GAME ON TONIGHT – AT 9:56 A.M. ET:  The first debates of the 2016 presidential campaign will take place tonight, when Republican candidates debate each other.

There will actually be two debates, both on Fox.  The preliminary round will feature the candidates who didn't make the cut to get into the top ten.  That was based on polling numbers.  The main event, later in the evening, will feature the "top ten," but only according to those polls.  There is substantial controversy over how the candidates were picked.  It is noted, for example, that Carly Fiorina, whose appearances thus far have brought perhaps the most favorable press of any of the candidates, didn't make the cut for the main event.   She is also the only female candidate.  And Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, one of the most successful governors in the country, also didn't make the cut.  But Donald Trump did. 

A just-released poll gives some indication of Republican voter thinking before the debates.  From The Hill:

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has the most positive image among Republican voters going into the first GOP presidential debate, according to a new poll.

A Gallup sampling released early Thursday shows Rubio getting the warmest reception from his party’s voters heading into the Fox News debate Thursday night.

Rubio receives a 52 percent favorability rating from potential GOP voters in 2016. That’s contrasted by a 14 percent unfavorability scoring.

Rubio is also well-recognized among Republicans, Gallup found, netting 66 percent familiarity with his party’s voters.

The results show that Rubio is both well-known and well-liked among likely voters, no small feat given the GOP’s crowded presidential field next year.

Republicans are currently weighing 17 options of their party’s presidential nomination.

Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) trails Rubio in the new poll, scoring 45 percent favorability and 7 percent unfavorability ratings.

Walker is also recognizable among potential GOP voters, nabbing a 52-percent familiarity rating among those polled.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson took third in Gallup’s sampling. He scored 42 percent favorability and 49 familiarity ratings from possible Republican voters.

COMMENT:  There are too many candidates, and it's hard to see how anyone can break out after one debate.  But we'll be eager to see how numbers change after tonight's events.

The news on the Dem side is that Hillary might face an indictment over her private e-mail server.  But why should that stand in her way?  If she becomes president they could put the red phone in her jail cell.

August 6, 2015