Where did you get the impression that Obama is any kind of debater? Even old man McCain easily held his own. All the Republican candidates would give Bambi a run for his money in a debate.
Indeed. I would add one more thought. While Gingrich is a very good debater, his fans on FR do him a disservice when they continually portray him as having some kind of god-like debate powers that will "completely and utterly destroy" Obama in a one-on-one matchup. The media will play up the "Newt is the smartest man ever and NEVER makes a mistake" angle and set the bar so high for Newt that ANY flub or stumble during the debates, no matter how minor, will be replayed on the airwaves endlessly and spun as a "win" for Obama. Not to mention the risk if Newt decides he wants to show what a "enlightened, sensible conservative" he and accept the liberal premise of some question, like he did in his 2007 "debate" with John Kerry over global warming and capitulated to the enemy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY2Uh6TKqnk
The reverse is also true. I thought Sarah Palin gave a disappointing performance against Joe Biden and was lacklaster when she should have delivered a knockout blow against the pompous gaffe machine, but the media set the bar so low for Palin and made it sound as she was completely out of her league, that the mere fact she lasted the whole debate and answered all the questions made the sneering liberal pundits concede she held her own and the public to interpret her performance as good.