For those of you interested in this kind of thing, the nine Dem presidential candidates will meet tonight for the first of six “official” DNC debates. Tonight’s event is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and it begins at 8pm Eastern. It’s being televised by Univision and PBS, though not all PBS affiliates are planning to broadcast it live.
This is the first organized debate will all nine candidates since the May 3 event in Charleston, S.C. There have been several more events featuring all the candidates on the same stage, but those were more forum-style get-togethers where candidates gave short speeches, not actual debates.
ABC’s The Note is cleverly calling tonight’s debate the “Dust-up in the Desert.”
Naturally, most of the pundits are interested in the dynamics of Howard Dean and the debate. Now that he’s the frontrunner, will there be more pressure on him to appear presidential? Will all of his rivals gang up on him to help level the playing field? Will Dean get irritated and say something he’ll have to apologize for later? Will he have the same strange and sinister smile he kept relying on during the South Carolina debate in May?
I’ll be watching (who am I kidding, I’m taping the darn thing), but I don’t expect any real race-changing moments. There are just too many candidates and too little time for any candidate to really shine.
Nevertheless, assuming my PBS affiliate cooperates, I’ll give you a rundown of the debate tomorrow.