Today my office is a few hundred yards from the center of a media firestorm, through no fault of my own. The Democratic Presidential debate is happening at the Cox Pavilion right here on campus. From the LVRJ:
It’s fight night in Las Vegas.
The jabs will fly. The contenders will duck and weave. They hope they land their punches and don’t leave with too many bruises.
The action begins at 5 p.m., when the Democratic presidential candidates gather at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for a nationally televised debate that thrusts Nevada into the political spotlight more than ever before.
“The whole world will be watching Vegas Thursday night,” said CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, the moderator of tonight’s debate. The network’s reach extends to 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Tension is in the air as the race for the nomination comes down to the wire.
The candidates’ criticisms of each other have intensified, and their rhetoric has ratcheted up. The millions of political junkies who’ll tune in tonight are expecting big drama.
“It’s coming at a critical moment in the run-up to the January contest,” said political expert Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. “The candidates are primed to attack, and they need to. If they’re ever going to make their case for themselves and against their opponents, it’s now.”
Las Vegas is guaranteed to be more than just a backdrop for this national event.
Blitzer and panel members Campbell Brown and John Roberts, also of CNN, plan to include questions about Western concerns, and in the second hour of the debate, all of the questions will be asked by locals.
ReviewJournal.com – News – DEMOCRATIC DEBATE: POLITICAL LIMELIGHT
Besides gumming up parking for everyone (although it was actually easier for me to find a space this morning than it usually is), the debate focuses some attention on UNLV, which is hosting it.
As a faculty volunteer, I’m going to be helping facilitate discussion at the Debate Watch Party that’s happening at the Student Union before, during, and after the actual debate.
I’ll post tomorrow with some of my thoughts at seeing the democratic process unfold on TV and in the student union.