"We bought the S&L back in 19xx. We participated in a government program to prop up ailing S&Ls by buying (a S&L whose name I have forgotten). We were given certain guarantees of suspensions of capital requirements when we bought the institution. When the government changed those requirements anyway, in blatant violation of our agreement, the S&L went under. We sued the government over this and won a $x million judgement."
I'm sure that if I can say that, so can Simon. And it's easy for the public to understand - if the rules are changed to your disadvantage in the middle of the game, you lose.
If you're ahead, you might or might not want to debate. It really depends on whether you will win. The proposed debate topics show me that Simon is going to have a hard time getting Davis to accept the proposals. I think the proposals were made with the intent of getting Davis to say "NEVER!" Then Simon's staff can say that, well, Davis didn't have the guts to debate us. That's bound to hurt him big-time among the middle of the road types who want to see the candidates before making up their minds.
And if Davis calls Simon's bluff? Almost as good, actually. Simon is a nice guy with a lot of ideas. Davis is, well, a not particularly nice guy whose primary ideas have to do with fundraising. It should play out a lot like Bush vs Gore; Gore may have known more and been the more polished politician, but he also showed himself as a world-class stinker of a person. Davis is going to do the same, so debates would overwhelmingly help Simon.
And don't forget the Green, who will rip into Davis' environmental record. Davis won't want to risk this; his base is shaky as it is. I think Simon believes that if the Green debates Davis, it's going to kill off Davis' base, big time. And I think he's right.
There's no way on this planet or solar system that I'd agree to debates if I were Davis. In fact, I'd say "No debates" right now so the question would have a chance of dying before the election.
But how do I reconcile this with my previous promise to debate Simon? I'm probably going to say "But don't include that pipsqueak Green, he has no realistic chance of winning." I don't think it would work, but it's worth a try.
D
You actually believe this?
Gore knows more about taking 6-8 showers a day, that's about it.