NEXT WEEK'S DEBATE – AT 10:06 A.M. ET:  It's next Wednesday, and promises to be passionate and sharp.  This is the start of the real campaign season.  The preliminaries are over.  The Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary are both less than five months away. 

Next week's "senior" debate, featuring the top 11 Republican contenders, according to polling data, will include Carly Fiorina, whose performance in the "junior" debate last month catapulted her to new popularity.  Here is next week's lineup, from The Hill:

CNN on Thursday made it official: Carly Fiorina has arrived as a major presidential contender.

The network revealed that 11 Republican presidential candidates will be on the prime-time debate next Wednesday, with Fiorina as the new edition to the field.

The ten candidates that made the prime-time stage for Fox News’ August debate also make the cut this time.

The network ranked the candidates by performance in national polls. Their ranking of the candidates to make the cut, in order, was:

1. Businessman Donald Trump

2. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush

3. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

4. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson

5. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)

6. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)

7. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee

8. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

9. Ohio Gov. John Kasich

10. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

11. Fiorina

The candidates will be organized on the stage with the highest-ranked near the center and the lower-ranked on the flanks.

CNN also announced the lineup for the earlier debate.

It will feature former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), former Sen. Rick Santorum and former New York Gov. George Pataki. 

COMMENT:  It is important that this debate start the process of thinning the herd.  There are too many candidates for the public to properly focus. 

Don't be shocked if someone, possibly Carly, takes on Donald Trump.  They will all be gunning for him, but she has the fluid delivery and quick mind to confront him.

September 11, 2015