Why would any candidate agree?

This comes via Matt Stoller at MyDD. The answer to "how stupid can we get" shouldn't be this easy to answer.

First from Mediabistro:

Fox News Channel will host an August 2007 Democratic Debate in Reno, Nevada.

The network is working with the Nevada Democratic Party and the Western Majority Project to host the debate, "which is expected to attract the top Democratic contenders for President," the press release says. It will air live on FNC and FNR on Aug. 14 in Reno.

"Fox News is proud to be a leader in coverage of the 2008 campaign season and a co-host of this important presidential debate. We look forward to working with the Nevada Democratic Party and the Western Majority Project," Roger Ailes says...

And from the petition against it:

For an example of how disrespectful and counterproductive such Fox News-sponsored Democratic debates are, consider the September 9, 2003 Democratic debate in Baltimore, Maryland, hosted by Fox News in partnership with the Congressional Black Caucus. Fox News graphics, as well as a banner over the stage, titled the event as the "Democrat Candidate Presidential Debate," a misconstruction of "Democrat" used as an epithet. Fox News then summarized the debate with a story titled, "Democratic Candidates Offer Grim View of America," continuing with such jabs as, "The depiction of the president as the root of all evil began at the top of Tuesday night's debate...."

Seriously, why would any Democratic candidate agree to this? It's the Anti-American Democrat Party debates brought to you by the God-Fearing Republican Party Information Bureau and Election Committee. I want a candidate who wants to win. Is that too much to ask for?

Update: Here's another petition.