That will be a mute point if Perry in a debate with Obama gives another horrible performance like he did last night.
You can't have it both ways, either debates matter or they don't, they can't just matter for Perry and no one else.
The reason they are not shooting up, is because debates don't matter. On a list of the 10 most important things a politician can possess to run successfully for office ... good debate skills wouldn't even be on the list.