The format and moderator. There will be one questioner, the Des Moines Register's Carolyn Washburn. The Boston Globe has a great profile of her and of all of the work she has done over the last year to prepare for just this moment. Expect questions that consistently attempt to create contrast. The only downside of the format may be that there will be an attempt to evenly divide time among the nine candidates. Which brings us to . . .

The candidate debaters. Eight Republican "hopefuls" will be on stage, including "commentator" Alan Keyes! Keyes, is even less relevant than Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo who have no prospect of making any difference to the race at this point. Fred Thompson is has gone from hype to hypothetical, but his support could still help another candidate. Ron Paul and his army of libertarians can affect outcomes. The remaining candidates, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain all are still possible nominees.

The dynamic of the GOP race. Unlike the Democratic race in which all candidates need to do well in Iowa and which is developing into a two way race, the GOP race is truly in flux and has been almost since the beginning. Iowa is widely seen as most important to Huckabee and Romney, the winner there getting a bounce that will help in New Hampshire, Michigan and South Carolina. Giuliani and McCain are not seriously contesting Iowa. McCain needs Romney to fail so that McCain can do relatively better in New Hampshire. Giuliani sees Florida, in late January, as hisfirewall and perhaps his first strong showing, so he needs the race to remain muddled.

Target Huckabee. It may just be part of an expectations game, but every commentator, including Huckabee's campaign manager, expects an attack on Huckabee today. Perhaps McCain will defend Huckabee as a way of keeping Romney down.

Huckabee's current strength has been built in large part on consistently good debate performances. Today's debate will test the extent to which those performances have been helped by the fact that the spotlight, attacks, and tough questions were primarily aimed at the earlier front runners. In a way, Huckabee has been able to remain "above the fray" up to now. Earlier, the more apt phrase may have been "beneath the radar." But today Huckabee will be the focus not only of his opponents, but also of the 200 news organizations covering the event.

Just in the last week as his poll numbers have been shooting up, Huckabee's record and past statements have increasingly been in the news. There is plentiful fodder for an attack, ranging from his having pressured a parole board to pardon a serial rapist (and then having denied it), his statement in 1992 that AIDS patients should be quarantined (this was after the Republican national platform rejected such discrimination), his flip-flop on Cuba policy (he said he changed because he was running for a different office), his record on immigration (the hotest topic for the GOP as proven by the content of the ads running in Iowa), his past statement that he is running to "take back the nation for Christ" and most recently his asking a New York Times reporter whether or not Mormons believe Satan and Jesus are brothers! Then there is the tax issue. He has been portrayed as a taxer in the past but now supports "Fair Tax," an arguably unrealistic and regressive overhaul that brings to mind Steve Forbes and his inability to make any headway advocating a "Flat Tax."

For more previews go to Del.icio.us and search for "debatescoop desmoines December" (without the quote marks around your search.

Ross's quick advice to the top four candidates:
McCain and Rudy: just try to sound reasonable. It's your turn to "rise above the fray" and even being "below the radar" won't hurt.
Huckabee and Romney: the first one to sound whiny and defensive loses. You do not need "holier than thou" either (the voters and the press get it already). Romney needs to be seen as tough, a fighter. Huckabee needs to keep using his great humor. It worked for Reagan, and that's the gold standard for the GOP.