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Sneak Peek: ABC News GOP Debate Sunday
By KAREN TRAVERS, NIK BONOVICH AND LEIGH HARTMAN
August 3, 2007

Set two alarms, stay in on Saturday night and play Trivial Pursuit, whatever you have to do - there will be no sleeping in on Sunday morning!

George Stephanopoulos moderates the fourth Republican presidential debate (the first debate in the key state of Iowa) Sunday at 9:00 am ET as part of a special edition of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" at Drake University.

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The 90 minute debate will be the first gathering of the Republican presidential field since June 5.

Stay tuned for an ABC News Iowa specific poll on the Republican field on Sunday morning.

But of course you can't just watch the debate on TV -- follow all the ins and outs online Sunday here. ABC News' Rick Klein will be live-blogging during the debate and the ABC News Political Unit will provide real-time fact checking and analysis.

Staying in the Midwest…

If you didn't make it to Des Moines, then Chicago is the place to be this weekend. Especially if you have a "D" after your name, write about those with a "D" after their name or if you simply want to see what happens when hundreds of bloggers gather together in one place.

Days after they chose not to appeal to the center of their party at the DLC Convention, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd cozy up to the Democratic left wing at a 2:00 pm ET candidate forum at the YearlyKos Convention Saturday in Chicago, followed by separate Breakout Sessions with bloggers at 3:35 pm ET.

The candidates all will appear on stage together from 2-3:20pm ET at the candidate forum but are not allowed to engage each other, it's not a debate. (Fingers crossed that it happens organically.)

And don't forget to check out those potentially newsier candidate breakout sessions!!

Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Rahm Emanuel and Chuck Schumer attend an "Ask the Leaders" Forum at 9:00 am ET and DailyKos blogger Markos Moulitsas gives closing remarks at 8:30 pm ET.

The RNC responded with an internet video taking the Democratic candidates to task for ditching the DLC convention last week but flocking en masse to Chicago for the blogger-fest.

ABC News' Jake Tapper has the roundup of the RNC web video, Bill O'Reilly's campaign against anyone having anything to do with Kos and Jake's own interview with the powerful liberal blogger. LINK

In advance of the Republican presidential debate, ABC News has a poll on the other side and found that Iowa Democrats have found their perfect candidate. In three people.

ABC News' Gary Langer reports: "For experience, strength and electability – in Iowa as nationally – it's Hillary Clinton. But for likeability, empathy and a local focus, John Edwards pushes back strongly, far more so in Iowa than nationally. And Barack Obama has his own appeal, notably among younger Iowa voters and those looking for a new direction in politics."

For the umpteenth time Joe Biden rejected today the notion that he is running for Secretary of State in a 2008 Democratic administration, ABC News' Brian Wheeler reports.

The difference between this and previous denials is that he used it to take a shot at the two front-runners for the nomination. In an interview set to air Friday at 11pm ET on Bloomberg TV, Biden said of fellow Democratic candidates Clinton and Obama, "based on the foreign policy assertions made so far, I'm not sure I wouldn't be sort of a Colin Powell in their administration." He also told Bloomberg's Al Hunt that he didn't care to be a secretary of state "with no influence."

The President spends the weekend at Camp David. He welcomes the President of Afghanistan at 4:00 pm ET on Saturday and participates in a press availability with the President of Afghanistan at 11:25 am ET on Sunday.

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