Big Cold Feet

I don't know what Bush is trying to hide. Aside from the fact that he has an acknowledged lack of command with the English language (which seems to have gotten progressively worse over the years), the President's insistence that his campaign stops only be attended by supporters bothers me. As President, why can he not accept that sometimes people will question and disagree with him. Now, it seems, he may be trying to wriggle out of the upcoming debates.

A senior Republican official tells ABC News' Jonathan Karl that the first presidential debate, scheduled for Thursday in Miami, could be canceled unless there is a breakthrough soon in negotiations between the two campaigns and the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The only remaining sticking point, Karl reports, is the reluctance of the Commission on Presidential Debates to sign the agreement negotiated by the Bush and Kerry campaigns.

The commission and the campaigns have been negotiating a side letter the commission (and moderators) would sign instead of the agreement, but the Bush campaign finds the current draft of the letter too weakly worded.

DEBATE OFFICIAL RESPONDS: A senior official with the Commission on Presidential Debates says the debates are in jeopardy and puts the blame squarely on the Bush campaign, Karl reports.

"If they don't want to debate, that's fine. They can tell the world why the don't want to debate," the official told ABC News. "If they decide to pull out, it's on them."

If things were as rosy as Bush has been preaching all of these months, the opportunity to defend and promote his record would be welcomed. He should be ready to "bring it" on Thursday. Instead, it looks as though he is cut and run.