First Big Candidate Forum

Today is the day:

A Democratic Presidential Forum focusing on issues that affect working families will take place in Carson City, Nevada, on Wednesday, February 21, 2007. The event is sponsored by AFSCME and will be moderated by ABC's George Stephanopoulos.
More than 500 AFSCME members and retirees will attend this first-of-its-kind event. Confirmed candidates include Senator Joe Biden, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Chris Dodd, former Senator John Edwards, former Senator Mike Gravel, Representative Dennis Kucinich, Governor Bill Richardson and former Governor Tom Vilsack.
The forum will take place on Wednesday, February 21st at 12:00 noon Pacific (3:00pm Eastern, 2:00pm Central, 1:00pm Mountain). AFSCME members and retirees from Nevada will ask the candidates where they stand on today's pressing issues:
Will they pledge to support a vibrant public sector workforce?
What will they do to protect Social Security and ensure that every American retires in dignity?
How will they make college more affordable for poor and middle class families?

Where, you might ask, is Barack Obama? Obama will be campaigning in Iowa today, skipping out on this event. My guess is that he wants to take his time before he puts himself on stage to get shredded by his opponents, so he has little to gain by appearing with them this early in the game. To me it seems like a good move.

If Obama were to attend, Hillary Clinton would be guns blazing on him since he is her chief rival at this time. She may still blast away at him, but the effect will be different because....
All of the other candidates will be gunning at Hillary, who is clearly the front runner. John Edwards has already been unleashing a hard line against Hillary, and now he stands to be the direct line of assault to her without Obama there. If the candidates get into a nasty place, Obama can rise above it by simply not being there. He is still riding his media buzz and does not get hurt by not attending.

I look for Edwards and Richardson to assert themselves in this forum and hopefully make some headway. Full coverage after the event tomorrow or later today.