From USA Today, Bush's advisors think he can pull way way ahead of Kerry IF he does well in the debates. To do this, they demanded the following:

to minimize the risk, Bush negotiators insisted on a format that's more a joint interview than a debate. They demanded that Kerry be confined to the space behind his lectern so he can't interact with Bush or the audience. They tried to win assurances that TV cameras won't show the other candidate's reactions when his rival speaks.

I found this part esp. chilling, "They demanded that Kerry be confined to the space behind his lectern so he can't interact with Bush or the audience."