Problem is, it WAS pretty even until the sole Reagan/Carter debate, when Reagan asked his famous line in the closing, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?"
That sealed the deal with a lot of Americans. Of the three front-running GOP candidates of Romney/Santorum/Gingrich, only Gingrich has the same debating ability as Reagan, and he ain't getting the nomination.
No, what we need to do is take away the MSM/DNC ability to frame the debate. They're reporting all about contraception, etc., because they know damned good and well if the GOP candidates were debating on the policies of this administration, Obama would be 20 points down now, not just 3-5.