When have presidential primary contestants ever had to do 20-plus debates to secure the nomination? I think this grueling process has harmed more candidates than it has helped. They have to continually beat one another up (encouraged by mostly hostile moderators) while Mr. Obama gets to sit back and laugh, unscathed. Imagine where the campaigns of Perry, Pawlenty, and Bachmann might be without their poor debate performances.
Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum no doubt like (and need) all the free air time, but Mitt probably doesn’t. If I were Mitt Romney, I would say we have had enough time to debate, and now it’s time to talk to the voters. Remember, the president probably won’t agree to more than two face-offs. Most candidates risk more harm than good by debating. And doesn’t familiarity usually breed contempt?
About Stan Guthrie
Stan Guthrie is an editor at large for Christianity Today magazine and for the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. His latest book is God's Story in 66 Verses. He also is author of All that Jesus Asks: How His Questions Can Teach and Transform Us, Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century, and A Concise Guide to Bible Prophecy. He is co-author of The Sacrament of Evangelism. Besides authoring, writing, and editing books, Stan is a literary agent, bringing together good authors, good books, and good publishers.
Stan writes the monthly Priorities colum for BreakPoint.org. He has appeared on National Public Radio's Tell Me More, WGN's Milt Rosenberg program, and many Christian shows, including The Eric Metaxas Show and Moody Radio's New Day Florida. A licensed minister and an inspirational speaker, he served as moderator for the Christian Book Expo panel discussion, Does the God of Christianity Exist, and What Difference Does It Make?
