After an ultimatum from the Commission on Presidential Debates, both the Bush and Kerry camps decided Monday to come to a tentative agreement on the debate schedule. With only nine days left until the first scheduled debate, it’s about time both candidates hop on board and RSVP.

The schedule of three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate was proposed in November of 2003.

The Kerry campaign first agreed as early as the summer; the Bush campaign, however, ignored the commission. After a lot of heming and hawing, a letter was sent last week to both campaigns saying “commit or else.”

The Bush campaign cited concerns with the second debate, which was to be town-meeting-style with undecided voters asking questions. It argued that there should be only two debates.

Although having only two presidential debates is not unheard of (it has happened twice since the commission took over in 1988), it is uncalled for. These past four years have raised a torrent of questions, many of which have yet to be answered.

The past few months of the campaign have been a beating to the American public. We’ve heard “I’m (insert name of candidate) and I approve this message” so many times we now recite it in our sleep. We watch the same speeches, hear the same jokes, ask the same questions.

We’re tired.

So how can a campaign so confident in its leader forfeit an opportunity to focus on voters who still have the energy to question? These voters, after all, have tremendous power in their hands, judging from the last election.

The open-forum format has been a staple of this country, but it is quickly disappearing. Opportunities to see the candidates are becoming “invite-only,” and not everyone gets an invitation. Some of it has to do with security concerns, which is understandable. But there are consequences.

Over the years, the presidential debates have become known as the property of the people. It is one of the only opportunities to ask a question and get an unfiltered and partially unscripted answer. It allows us to put our candidates on the spot and see how they fare under pressure.

The entire process leading up to the debates is all fluff, a song and dance meant to attract attention and rally loyalists.

But eliminating the opportunity for those who haven’t yet decided to ask questions will only create more apathy.