Therein lies the rub... Bush's team (James Baker, et al) is negotiating debate format - right now the format does not have a section where the candidates ask each other questions, just the moderators or "town hall audience members". The moderators proposed by the supposedly bi-partisan debate committee are from CBS, NBC and PBS. Under this format, Kerry will only see softballs.
Well, I definitely don't like that format, both candidates should face the tough questions.
What bugs me is that if Bush backs out, every news outlet including FoxNews will accuse GW of running scared and not being able to support his own core issues. It REALLY sucks that that very truth isn't being said about Kerry, but that is the reality of the situation.