Scaredy cat

President Bush may skip one of the three debates that have been proposed by the Commission on Presidential Debates and accepted by Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), Republican officials said yesterday.

The officials said Bush’s negotiating team plans to resist the middle debate, which was to be Oct. 8 in a town meeting format in the crucial state of Missouri.

Well, DUH. George Bush is not known to be quick on his feet, or anywhere else for that matter. I am looking forward to watching him bumble his way through a debate. The only thing that would be better would be a debate between him and Bill Clinton — now, that would be a smackdown of gargantuan proportions.

Part of the Bush campaign’s stated problem with the debate is their pathological fear of a less than loyal audience:

The audience for the second debate, to be at Washington University in St. Louis, was to be picked by the Gallup Organization. The commission said participants should be undecided voters from the St. Louis area.

A presidential adviser said campaign officials were concerned that people could pose as undecided when they actually are partisans.
It’s amazing to me how terrified the Bush people are by dissent. This is a real worry, and it astounds me that more people don’t see their tactics (and paranoia). Only allow avowed loyalists anywhere near Bush and Joe Schmo at home thinks that everyone loves him. And no delicate questions are ever asked of him.