The Debate Debate

Get ready for that snore-worthy indoor sport every four years – the Debate Debate. Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash., one of 10 board members that overseas the Commission on Presidential Debates, says neither Bush nor Kerry has agreed to take part in any of the three debates already scheduled by the bipartisan organization this fall. Dunn says she’s hopeful – as is Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot, the former GOP governor of Montana.

We won’t know until well after Labor Day whether the Debate Debate yields agreement for Bush and Kerry to show up Sept. 30 in Coral Gables, Fla.; Oct. 8 in St. Louis; and Oct. 13 in Tempe, Ariz. The commission has penciled in Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., for the VP debate Oct. 5 in Cleveland. But we’ll see.