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I don't think there will be a debate. Clearly, if the Dems thought he would do well, they would have had him out there last night. They are limiting his public exposure, and hoping he can win based on the public's perception of who he used to be, combined with the sympathy factor.

The second their internal polls show Fritz down outside of the margin of error (I am guessing he is down but within already), they will agree to the debate.

And it will be on Sunday.

Yes, MN will vote on the basis of perception. Many thought HHH, for instance, would have abolished poverty entirely. There was a 1960 campaign song that said: "We're gonna' vote for Hubert Humphrey, We're gonna' vote for Hubert Humphrey, Because he'll make everyboyd happly. Because he'll make everybody happy." Yet the Iron Range is a very poor section of the U.S. still.

Mondale doesn't have to debate. He also knew that few people watch Friday night debates during high school football season. So why bother with a potential minor gaffe in a debate that few are watching? Mondale also knows MN, and knows the poor will always rally to him. Of course, not everyone in MN is poor anymore.