The Daily Background

The Democratic CNN debate tonight starts at 8:00PM, EST and will last an hour and a half. It will take place at the University of Texas in Austin. It’ll be fascinating to see how the two candidates interact what with the changing power dynamic.

Clinton no longer has a Texas-size lead and polls in the Lone Star State are tightening considerably (orange is Obama, purple is Clinton):

Five questions without answers: Debate edition

1. A game-changer or a snooze? Clinton probably wants it to be the former and Obama probably wants it to be the latter. Will there be a new single dominating story that comes out of this debate, or will it merely reinforce existing storylines?

2. What will Clinton do to try and shift the momentum? Clinton clearly needs big wins in Texas and Ohio (we’re talking about 60% +). To do this, she needs to do two things. First: halt Obama’s momentum. Second: create some momentum of her own out of nowhere without winning any races. Will she be able to do either one in this debate? Will she try to?

3. Will she go negative? If so, how negative? Clinton amped up negative campaigning in Wisconsin, sending millions of dollars worth of (misleading) direct mail against Obama. They did the same with television spots. How negative will Clinton get in person tonight? Will Clinton come off as desperate? Will she resort to bringing up oppo talking points like Rezko? Will she plug her website? Will she call for more debates?

4. How will the moderators run the evening? How will the moderators acknowledge the shifting balance of power? Will the F-word (frontrunner) be used? And will the moderators focus more on horserace or issues?

5. How will John McCain play into the debate? Will the moderators or the candidates mention the NYT story about his alleged “inappropriate conduct” with a lobbyist? Will the BHO and HRC trip over each other to explain why they and only they are the best candidate to win against the presumptive Republican nominee in November?

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