Tonight's Democratic Debate Is Not A Debate After All

Because the Democratic National Committee has not approved the event as an official debate, the First in the South Presidential Candidates Forum, hosted by the South Carolina Democratic Party and Representative James E. Clyburn, cannot present the candidates onstage at the same time. Instead, the moderator, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, will question each candidate individually. Martin O’Malley will also attend. Photo By Ron Mills Hillary Rodham Clinton has in the past week tried to keep the news media glare focused squarely on the Republican candidates. She has delivered her standard stump speech in Iowa, flown with her head down on a commercial flight to Chicago and remained relatively under the radar, even while attending star-studded fund-raisers hosted by Christina Aguilera and Rob Reiner.

But on Friday night in Rock Hill, S.C., Mrs. Clinton will meet her Democratic primary opponents in a presidential candidate forum, where she will be pressed to respond to Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont’s recent attacks on her character and her record on issues important to liberals.