Chances are none of my readers are as obsessed with the Democratic presidential primary to the extent I am, but in case folks are interested, I wanted to remind everyone about this weekend’s big debate.
The South Carolina Democratic Party is hosting the first debate with all nine Democratic candidates. It’s Saturday night at 9 p.m. and it will be hosted by ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos (I know you’ll be glad to hear that, Brian).
Though the candidates have all appeared together at the same event on a couple of occasions, this will be the first “debate.” I put the word in quotes because it will probably lack the flare of a traditional debate. There are nine candidates and the event lasts 90 minutes, including opening and closing remarks from each candidate. With this in mind, we’ll probably be hearing a lot of sound bites and not much in the way of actual exchanges between candidates. Nevertheless, it’s a pretty big deal.
* Will Dean and Kerry come to blows? (I wouldn’t get between them)
* Will Edwards be rewarded for being the only candidate with a Southern accent? (maybe)
* Will there be tough questions about the NAACP’s boycott of South Carolina and the state’s use of the Confederate flag? (count on it)
* Will Al Sharpton deliver the funniest one-liners? (almost certainly)
* Will anyone pay attention to Dennis Kucinich? (who?)
For those of you who want to watch, it’ll be a little tricky because no national television networks are carrying it live. The event is tomorrow night at 9 pm; it’s starting late to accommodate Sen. Joe Lieberman, who honors Sabbath until sundown Saturday evening. If you’re interested, there will be excerpts on ABC’s This Week program on Sunday morning, and C-SPAN will show the whole thing three times on Sunday — 1 pm, 6:30 pm, and 9:30 pm.