PRESTOPUNDIT -- "It's a team sport, baby!"

Nothing is more dull than a debate about debates. Candidates do what they think is in their best interest, and then make up whatever rationalizations and lies they need to attack their opponent and justify there own position. It happens every time, and anyone who doesn't wake up and smell the coffee on this is just added more lies and bs to our already overly polluted public discourse.

All I want to say is that it is perfectly understandable that Schwarzenegger does not want to share the stage with the like of the crazy lady and the leftist true believer. This would diminish Schwarzenegger, and it would give a bigger stage for anti-Schwarzenegger sound bites. That said, I'm with those who see Ronald Reagan's 1966 run for governor as a model for Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger should get on talk radio in every market in the state and then take calls from listeners until the phone stops ringing. Then he should sit down with Daniel Weintraub, and take questions until Weintraub has run out of things to ask. This is pretty much what Reagan did, and it shut everybody up. Here's another debate the debate story.

UPDATE: California Insider has some smart things to say on the same topic. Quotable:

.. his failure to debate has itself become such a big issue in the campaign that it is now a distraction that is undercutting his campaign. IIt has also put tremendous pressure on him to do well in next Wednesday’s affair, which will be the most-watched political event in California history. If he pulls it off, he could exceed the expectations of voters who have been told he has nothing of substance to offer, and that alone could rocket him to the head of the pack. But if he falters, he’s got no safety net to catch him, and it could be fatal.

My own view has been that this is part of Schwarzenegger's intended strategy. I don't think it's the best strategy, but we'll see.

Posted by Greg Ransom | TrackBack