The First 2012 Debate Approaches.

◼ The First 2012 Debate Approaches. Or Does it?

The 2012 presidential campaign is finally getting underway, in fits and starts.

But the election season really arrives on May 2, when the Republican candidates gather in Simi Valley, Calif., for a televised debate at the library of their collective hero, Ronald Reagan.

Or, maybe they won’t.

In the political world, the first presidential debate is a signal that the game has begun. But the fate of this year’s first debate, co-sponsored by Politico and NBC, appears to be a bit uncertain....

Conversations with Republican operatives this week suggest that there is deep skepticism in the camps of several potential candidates about jumping into a televised debate so soon after getting into the race. And several Republicans said they were nervous about committing to a debate hosted by NBC if the moderator ends up being a television host with an acknowledged liberal bias, like Rachel Maddow or Chris Matthews.