If O won't debate

[Suzu]

Suppose O refuses to debate his general election opponent (Ron Paul). Could he? Is it still possible for a sitting president to decline to debate a challenger? Because if it is, I think that is what O will do. LBJ did it with Goldwater, and I think we can all agree that Goldwater would have mopped the floor with LBJ if they had debated. The absence of debate in 1964 cost Goldwater the election, I believe.

[Ronulus]

It could, but there could be stuff done to replace a debate. How about an hour long segment on all news channels, local stations with the contender speaking out against the actions of the current president and how he contrasts to those views etc.

[thoughtomator]

just rent a cardboard cut-out and a teleprompter, it'll have the same effect

[CTRattlesnake]

If he does, we could stick romeny up there and have him play the role of obama....probably wont be hard for mittens to adjust his positions a little

[trey4sports]

if he were soaring with 60%+ approval ratings it would make sense. He's not though. It would hurt him to not debate the GOP challenger.

[thoughtomator]

If he does, we could stick romeny up there and have him play the role of obama....probably wont be hard for mittens to adjust his positions a little

not sure if he'd need to adjust at all... he's already got the both sides of mouth thing down pat

[KCIndy]

Obama will debate, no question.

While he can't win if he debates based on fact, he won't let facts get in his way. Obama has the sort of charisma that lets him tell bald-faced lies and still sound smooth and believable. On top of that, he'll have the media cheerleading for him. Each debate will end with tons of "analysis" by the network talking heads which will be nothing but Obama-friendly political spin.

I wish I wasn't so cynical about this, but.... :(

[hueylong]

Do we really need this kind of speculation? There's no way Obama would avoid a debate with Dr. Paul. His people will believe he'd do very well.

[Boss]

This is pretty ridiculous. Obama would salivate at the opportunity to debate RP--he thinks he has got something to prove to America because RP has swiftly usurped the youth energy away from Obama through the virtue of IDEAS.

I dream of the day when Obama debates RP. It will probably play out more like an economics lesson than a debate, however. We have already seen Obama begin building talking points that shadow what RP has been advocating.

[bbartlog]

Let's pull off the nomination (still a tremendous longshot, you know) before we worry about this.

[Xenophage]

The question is, would they actually have a debate and not some stupid media press interview question-a-thon.

When's the last time a presidential candidate actually had a DEBATE!?

[Brick-in-the-Wall]

Many Obama people think Ron Paul is just an old man with silly ideas. They have no idea what he stands for and I can't wait for Paul to serve Obama his ass, with the trimmings, on national television.

[KingRobbStark]

Declining a debate in this day and age is really bad.

[libertybrewcity]

LBJ had extremely high approval ratings. In his first term they were 74.2%. (November 1963-January 1965)

http://www.gallup.com/poll/116677/presidential-approval-ratings-gallup-historical-statistics-trends.aspx

[archangel689]

LBJ was way more popular than Obozo. Goldwater didn't have much of a chance. LBJ is nothing like obozo. Eventhough there are similarities between 1964 and now, we have a much greater chance of winning the general election than goldwater did.

I don't think he'll decline.

[jersdream]

That would be toxic now days. Of course he could. There is no law, nor could a law require the President to do anything of that such. It would be hugely embarrassing for him.

[jkob]

Obama's numbers would TANK if he refused to debate the GOP nominee. You can't ignore your opponent in this day and age with the 24 hour media and internet. Honestly, I think the media would turn on Obama if he did this, this is big business for these news networks.

[Ssd]

Its 2012 and ever since Goldwater, every contender has had a chance to debate their opponent. I doubt this will be any different. IF Obama refuses, he'll be called chicken and even a lot of liberals will get behind Paul because Obama would be acting against democracy.