Bush may well agree to only two debates. Clinton only wanted two and Carter would only agree to one.
Clinton also dropped his weakest style of debate.
Bush has a few strengths as a debater. He connects well with an audience (which is a plus in teh town hall style) and he listens to his caoches/handlers. The latter is a very rare element in a candidate.
His biggest weakness is he is slow on his feet. He takes too long to respond to unexpected questions. This would be a huge negative when a Kerry operative asks a pointed question that his handlers did not anticipate.
I didn't realize that a 3rd different style was going to be used for the debate that Clinton didn't attend. They had one "traditional" debate with a moderator and podiums, and one town hall style. What style was the one that Clinton dropped? I would have assumed that it was another traditional one, and Clinton did at least do one of those. If Bush had already agreed to one town hall debate, then refusing to do a second one wouldn't be that bad.
It was either going to be another traditional with a panel questioning or a semi formal, with the candidates seated at a table with the moderator.
Ah, ok. Thanks. I couldn't recall. Clinton should have debated 3 times, and his failure to show up at the 3rd debate should have been used by Dole as a campaign issue. Dole should have debated Perot instead or some such, with both ripping on Clinton for not being there.
Nowhere is it required that there are to be 3 Presidential debates. In fact, I don't think debates (in general) are required.
