Dem Debate in South Carolina

Tonight we will begin to see whom in the Democratic field is a Presidential contender . . . or pretender:

"People are going to be able to see these candidates face to face for the first time and start to evaluate them," said Joe Erwin, chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party. "Each candidate has supporters, but a lot of people are still shopping."

While the media focuses on Obama and Clinton with a hat tip to Edwards, the other five prospects have a chance to show their stuff:

Five other contenders who are trying to elbow their way into the top tier also will participate -- Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Sens. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Joseph Biden of Delaware, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska.

I suspect that after tonight, a gorge will be created between the top and the bottom. It will be interesting to see if one of the 'five' can jump that crevice before it gets to daunting.

WHAT: South Carolina 2008 Democratice Presidential Debate
WHO: All Eight Candidates
WHERE: Orangeburg, South Carolina on the SC State Campus
WHEN: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM Central Time
TV: MSNBC will have live coverage including pre and post debate analysis.

Flash

UPDATE: I have the TIVO set up, as I have a prior commitment since it is the annual SPIF (St. Paul Issues Forum) Membership Meeting tonight. However, The Fix will be there live-blogging. They have isolated each candidates' status and challenges going into the debate. Here is a sample:

Bill Richardson: As anyone who has spent any time with Richardson knows, the New Mexico governor is immensely personable and charming. And as anyone who has spent any time with Richardson also knows, he tends to go off message rather regularly -- much to the chagrin of his campaign advisers. All of those traits are likely to be on display tonight. Richardson needs to use this debate (and the myriad others scheduled in the coming months) to show viewers that he belongs in the first tier with Edwards, Obama and Clinton. How can he do that? By highlighting his experience as a chief executive (the only one left in the field) and contrasting what the three senators have said versus what he has done.