Eight candidates looking to unseat President Obama will gather on stage at Wofford College Saturday night for a debate on national security and foreign policy hosted by CBS News and National Journal.
The Spartanburg, South Carolina, debate is chance for Texas Gov. Rick Perry to revive his candidacy after a major flub Wednesday night in Michigan where he said he wants to eliminate three government agencies but could only name two of them. The awkward pause has been played over and over again on TV and the Internet since then.
South Carolina is key for Republican primary voters. Since 1980, the winner of the South Carolina primary has gone on to win the Republican nomination every time.
Front-runner Mitt Romney hopes for another strong debate performance and chance to show off his international chops and another opportunity to attack Mr. Obama while the others attack each other.
Meanwhile, political observers will be watching Herman Cain closely to see how he fares on matters of foreign policy as his signature 9-9-9 tax plan is primarily a domestic matter. Cain has been criticized as a Johnny one-note, and Saturday night's forum could give the former restaurant executive an opportunity to move beyond that narrative and to talk about something other than the sexual harassment accusations that have dominated media coverage for the past two weeks.
Moderated by CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley and National Journal congressional correspondent Major Garrett, the debate airs at 8:00 p.m. ET on the CBS Television Network and will be webcast at CBSNews.com and NationalJournal.com. The final half hour will only be available online, except for the West Coast where the full debate will air on television.
After the debate, CBS News political analyst John Dickerson will host a post-debate webcast analysis of the candidates on CBSNews.com.
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