[Yeah, he doesn’t even pretend that he wants to be there on the stage.]
I see his point. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, people who purchase consumer products are influenced by the last voice they hear on a given product. In politics, the product is the candidate. Ads and get-out-the-vote organizations that contact people who might be simpatico re the candidate are ways candidates can nullify negative free media, either in the form of critical journalists or poor debate performances. And that is just what Bloomberg has attempted. He has drowned out negative media impressions with his ads, local pol endorsements and campaign worker contacts. Not everyone can do it because it’s prohibitively expensive. But a candidate able to spend billions can, and is getting it done. The latest Harris poll shows him at #2, just behind Sanders.
So unless he does something crazy like wipe his dick on the lectern, bad debate performances don’t hurt him. He shows up not for the free media, but to show the flag, so people who like his ads get to see him perform live. But in the background, he is combating every negative news snippet re debates or some bimbo calling him a sexist, with four or five ads, and paid campaign staffers calling and chatting up likely supporters one at a time, not something a candidate without billions to spend can afford to do.