In a story about the Perry campaign’s threat to maybe not participate in all of the million debates scheduled over the next three months, Michael Shear of the Times writes of the repercussions of such a strategy:
It’s not clear whether Mr. Perry could skip the debates without a steep political cost. By refusing to appear on a national stage now — after being criticized for his previous performances — he might open himself to charges that he is afraid to debate.
Mitt Romney, in particular, would probably pounce. Mr. Romney, who is the only veteran of a previous presidential campaign on the stage each time, has gotten the better of Mr. Perry in nearly every televised exchange.
The only veteran of a previous presidential campaign? Wait a second, isn’t there some squirrelly little guy running this year who also ran on a very unique and memorable platform in 2008? Jon … Don … Don Knotts? No, that can’t be right.
What if Perry Skips the Debates? [Caucus/NYT]
Update: The Times has altered the story to acknowledge the existence of Ron Paul:
They did not, however, acknowledge the error or the correction.
