Phila.'s presidential debate set for Oct. 30

In the early phases of the 2008 presidential campaign, the Philadelphia area hasn't received much attention, which isn't surprising since the party nominations may be decided long before the Pennsylvania primary in April.

But attention will be paid for at least one day next month. Or so it seems.

On Oct. 30, the eight Democratic candidates are scheduled to come to Philadelphia for a televised debate, the first presidential debate in the city since 1976.

This event has been on the national political calendar since May 16. At that time, the Democratic National Committee put out a list of dates and locations for six officially sanctioned debates for the second half of this year.

Since then, there has been nary an official word about the Philadelphia event, which is now just over six weeks away. And few unofficial words.

Last week, officials at the sponsoring organizations, which include MSNBC and the state Democratic Party, offered assurances that the event was going to happen and that a formal announcement would come soon.

Among the questions to be answered is where the event will be held.

One source familiar with the situation indicated Friday that the likely venue was Temple University's Liacouras Center. Another said that was by no means a sure thing.

State Democratic officials say they hope the debate - one in a long series for the presidential candidates this year - will have an immediate impact on the local political scene.

"It's going to take place exactly one week before this year's general election," said Mary Isenhour, executive director of the state party. "Our hope is that it will rally the troops for the statewide judicial elections and help us with turnout."

Democrats need a healthy turnout in Philadelphia - where the mayor's race and most of the council races are not seen as competitive - to improve their chances to win the two Supreme Court and three Superior Court seats on the Nov. 6 ballot.

In that regard, some of the presidential candidates might attend political events in the area before and after the debate.

Though the national Democrats are not worrying about Pennsylvania in the context of winning the nomination, they do care about it in terms of winning the presidency.

The conventional wisdom is that no Democrat can capture the White House without the state. The Democrats have carried it the last four times, although the margin in 2004 was only 2.5 percent of the total vote cast.