Richardson must shine during tonight’s debate

It’s common for candidates to downplay their own abilities and raise expectations for opponents in advance of political debates. That allows them to declare victory when they show well.

For tonight’s 2008 presidential Democratic primary debate at South Carolina State University, a number of candidates are doing just that.

“I’ve just got to make sure I don’t trip walking on the stage,” Delaware Sen. Joe Biden told the Associated Press.

“It takes me 60 seconds to clear my throat,” Illinois Sen. Barack Obama said, referring to the amount of time each candidate has to respond to questions.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is taking a different approach: He’s raising the expectations for himself in advance of the first of several planned debates.

It’s exactly what he has to do if he hopes to begin gaining in the polls. The charismatic, energetic Richardson is running a grassroots campaign based on the fact that he has more diverse experience than the other candidates. He’s said all along that he’s by far the most qualified of the eight Democrats seeking the party’s 2008 nomination.

If he’s right, tonight is the night to prove it. He should run circles around the younger and less-experienced Obama. He should outmaneuver the less-charismatic Hillary Clinton. He should come across as more personable and likeable than the always-smiling John Edwards.

So he has no choice in advance of tonight’s debate but to raise the expectations, which he did in a news release Wednesday evening. He urged Americans to watch the debate, saying it will help move the campaign from a media popularity contest to an honest discussion about issues and experience.

“This will be the first chance for Americans to see all of the Democratic candidates together and to see who is the most qualified and best prepared to be president on day one,” Richardson said. “We won’t be debating the poll numbers; we’ll be debating and stating our opinion on real issues, and people will see a difference.”

Richardson then touted his platform: that he would “get our troops out of Iraq,” that he believes “we can provide universal health coverage for all Americans without raising taxes.”

“They’ll see how I plan to help the American middle-class prosper, and how I believe we can improve our schools and give every child the opportunity to go to college or vocational school,” he said.

Richardson said this is “the brightest field of Democratic candidates ever.” But he also plans to be king of the mountain.

Richardson has promised the moon, and tonight is the night he has to deliver it.

Voters in key states will be watching

The Richardson campaign has been running commercials – the first of any Democratic candidate – this week in Iowa and New Hampshire. He has, for the first time, the attention of many Democrats in those states, who are now curious and want to know more about him. He has the attention of those in South Carolina, where tonight’s debate will be held.

Those are three of the four early primary states upon which Richardson is staking his campaign. He has the opportunity tonight to sell himself and, if he does it, this is when he should start gaining in the polls.

But it’s also a night that he has to prove his candidacy should be taken seriously. With voters in those three states paying close attention, a poor showing could be disastrous.

Richardson certainly has the potential to shine above everyone else. He’s done it before. But he also, at times, appears distracted and uninterested during public events. Which Richardson will show up tonight?

He’s spending the entire day prepping for tonight’s debate. I’ve been saying all along I expect him to gain in the polls. I think he’ll shine tonight.

The 90-minute debate begins at 5 p.m. New Mexico time. It will be broadcast live on MSNBC, which in Las Cruces is cable channel 64. It will also be broadcast live on the network’s Web site.

Check back here following the debate for analysis.