Rick Perry may pull out of Republican debates

Texas Governor Rick Perry may skip some upcoming Republican presidential debates in the race to challenge President Barack Obama, his campaign says, after he saw his frontrunner status fizzle out following a string of poor debate performances.

A decision to sidestep a campaign staple could cause other Republicans to bow out of the more than half-dozen face-offs scheduled between now and the first primary voting at the Iowa caucuses on 3 January.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who is considered the Republican candidate to beat because of his leads in national polls, fundraising and organisation, also has not committed to debating beyond Michigan.

Perry was a late entry in the Republican race, missing the first debate, and he quickly became the frontrunner only to fall behind following a series of mistakes.

Romney has failed to break away from the pack in polls, unable to ignite the party's conservative base who are suspicious about some of his liberal positions and his Mormon faith. Perry has attacked Romney on both such points .

Perry is essentially returning to the play-it-safe strategy he successfully employed in running three times for governor of Texas.

The state's longest-serving governor, he never has lost an election and has debated his rivals only when it could not be avoided. Perry has long conceded he's not a strong debater, and he contends that his up-close charisma and ability to take a more personalised message directly to voters is key. His closest advisers have built campaigns around that approach and their candidate's ferocious campaign-trail energy.

It remains unclear whether this approach will work in a national campaign, where debates provide candidates new to the national stage with a huge dose of free media as they look to make themselves better known to primary voters. The stakes are high. Do well, and you could enjoy a burst of momentum as Minnesota representative Michele Bachmann did over the summer. Perform poorly, and you risk falling out of favour, as Perry can attest.

Perry does plan to participate in a debate on 9 November, his sixth, but he has not committed to any others.

"We haven't said no, but we're looking at each debate," spokesman Mark Miner said. "There are numerous 15, 16, 17 debates, and we're taking a look at each one and we're making the appropriate consideration."

This year, the Republican primary debates have drawn large audiences and have significantly shaped the contours of the race. Eight debates have been held, and nearly a dozen more are scheduled before January's end.

In the debates so far, Perry has fluffed his lines of attack and rambled through answers. He has looked unprepared, if not angry and confused at times. In one debate, in which Perry's advisers thought he had improved, observers tagged him as a bully.