WILMINGTON, N.C. - Hillary Clinton, invoking the drama of a lusty street fight, repeated her challenge to Barack Obama for a debate free of moderators or a set agenda.

“We could even do it on the back of a flatbed truck. It doesn’t even need to be in some fancy studio somewhere,” she told a campaign rally on the banks of the Cape Fear River.

Her rival for the Democratic Party presidential nomination has deflected the request and said he would debate her after primary votes in Indiana and North Carolina on May 6.

“We need a president on day one ready to be our commander in chief, ready to turn our economy around. That is why I have to say I am very, very regretful that my opponent will not agree to a debate in North Carolina, because I think these issues are worth debating,” she said, goading her opponent for not being ‘tough’ enough.

“Tough questions in a debate is nothing like the tough decisions you’ve got to make in the White House…no moderators, just the 2 of us on a stage for 90 minutes.”

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- Photo credit: Reuters/John Gress (Hillary Clinton campaigns in Indianapolis).

EAST CHICAGO, Ind. - Democratic presidential candidates have held more than 20 debates. Evidently that’s not enough for Hillary Clinton.

Clinton is pressing her final rival, Barack Obama, to debate her in Indiana and North Carolina, which hold their primary contests on May 6.

Either state would be fine, but both would be better, Clinton said on Friday.

“I’ll go anywhere and anytime. And we’ll have that debate as long as Senator Obama will agree to actually meet me,” Clinton said Friday morning in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

“I think the people of Indiana deserve a debate,” she told WFIE TV in Evansville, Indiana, several hours later. “We should be up there answering questions that are important to Hoosiers.”

This is a classic page from the underdog’s political playbook, last deployed by Republican Mike Huckabee before he conceded to John McCain in March.

If Obama accepts the challenge, he shares a stage with a rival that most political observers believe has little chance of winning the Democratic nomination. If he declines, he risks looking cowardly or disengaged.

The Obama campaign said it was not interested in more debates.

“While Senator Clinton is focused on debating debates … Senator Obama is focused on finding real solutions for our families,” spokesman Hari Sevugan said in an e-mail. “The difference in this election couldn’t be more clear.”

The two last met in Philadelphia last week, before that state gave Clinton a much-needed victory.

An April 27 debate in North Carolina was canceled by state party officials who cited logistical reasons.

Obama had agreed to participate in that debate while Clinton had not, Sevugan said.

Photo credit: Reuters/John Gress (Hillary Clinton campaigns in Indianapolis)

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Say goodbye to the FAFSA form if Hillary Clinton is elected president.

Reducing student loan paperwork may not qualify as a marquee issue like ending the Iraq war and establishing a universal health-care system. But it’s one way Clinton can portray herself as a detail-oriented policy wonk who will make voters’ lives easier.

While her rival Barack Obama delivers a broad message of hope and change, Clinton’s speeches are so laden with specifics you can almost see the bullet points.

For voters who deal with the federal bureaucracy on a regular basis, that can be an appealing proposition.

“The day I retired from the military, I became a third-class citizen,” one man told her during a question-and-answer session here. “I just wanted to thank you for what you’re doing for the veterans.”

Fayetteville is located next to the U.S. Army’s Fort Bragg, and Clinton spent much of her time discussing the difficulties faced by veterans. Surrounded by several retired military officials, Clinton promised to bolster a broad range of veterans programs from health care and tuition assistance to home loans.

She was cheered when she mentioned the shortcomings of Tricare, the military health plan.

And she promised to mothball FASFA, short for Free Application for Federal Student Aid, a form evidently much hated by the students forced to fill it out.

Clinton’s willingness to talk specifics was an important asset for Keith Zeigler, a Navy veteran who said Obama’s affluent, youthful supporters don’t have to worry about navigating the United States’ paltry safety net.

“They go to college to party. They have the money to pay their way out of trouble,” said Zeigler, who said he couldn’t afford to go to college and now drives a truck.

“They’re not educated in the ways of the real world,” he said.