Those problems don’t prevent conservatives from dreaming big that Newt will make mince meat out of Obama in debates and that will do the trick of assembling a majority coalition for Newt. That is simply a pipe dream. Won’t happen.
I think you’re right. The debates are always rigged in some way, to put the Republican at a disadvantage. But even if they weren’t, the mere contrast between the old, short, pudgy, pasty white guy with the face of an ornery elf, and the younger, taller, thinner, tanner man with the giant toothy grin, would be enough to tip millions of superficial, attention-deficient “independents” into Obama’s corner.