Who here senses Trump will back out of the Presidential Debates?

[rjsquirrel]

36. I wasn't trying to

You responded to me.

If Trump backs out of the debates -- the scenario to which I was addressing my comments -- the rules are out the window. Hillary could project strength and hurt Trump (and the GOP longer term) by treating Johnson as a serious candidate and in fact legitimating him.

It's a calculus, not a feeling. Johnson is polling close to 10% in some red states where a number like that could give Clinton the state. Utah is only the most obvious example. So it will depend on how polls look in the broader picture and whether and by how much she is ahead in key swing states.

What many people appalled by this idea don't often realize is that if Johnson gets close to 10% Clinton could win a plurality (and all the electoral votes) in a number of deep red states. It's almost the only path to an EV landslide. Johnson voters are labor mostly to Trump. It's simple to infer that from recent polling -- they are people who will never vote for Hillary.

What people also don't realize is that Johnson is a civil and rational person who despises Trump and has flat out called him a racist and a demagogue.

I'm thinking outside the box, I know. But this is not a conventional election.