Thompson's First Debate Test Tuesday

Republican Presidential hopeful Fred Thompson will make his first debate appearance Tuesday as he joins the other GOP candidates in a forum in Dearborn, Michigan.

The debate is being sponsored by the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and MSNBC, and will be telecast on CNBC at 4 PM ET with a re-broadcast on MSNBC at 9 PM ET.

Focusing on economic issues, the debate will last for 2 hours.

The buzz surrounding this particular forum is unique for one in a string of fairly forgettable 'debates' held thus far by both political Parties. The thing that is saving this debate from a ho-hum flip of the channel button is the appearance of Fred Thompson.

The long-anticipated entrance of Thompson into the race has created interest on the part of politicos and even interested citizens in the electorate who wish to see how the candidate stacks up against his rivals in the GOP race for the nomination.

One commentator, writing in the New York Post, stated that this was do-or-die for Thompson and that unless he comes through with a stellar performance he is all washed up.

This seems to us to be unnecessary melodramatic overkill. A lackluster performance on Thompson's part will certainly not help, given that so much fanfare has tended to revolve around his entrance into the race. He has much to live up to. But a less-than-excellent showing will not doom him by any stretch. It is still early yet, and he has tons of support.

On the other hand a strong showing by Thompson will certainly secure for him an image of 'gravitas' that will more than likely put him over the top against Rudy Giuliani, who supposedly still leads in the polls but whose numbers actually put him in a statistical tie with Thompson.