Romney Bows Out of a Debate, and Others Follow

By ASHLEY PARKER
NYT

And just like that, the seemingly endless series of Republican presidential debates may finally be grinding to a halt.

A debate scheduled for March 1 in Atlanta was canceled after Mitt Romney’s campaign announced that the candidate had no plans to participate in the event being sponsored by CNN and the Georgia Republican Party. Two other candidates, Rick Santorum and Representative Ron Paul, quickly followed suit.

The debates held in the Republican nominating contest have been so frequent and omnipresent that they have become something of a running joke. The campaigns — especially Mr. Romney’s — like to grumble about them, and they have become such a feature of evening television that they have almost come to resemble just another TV reality show, albeit of a different bent. Some have even said that comedic takes on the debates, like those on “Saturday Night Live,” have not lived up to the theater of the actual events.

For viewers suffering separation anxiety, there is still one more Republican debate, which CNN is sponsoring next Wednesday night in Arizona. For Mr. Romney and some other hopefuls, it will be the 21st of the race, seemingly some sort of record. (In fact, in 2008, both the Democrats and Republicans had an equally unending string of debates.)

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