For Clinton, debate could turn into 7 against 1
By Bill Schneider
CNN Senior Political Analyst
Final preparations are underway Sunday for the CNN/YouTube debate in Charleston, South Carolina.
CHARLESTON, South Carolina (CNN) -- South Carolina primaries are all about the base. That's true for both parties.
For Republicans that means conservatives. It's the conservative firewall state, where George W. Bush put out the John McCain brush fire in 2000.
For Democrats, it means African-Americans, who make up about half of the voters in the South Carolina Democratic primary. The main reason the Democratic Party is allowing South Carolina to hold an early primary is to give African-American voters a bigger voice.
As a result, South Carolina could be crucial in the selection of the Democratic nominee, just as it has been for Republicans for many years.
Unlike the turmoil in the Republican contest, the Democratic race has been fairly stable all year. Sen. Hillary Clinton has maintained a lead in the national polls, with Sen. Barack Obama second and former Sen. John Edwards third. No other candidate has made double digits.
The Clinton campaign has been trying to surround its candidate with the aura of inevitability: "Face it, she's going to be nominated. Better get on the bandwagon now.''
The CNN-YouTube debate in Charleston, South Carolina, Monday night could look like seven against one: seven Democratic contenders trying to challenge Clinton as "The Inevitable" -- and competing with each other to become "The Alternative."
The debate, hosted by CNN's Anderson Cooper, begins at 7 p.m. ET....
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/sc.debate.preview/index.html