Vegas showdown: Clinton 'on the hot seat' Story Highlights [View All]

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- Seven Democratic presidential candidates are debating tonight at the Thomas and Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The biggest pressure is on the front-runner, Sen. Hillary Clinton. The debate, hosted by CNN and the Nevada Democratic Party, is the first showdown between Democratic candidates since Clinton's stumble at a debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

That's where the senator from New York was accused of inconsistency on her answer to a question about driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. Criticism of Clinton's response was discussed in the media for days afterward.

Clinton has to do better this time, CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said Thursday.

"She has to reassure Democrats that she speaks from conviction, that she's being honest with the people, that she doesn't talk like a typical politician -- which is what she sounded like at the last Democratic debate and took a lot of heat for that," Schneider said.

Gloria Borger, CNN's other senior political analyst, agreed: "Clinton's on the hot seat. She has to get rid of the notion that she can't answer a question directly or that as a front-runner she is just playing out the clock and wants to be cautious above all else."

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