Debate? Check. Debaters? Er ...

KLRU, Austin's PBS affiliate, has confirmed that the first general election debate of the governor's race will take place Tuesday, Oct. 19 – but it might be former Houston Mayor Bill White vs. an empty chair. Gov. Rick Perry's campaign has sent out daily press releases claiming that Perry refuses to debate White unless he releases his tax records. In fact, as required by law, White has released all records for his time as mayor. In spite of White's compliance with the election code, Perry's campaign has continued to demand more records. Furthermore, many newspapers around the state – including the Austin American-Statesman – have savaged Perry for dodging a debate. Perry's response? He has refused to either debate White or meet with editorial boards, saying that he would rather take his message straight to voters. The editors of the five newspapers sponsoring the event – the Statesman, The Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Houston Chronicle, and the San Antonio Express-News – stated in a joint letter that they intend to hold the debate even if Perry doesn't turn up. However, KLRU General Manager Bill Stotesbery confirmed that he is meeting with legal counsel to see whether this would be possible under the Federal Communications Commission's equal-access rules.