The First 2012 Debate Approaches. Or Does it?

Candidates before the first Republican presidential debate in 2007, in the Air Force One Pavillion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR
NYT

9:04 a.m. | Updated The 2012 presidential campaign is finally getting underway, in fits and starts.

But the election season really arrives on May 2, when the Republican candidates gather in Simi Valley, Calif., for a televised debate at the library of their collective hero, Ronald Reagan.

Or, maybe they won’t.

In the political world, the first presidential debate is a signal that the game has begun. But the fate of this year’s first debate, co-sponsored by Politico and NBC, appears to be a bit uncertain.

So far, with only about five weeks until the debate, most of the big-name potential candidates have not even said whether they are running. Most are remaining coy about their timing, but operatives regularly suggest that they could wait until later this spring to announce their candidacies.

(More here.)