Believe it or not, tonight marks one of the final debates the Democrats will have before Iowa in only two months. And. the press is playing up tonight's MSNBC encounter as the debut of the "new Obama" -- building expectations that he will finally go after Hillary.
But the question of whether Obama and Clinton clash is only a sideshow to the real question this debate and the next one in a little over two weeks will begin to decide for the Democrats. What these contests are really about is whether it's Obama or Edwards who becomes the candidate who survives the first two tests in Iowa and New Hampshire to take Clinton on in the later primaries as the "anti-Hillary."
As such, both candidates should be aiming tonight's performances at a very small audience -- Iowa caucus voters -- because if either candidate finishes third in that caucus, his campaign is as good as over. That's true even for Obama, despite all his millions.
With that in mind, here's what each has to do tonight:
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