Given last week's debate performance from President Barack Obama, tonight's debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin promises to draw more eyeballs than many such No. 2 matchups.
Capitol denizens, if they wish, may take their eyeballs to a viewing of the debate at Sacramento State. What's at stake? As McClatchy Newspapers' Lesley Clark reports in this story, Democrats want to regain momentum after last week's debate while Republicans hope to boost their numbers.
Both sides have been trying to lower expectations before Biden and Ryan meet at Centre College in Danville, Ky., a town of about 16,000 where officials have suspended garbage collection and closed roads in advance of the event.
Martha Raddatz, the senior foreign affairs correspondent for ABC News, will moderate. Raddatz was ABC's White House correspondent during former President George W. Bush's last term, her bio says. She's also the author of "The Long Road Home -- A Story of War and Family" about the war in Iraq.
The format this time divides the 90 minutes into nine time segments. Raddatz will ask an opening question in each segment, and Biden and Ryan will each have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the rest of the time left in each segment for discussion of that question. The debate will cover both foreign and domestic issues.
The debate runs from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time. The Sacramento State viewing starts at 5:45 p.m. in Amador Hall, Room 150, at 6000 J St. Hosting the viewing is Professor Kim Nalder, the director of the Project for an Informed Electorate. Audience members will be polled both before and after the debate.
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