Is he chicken?  Is he afraid?

His people will make excuses: it's the smart thing to do.  What if he accidentally flubs and stops momentum?  Why take the chance?

I don't buy it.  He exited Fox's forthcoming debate, formerly scheduled for next week, because he fears that Cruz, who is in second place in the GOP presidential race, will beat him.  That's the way it looks.  In schoolyard terms, he's running from a one-on-one, a mano-a-mano.  That's not the way to win respect – especially from the tough, politically incorrect base that seems to make up much of his support.  I'm surprised they aren't making a fuss.  If Trump is going to kick butt in Washington and make America great again, what's he doing backing down from mild-mannered Ted Cruz?

Cruz isn't Hulk Hogan.  He isn't Albert Einstein.

The problem is, Cruz knows conservatism, has lived it, and has put his political life on the line for it.  He's also a champion debater, a lawyer who has argued in front of the Supreme Court, and a man who speaks from the heart – because he believes what he's saying.  Trump certainly speaks from the heart.  But he doesn't know the issues like Cruz?  At best, he's learning.

Whatever the reason, he won't meet Cruz on the playing field.  He's backed out, canceled his appearance on what was to be the next Fox debate.  This lack of courage on Trump's part is a travesty.  It's a disservice to the very people he hopes to win and lead.  Fear of making a wrong move on the debate stage is not the way a potential president of the United States should be thinking.

America has a crucial election next November.  For eight years the Obama administration has undermined Republican and conservative positions.  The U.S. military is weaker than it has been in decades.  The U.S. faces gathering enemies in militant Islam, a resurgent Russia, and belligerents in China and North Korea – to name the worst.  The national debt is out of control and threatening to undermine any prosperity still remaining.  The nation almost approaches civil war on many social and political issues.  Republican leadership has done little to stop this decline.  Now the base has a chance in Trump and Cruz to change things.  But how can they without knowing the differences between the two candidates?  The media won't show them.  They are consumed by the horse race.  They also have their bias and agenda.  The only way Republicans will know how to vote is for the two of them to step on the stage and make their cases and interrogate each other.

If Donald Trump won't debate Cruz one-one, Republican voters should take the cue.  He's afraid.  He doesn't have the answers.  He's not who his supporters think he is.  On the other hand, if he does debate, it shows he thinks more of the country than just his own fate.  That's what America deserves in a candidate.  It has it in Cruz, who will debate Trump anywhere, any time.  Does it have it in Trump.  Does Trump care about the country?  Or only himself?

This is the most crucial question at this point in the Republican debate.  Voters deserve to know.