“I expect the action to be plenty spirited up on that stage,” said Fox News’ Chris Wallace. He and the other three panelists in the Fox News-Washington Examiner debate on Thursday night believe that the session, which will be televised on the Fox News Channel from 9 to 11:00 p.m. EDT, will sort out a Republican field that has been largely amorphous until now.
The debate, which will be moderated by Fox News anchor Bret Baier, is expected to attract at least 5 million viewers to the Fox News Channel and will be watched by thousands more on foxnews.com and washingtonexaminer.com.
Baier, 41-year-old anchor of “Special Report” each weeknight, joined Fox News as Southeast correspondent in 1998. After Sept. 11, he moved to Washington as national security correspondent, then spent three years as chief White House
correspondent. He succeeded Brit Hume as anchor of “Special Report” in January 2009. Baier is known for his poise under pressure and his ability to make sense of breaking news as it unfolds.
“These candidates are ready to mix it up,” Baier said. “It’s hard to overstate the importance of this debate for GOP candidates looking to perform well in the Ames straw poll on Saturday and then the Iowa caucuses in February.”
Wallace, 63-year-old host of “Fox News Sunday,” covered politics for NBC before becoming the network’s chief White House correspondent and moderator of “Meet the Press.” He then spent 14 years at ABC before joining Fox News in 2003.
At Fox, Wallace has distinguished himself with his diligent preparation and sharp but fair questioning of leaders of both political parties.
“One of our main objectives is to get Mitt Romney to engage with his rivals on a variety of issues,” Wallace said. “There’s also a battle among the rest of the field, especially Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty, to emerge as Romney’s main rival.”
Byron York, 55, joined The Washington Examiner in early 2009 as chief political correspondent. Before that he was White House correspondent for National Review and an investigative reporter for The American Spectator.
York’s deeply reported, twice-weekly column, which is syndicated by United Features, draws on a wide network of sources on Capitol Hill and in government. He is also a contributor to Fox News.
“This debate is critical,” York said. “Not only will it be the first chance for Americans to see this GOP field together, it comes just two days before the Ames straw poll — the first time voters get a chance to say which candidates they prefer.”
Susan Ferrechio, 42, The Washington Examiner’s chief congressional correspondent, covered the 2008 and 2010 elections for the Examiner. She came to the paper from Congressional Quarterly and before that was a reporter at the Miami Herald, where she played a major role in covering the 2000 Florida recount.
“The Republican candidates need to distinguish themselves from each other in this debate,” Ferrechio said. “They can’t pull punches or duck tough questions.”
