Ron Paul gets the Libertarian Debate Treatment?

[iron81]

Boro, you really have to stop seeing every campaign issue through the prism of your guy. Since I can't imagine the front runners being specifically afraid of a candidate who will command 5% of the airtime, I think there's a more plausible explanation. The front runners are going to simply sit on their lead.

In HU general elections, it is pretty standard for a front runner to dodge debates with their challenger, because the front runner feels that the only way they can lose is to give their opponent a big platform and give themselves a chance to screw up. In the large primary debates, you add on how all the other candidates tend to gang up on the front runners.

I suppose the reason this hasn't happened much in previous Presidential Primary debates is that there are so many candidates that the network can hold the debate anyway and the front-runners lose the free media. Romney and Giuliani might have made the calculus that they can either get CNN to drop coverage or make the debate a back page story by not showing up.

[tomdemaine]

See: The west wing series 6

[Zygote]

id bet their main motivation involves being scared of facing up to some of their controversial issues.

i do agree they probably figured the event will be cancelled without them or at least a non-issue.

[j555]

According to Ron Paul's website the debate has been postponed. Maybe they're working around Giuliani's scheduling conflicts so he'll be able to be there. If all of the other Republicans are there I think Romney will change his mind like he so often does.

[Borodog]

iron,

All fair points.