Preview of Tonight's GOP Presidential Debate in South Carolina

    The next round in what is already becoming an interminable series of debates occurs tonight on Fox news when the ten GOP contenders gather less than two weeks after their last gathering. Already, the campaigns of the major candidates are complaining that the format favors the lesser-known candidates -- which hurts the party -- and, of course, they're right. Large debates diminish the whole field -- which means, of course, that no matter what happens tonight, Newt Gingrich and Fred Thompson will loom even larger tomorrow morning.
    Tonight's debate will probably draw a larger audience than the last contest because it is on Fox News rather than MSNBC but the press will pay far less attention. Thus, unless there is a major highlight or gaffe, this debate won't have the impact of the earlier contest.
    The rule in these second contests is that candidates usually spend their time trying to correct what went wrong the first time. For Rudy Giuliani, that means he'll try to appear more specific and spend less time talking about New York and more about his vision for the country. For John McCain, it means trying to appear younger (easier said than done) and more natural: Last time, to paraphrase one pundit, he seemed to come across like a neighbor, yelling at you to get off his lawn.
    According to most press observers, Mitt Romney came off the winner in the last debate, so he'll try to do more of the same, capitalizing on the puff piece that 60 Minutes did on him Sunday.
    As to the others, watch Mike Huckabee, who put in a "better than credited" performance last time.
    Expect most of the field to try to put Giuliani on the defensive -- as they try to exploit his inconsistency on abortion.