By Monisha Bansal
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
May 03, 2007
(CNSNews.com) - The first Republican 2008 presidential candidates' debate, scheduled for Thursday, will "separate the pretenders from the contenders," a political expert predicted Wednesday."[It's] like the opening week of 'Dancing with the Stars,'" said James Hedtke, chair of the political science department at Cabrini College.Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Rep. Duncan Hunter (Calif.), Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Rep. Ron Paul (Texas), Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.) and former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson are all confirmed to attend the debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. It will be aired on MSNBC.Hedtke said the debate's foreign focus will likely be dominated by such issues as Iraq and Afghanistan, terrorism, North Korea, Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and "the rebirth of socialism in Latin America." Domestic issues will probably include education, immigration, taxation, social spending and the environment.
Peter Brown, assistant director of the polling institute at Quinnipiac University, said the debate will be particularly important for the frontrunners."For someone like Mayor Giuliani who is ahead [in the polls], everybody will be watching to see how he holds up," Brown told Cybercast News Service. "He's obviously doing very well in the polls, so that he needs to protect his lead."Given that his views and values on a variety of social issues are not exactly in sync with traditional Republican policies, he will probably face questions on that," he said.Brown said McCain needs a "bounce.""This is a man who six months ago was the odds-on favorite for the Republican nomination and is now trailing Mayor Giuliani by a substantial amount," he said.
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