CNN Debate Ushers in New Phase of Democrat Party Campaign

The debate's tonight.

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Clinton and Sanders prepare for debate, and a new phase in the Democratic race":

Hillary Rodham Clinton was never going to waltz to the Democratic presidential nomination. The American political system doesn't work that way.

No one, however, expected a 74-year-old senator from tiny Vermont to emerge at this point as her strongest challenger. Not the party's wise men and women, not Clinton strategists. Not even the self-described Democratic socialist himself.

But Bernie Sanders' stunning fundraising success — his $26-million haul nearly matched Clinton's money machine over the summer — and his continuing capacity to draw huge crowds, including 13,000 Friday night in Tucson, seem to ensure he will stick around for months to come and, even if he falls short of the nomination, push Clinton and fellow Democrats in his leftward direction.

In recent weeks, Clinton has staked a number of positions that narrowed the gap between the two: opposing the Keystone XL pipeline, proposing tougher regulation of Wall Street, rejecting a trade deal she helped negotiate with Asian countries and calling for the repeal of a federal tax on high-end healthcare plans.

Clinton may have come to those positions of her own volition, but her timing ahead of Tuesday's first Democratic debate appears to be no accident, just as her increased willingness to take on Sanders, albeit obliquely, hardly seems coincidental.

"Everything that I am proposing, I have a way to pay for it," she said while campaigning last week in Iowa, no doubt mindful that Sanders' platform, which includes a call for universal healthcare coverage and free college tuition, carries a hefty price tag.

"You've got a proposal," Clinton challenged him, "tell us how you're going to pay for it."

Sanders' response has been to welcome Clinton alongside. Professing delight at Clinton's newfound opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Sanders allowed that "it would have been more helpful to have her aboard a few months ago" when he was one of the loudest and loneliest voices in opposition.

Clinton, 67, remains a solid favorite to win the Democratic nomination, in large part because of her strong support among women, Latinos and African Americans, who make up much of the party base. For all the talk of discontent, 3 in 4 likely Democratic primary voters view Clinton positively, and the same number say they could see voting for her regardless of who they now support, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll.

But Sanders' rise and Clinton's struggle with controversies over her family's philanthropic foundation and the use of a private email server as secretary of State have seeded deep doubts about the front-runner and raised questions about both her political durability and personal veracity.

That has encouraged Vice President Joe Biden to seriously weigh a lightning entry into the race, a move that would instantly transform the contest from a race to catch Clinton — pitting Sanders against former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and the also-rans Lincoln Chafee and Jim Webb — into a brawl between the party's two top heavyweights.

Many Democrats, perhaps envious of the boisterous GOP contest, are hankering for a fight...

Well, it's going to be interesting, in any case.

Still more.