Bush to skip a debate?

According to this[http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0903gop-notebook03.html] Bush is planning on limiting the campaign to two presidential debates and one VP debate. GOP strategist Scott Reed was quoted by the Reuters news agency this week as saying the Bush camp's position is that "two debates are sufficient and will not dominate the entire fall schedule. Three debates would have a tendency to be a little overbearing on your campaign strategy and tactics."

Yeah, three debates might be distracting to your campaign if your campaign is all about distraction. More "below the fold."

My question is: Could this actually help Kerry? By trying to skip a debate Bush can be made to look like a "girly man" which is exactly what Kerry should call him if he even suggests there should only be two debates. Is this a boon to Kerry? You know Rove and Co. don't want Bush to have to debate Kerry but they have to agree to at least two in case Fearless Leader messes up really bad in one then he'll get a chance to salvage himself. I know many will suggest this is just Bush trying to downplay expectations and Kerry shouldn't take the bait, but I say give them enough rope to hang themselves here. I think Kerry's got a good shot at being able to use many incidents (dodging draft, 11 minutes in classroom, flying all across country on 9/11. etc.) to be able to paint Bush as a chicken which should effectively be able to suppress his positive numbers among undecideds and some independent white males and soccer/security moms. Has Bush handed Kerry a golden opportunity? What do you think? Will the debates really be the key everyone says or will they media once again spin Bush's straw into gold? What can Kerry do in the debates that could really be a "there you go again" moment? Discuss...