Mitt Romney is skipping the March 1 Republican primary debate in Georgia, which comes before Super Tuesday, due to "scheduling conflicts," National Journal reports. But it's more likely he wants to skip it to deny free media coverage to Rick Santorum. In January, Romney threatened to skip debates after Newt Gingrich did so well in them, but he didn't. His strong performance in the debates before the Florida primary are credited with his win there. 

The Guardian's Michael Cohen argues that judging by Romney's declining poll numbers, the more voters get to know them, the less they like him. Perhaps Romney thinks a little absence will make Republican voters' hearts grow fonder.

Update: Ron Paul is skipping the debate, too, CNN reports. Since all four candidates won't show up, CNN is canceling the event. But don't worry, strange people who don't think 18 debates wasn't enough -- there will be one in Arizona February 22.

The MSNBC debate planned for March 5, the day before Super Tuesday, has been cancelled, too.

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Elspeth Reeve