaign against Stephen Douglas in Illinois in 1858, a candidate spoke for an hour, the other for an hour and a half, and the first candidate was allowed a half-hour rebuttal.

Asked if he would negotiate the format with Obama, McCain said he would only discuss possible ways to "modify the details" of a town hall format.

"The answer is I want a town hall meeting," McCain told reporters, calling it "the most effective way for democracy to function."

McCain noted that back in 1963 fellow Arizonan Barry Goldwater discussed the possibility of joint town halls with President Kennedy, should they oppose each other in the 1964 election. An assassin killed Kennedy in November 1963.

Contributing: The Associated Press

Enlarge LM Otero, AP Sen. John McCain speaks to supporters during a town hall meeting campaign event in Baton Rouge June 4.

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