The reason I ask is that Obama has a record of destroying his competition by changing the rules to disqualify his opponents. He did that on numerous occasions in Chicago politics.
So, is Obama even required to debate his opponent? As incumbent, I wouldn't be surprised that he would first try to change the debate rules to favor himself; and, if he couldn't get that accomplished, use that as an excuse not to debate at all. I doubt his constituency would care and all those “independents” aren't going to pay much attention until the last minute; so, they could likely be swayed by a last minute media blitz ...and it's not hard to find a wealth of negative info on Newt; the Dems probably already have an encyclopedic collection.
No offense... the idea that Obama could duck some or all of the debates is cockamamie b.s.