Reply #15: Why should Bush debate Kerry if Bush is ahead in the polls at that time?

[Democat]

This is called strategy - if Bush is still ahead in the polls, why should he agree to debate Kerry?

You might not like it, but the Republicans are playing the game to win. They will not take a risk if they don't need to and they will take every risk you can think of if they do need to.

Democrats are going to have to learn to play hardball if they want to win.

If Kerry wants a debate with Bush, he's going to have to earn it. How does he earn it? By Kerry being far enough ahead in the polls that Bush feels he has to debate him to win. The other way to earn it is to make Bush's refusal to debate into a liability with effective sustained attacks that make the issue hurt Bush.

If Kerry can't get ahead in the polls enough (or make not debating a liability) to get Bush to agree to a debate, then there may not be any debates.

The Republicans are running a much smarter, harder, and more sophisticated campaign than the Democrats and they have been for several elections.