Barack Obama pledged Thursday to meet Hillary Rodham Clinton in Democratic presidential debates in Texas and Ohio before the March 4 primaries.But the Illinois senator stopped short of committing to attend an event planned for Feb. 28 in Houston at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
"We're committing to the concept of doing a debate in Texas before the primary," said Josh Earnest, a spokesman for the Obama campaign.
Obama also announced he had accepted an invitation to participate in a debate at Cleveland State University on Feb. 26. That debate, the campaign said, will be hosted by NBC News and WKYC, NBC's Cleveland affiliate.
Clinton, a senator from New York, quickly accepted that offer as well.
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Whether NBC's landing the Ohio debate might scuttle plans for a Houston forum two days later remained unclear Thursday.
"We hope that both candidates will agree to participate in both debates," MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines said.
Thursday's announcement caught the Partnership off guard: "The Greater Houston Partnership has not independently confirmed any of this and is not in a position to comment," it said in a prepared statement.
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Earlier Thursday, Obama took fire in Texas for not committing to the Houston debate. Former Texas Land Commissioner Garry Mauro, a Clinton supporter, called Obama's position "disappointing and possibly even disrespectful.
"It looks like he's trying to dodge the debates," Mauro said in a conference call with reporters.
The Partnership has been trying for months to lure the presidential hopefuls to Houston.
"This is not new," said Clinton supporter Carol Alvarado, a former Houston City Council member who also spoke on the conference call.
She noted that Houston is home to a large Hispanic community, whose members are "very anxious to see this take place."