“Debates are good, but we’re reaching overload,” Ed Rollins told The Hill. Rollins, who was the campaign manager for Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) before stepping down in September, added that under the current schedule “there are going to be 20-plus debates in this primary process. That is way too many.”

Political professionals note that debates — the preparation, the logistics, the debate itself and the post-event ‘spinning‘ — take up an enormous amount of time. It is plausible that some of that time could be better spent building up the grassroots in Iowa and New Hampshire…

“There isn’t really a candidate with enough stature to say ‘no’ to the debates,” Yepsen said. “The campaigns will all tell you, yes, there are too many debates — but they are powerless to stop them.”

This pattern can also become self-perpetuating. First, the focus on debates is so strong that candidates can easily neglect more low-key, localized efforts. But if a candidate then feels that he or she is falling behind in respect of grassroots organizational strength, the desperation for a splashy debate performance can be heightened, and the spiral deepens.