Deeds calls one man on stage a "debate"? Isn't that an "interview"?

What is going on with the Democrats and debates? First Democrat Jody Wagner pulls out of a debate with Republican Bill Bolling and blames it on the Lt. Governor.

Now Democrat Creigh Deeds, at the eleventh hour, has decided he wants to be on stage alone for the Tuesday "debate" with Republican Bob McDonnell.

Is it called a "debate" when there is one candidate on the stage at a time? Or is that more of an "interview"?

The press release explained it all:

Tomorrow night's Community Forum with the gubernatorial candidates at Virginia Union University was originally planned, as many are aware, to be a joint event with Bob McDonnell and Creigh Deeds. Both candidates were to have been on stage, together, for the full event from 6:15 to 7:45pm. The two would have jointly taken questions from the moderator, allowing the audience to hear from both candidates at the same time. However, late Friday the Deeds campaign officially requested that this format be changed. The Deeds campaign requested that each candidate now appear separately, and not be on stage at the same time as the other. In order to ensure that this long scheduled event would still take place, we have agreed to the Deeds request to change the format. We are disappointed the Deeds campaign will not allow the audience the opportunity to hear from both candidates at the same time. We apologize for any confusion or difficulty this change presents. The formal media advisory can be found below.

So is Deeds running scared after his dismal performance at Thursday's Fairfax Chamber of Commerce debate? Does this follow the line of thinking of, "Better to be silent and thought a poor debater than to open your mouth and prove it"?

Details of the debate:

Bob McDonnell, Republican gubernatorial candidate and former Attorney General of Virginia, will participate in the gubernatorial community forum on the campus of Virginia Union University tomorrow night, Tuesday September 22, beginning at 6:15 pm. The exact time of Mr. McDonnell's now individual portion of the program is still to be determined.

The Community Forum is sponsored by Radio One Inc., the Chesterfield Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Rho Eta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and the Richmond Crusade for Voters in partnership with Virginia Union University.
All members of the media are invited and encouraged to attend. What: Bob McDonnell Participates in Community Forum at Virginia Union UniversityWhen: Each Candidate's New Separate Time Still to be Determined; Event Will Start at 6:15 pm; Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009Where: Coburn Hall, 1500 N. Lombardy Street, Virginia Union University, Richmond

Bob McDonnell for Governor 2009

The real story behind the Bolling-Wagner debate

Over the weekend when the lib bloggers began broadcasting their talking points that the debate between Republican Bill Bolling and Democrat Jody Wagner was off, they put the blame on Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling.

Something didn't ring quite true with me. I've known Bill Bolling for six or seven years and I've never known him to run from anything ... especially a debate with an opponent. The man is charismatic and a great public speaker, and he seems to thrive when in circumstances such as debates and grassroots discussions.

So when I began to read that the Wagner campaign was accusing the Bolling campaign of "backing out" of the debate, a red flag went up and I did a little research.

Try this out for truth about the matter ... information from the Bolling campaign:

Unfortunately, earlier today the Wagner campaign released a statement accusing us of attempting to back out of the debate, and changing rules that had previously been agreed upon. Neither of these charges were true, and we have no idea why they chose to release such a statement, other than an obvious attempt to score some cheap political points, which seems to be their standard mode of operation.

At this point, it became painfully clear to us that the Wagner campaign was more interested in debating about debates than actually holding a debate. No final rules had ever been agreed to, and to state otherwise is simply a lie. In addition, the organizers of the debate had requested that we keep all discussions on rules, etc private and out of the press. The Wagner campaign's attempt to score cheap political points at the expense of our organizers is inexcusable. Frankly, behavior like this is the kind of thing that turns people off of politics.

Read the entire explanation of what happened at the Bill Bolling for Lt. Governor website.