By GEBE MARTINEZ
POLITICO

In a gutsy move, presumptive Republican nominee John McCain dared Democratic rival Barack Obama to a face-to-face meeting next month, at the annual convention of the National Council of La Raza, a civil rights group.

Sure, it was a campaign gimmick. Both candidates already plan to speak at separate sessions, and both will address the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference next week.

But if Obama called McCain’s bluff and agreed to share the stage, it would be McCain, longtime friend and advocate of the Latino community, who would face the tougher questioning against Obama, whose record on Hispanic issues is comparatively shallow.

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