The Associated Press is reportinghttp://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ieDZlDOUyV-EHX7ENyrCnMqP_8hQ?docId=e04e27573140497094abd171778071e0 that Perry will attend at least five more debates after the Michigan debate on November 9. The obvious conclusion is that the Perry campaign decided that the risk of not debating exceeded the risk of debating. The story serves as a reminder that you can get away with things at the state level that you can’t get away with at the national level. Rick Santorum’s attack on Perry–that he thought Texas governors were supposed to be strong–was an indicator that Perry was going to pay a price for not debating. Nobody paid much attention when Steve Mostyn’s Back to Basics PAC ran ads in 2010 saying that Perry was a coward for not debating Bill White, but when Santorum raised the issue, Perry ran for cover.