Vitter has learned from Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal that there is a strategy to dodging debates

There’s a delicious irony to Gov. Bobby Jindal’s increasingly desperate pleas to be included in the next Republican presidential debate, set for next Wednesday on CNBC.

Back when he was trying to get elected governor, Jindal made a point of debating his frustrated opponents as little as possible.

There’s a simple reason for this. In 2007, Jindal was far and away the front-runner. And sadly, minimizing unscripted showdowns has evolved into standard strategy for candidates who think they have little to gain but perhaps something to lose — even when those candidates are perfectly able to hold their own in such settings.

We’re seeing it on the Democratic side of the presidential ledger, where little-known former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has accused party insiders of limiting the number of debates for the benefit of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton finally appeared on CNN alongside her four rivals last week and did just fine, but the event also offered O’Malley, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, former U.S. Sen. Jim Webb and even poor, out-of-his-depth former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee some big-time exposure and an opportunity to appear as Clinton’s equal in stature.

Read more: http://theadvocate.com/news/opinion/13746103-148/stephanie-grace-us-sen-david