Preview of Tonight's Key Democratic Debate

   We reviewed the high stakes for tonight's debate yesterday in a post. To repeat what we said there:

      "Obama, who's closer behind [than Romney is to McCain], simply has to outshine Hillary -- much the same way JFK did against Nixon (again easier said than done) -- by making the choice a clear one between the future and the past. His problem all along in debates has been that while he's quite good at firing up a hall, in debates he tends to lose concentration. A debate is kind of like a job interview, and there's a way in which the more self-deprecating Obama seems to have trouble taking it all seriously.
    If that's his attitude tomorrow, he can forget it. He's close enough behind that if he does as well as Hillary or even a bit better, the new voters who are watching him will be impressed. But she's unlikely to make it easy for him. She's know what's at stake too and will be well-rehearsed and prepared.
    The hunch here is that with only the two of them on stage, the dynamic will be different than in the previous Democratic debates. How, of course, we'll find out tonight."