Break out the Monday – er, Thursday Night Football theme… it’s Debate Night for the Democrats.

They’ll be black and blue in Orangeburg! Pummeling among the Palmettos! The crossfire in Carolina!

7 p.m. kickoff.

Chances are, this debate will get the most attention, and this is, for several candidates, their first real chance to introduce themselves to a national audience.

John Edwards is going to call on President Bush to fire Karl Rove. Yeah, that will happen.

UPDATE: Time offers some anonymously-sourced scoop on how Team Hillary sees the debates:

Hillary Clinton is also banking on the grueling schedule of debates, which is “where she will shine,” says a strategist. “This will be her strongest point. She knows this stuff inside out.” But her team says she is not yet ready to begin challenging Obama directly on his lack of specificity. That’s because going on the attack could further boost her negatives and create an opening for Edwards, who has offered far more detailed plans than she has on issues like health care. “They are worried about both Obama and Edwards,” says an outside adviser. “They think if Obama flames out, Edwards rises.” And if that happens, Hillary’s team will have to consider a course correction once again.

Hm. If Howard Dean gets his way and there’s only one debate per month, will the schedule really be all that grueling?