The big question heading into tonight’s GOP presidential debate in Michigan--the seventh? Eighth? We lost count long ago--is how Fred Thompson will perform. It’s not only the first time the former Tennessee senator will appear onstage with his GOP rivals, it’s also the first time Thompson has debated in more than a decade. The last time he sparred with a political rival was during his 1996 Senate re-election campaign. Needless to say, Thompson is perhaps the only candidate heading into tonight’s debate with expectations both low and high simultaneously.

On one hand, it’s been so long since his last debate that some are expecting him to tank. On the other hand, Thompson is an actor who knows how to work the camera--though his performances have been somewhat spotty since he finally entered the race last month. What will happen? Who knows? One thing’s for sure: Thompson’s campaign hasn’t had the best go lately. This morning his campaign e-mailed reporters a list of campaign surrogates set to appear in the so-called “spin room” after the debate tonight, and it misidentified Todd Harris, Thompson’s top press guy, as “Todd Rich.” The campaign corrected his name almost an hour later, explaining that they had accidentally merged the names of Harris and Rich Bond, another top adviser. Asked later about the goof, Harris only laughed.