[Chi-townChief]

He has to debate in the morning because he's probably dozing off by 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon. But, in reality, I think he was trying to duck a debate but couldn't so he tried to do the next best thing and get some spin on it before the folks watch the evening news.

[laconic]

I suspect you're right; like many elderly folk who appear much older than their ages would indicate, Mondale has become a "morning person" and his energy level tends to diminish greatly after Noon. No wonder he insisted on a Monday MORNING debate and refused to show up at Friday's evening debate.