The Note: "The Opening Bell"

— -- WASHINGTON, Feb. 21

The center of the political universe today locates in Carson City, Nevada when ABC News' George Stephanopoulos moderates a forum sponsored by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union beginning at 3:00 pm ET. All of the Democratic Party's 2008 presidential candidates will participate, except for Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL).

In the Carson City Community Center, the candidates will serially take questions, in the following order of appearance determined by lot: Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), former Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA), former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM), Sen. Joe Biden (D-DC), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), and former Sen. Miake Gravel (D-AK)

Note readers and children of all ages can watch gavel-to-Gravel coverage on ABC News' digital channel ABC News Now LINK and on abcnews.com's "Political Radar" LINK, as well as on the C-SPAN. ABC News Now's pre-game show will be anchored by ABC News' Kate Snow and Sam Donaldson.

There will be an 2:55 pm ET pre-program candidates photo op to which all are invited.

It is no accident that this forum is taking place in Nevada. Thanks in part to the efforts of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), the Silver State will play host to an early nominating contest currently slated to take place in early 2008 in between the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.

Each candidate will deliver a two minute opening statement and then answer three questions from Stephanopoulos, one of which will have been submitted by an inquisitive AFSCME member. The candidates will have three minutes to respond to each question and will be allowed to deliver one-minute closing statements.

When print big dogs Tom Beaumont, Jill Lawrence, Mark Z. Barabak, Dan Balz, and Tom Beaumont all gather in one place, you know it is a mega-major event. They will all afford Jon Ralston the respect he deserves.

As Barabak correctly observes in his topical must-read Los Angeles Times' curtain-raiser, the elephant in the room with the Democratic donkeys will be the war in Iraq. LINK

Beaumont's Des Moines Register scene setter focuses on Obama's absence, and the Notion that maybe Saint Barack might actually be making a mistake by skipping the event. LINK

"Democrats will notice his absence at what is considered a key national event, and the first of the campaign centered on issues important to politically influential union activists."

"Hosted by ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, the AFSCME forum is a sort of opening bell for the 2008 campaign."

Jill Lawrence in USA Today raises the Silver State flag.LINK

The AP: LINK

ABC News' Mark Halperin offers a preview: LINK

The local press is all atwitter.

Molly Ball of the Las Vegas Review Journal: LINK

Steve Timko of the Reno Gazette-Journal reports on the busy preparations being made by the Carson City community for the presidential forum today. LINK

Kelli Du Fresne of the Nevada Appeal writes that Carson City is in the national spotlight for the first time since 1897, when it was host to the world championship fight between James J. "Gentleman Jim" Corbett and Robert Fitzsimmons. LINK

Unlike today's forum, however, the 1897 boxing match was fought without "brutality."

Before the on-air program begins, Sen. Reid, AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, and Nevada Speaker Barbara Buckley make welcoming remarks to the audience.

After the forum, Sen. Clinton addresses the Nevada State Education Association at 8:20 pm ET in Las Vegas, NV and Former Gov. Vilsack deliver remarks to the Nevada AFL-CIO Members at 7:00 pm ET in Carson City, NV.

Sen. Obama – the lone Democrat skipping today's forum -- holds a 8:45 pm ET town hall meeting at the Polk County Convention Complex in Des Moines, IA. (Gov. Vilsack offered to fly back to Iowa to debate Sen. Obama in front of an AFSCME local in the Hawkeye State – but the high-flying Obama campaign brushed the entreaty aside.)

Armed and ready, and cognizant of just how major a news peg the Carson City form is, the RNC's nimble research shop is using the moment to unload on the Democratic '08ers with a series of "Meet the Candidates" pieces. The RNC's Lisa Miller, Tracey Schmitt, and Shawn Reinschmiedt are also holding a 12:30 pm ET conference call with reporters.

The RNC's hit pieces won't be released until later today. But here's an early look at the flavor and "substance" to what amounts to rhetorical framing, rather than any smoking guns:

Joe Biden: "An Undisciplined, Self-Described Northeast Liberal, In Love With The Sound Of His Own Voice"

Hillary Clinton: A Calculating, Divisive, Lifelong Liberal With Political Baggage" (Note to the RNC: how come the female candidate is referred to by her first name in work?)

Chris Dodd: "A New England Liberal, Past His Prime, On An Unrealistic Vanity Run For The White House"

John Edwards: "A Hypocritical, Inexperienced Liberal With A Negative Attitude"

Barack Obama: "An Inexperienced, Insulated, Arrogant, Unabashed Liberal"

Bill Richardson: "A Self-Promoting, Washington Insider With a Controversial Record"

Tom Vilsack: "A Tax-Hiking, Mismanaging, "Blip" Candidate With No Foreign Policy Experience"

See below for additional calendar items.

ABC News-Brookings Partnership:
As part of its continuing coverage of the 2008 presidential race, ABC News has partnered with the Brookings Institution to help presidential candidates and the public focus on critical issues facing the nation.

The new Opportunity08 project and its website, www.opportunity08.org, will provide policy choices and information on a broad range of issues facing America's next president. It will also serve as a forum for discussing solutions.

As part of the project, more than 20 experts from the Brookings Institution will publicly present policy ideas for America's next president on a wide array of domestic and foreign policy questions, including tax policy, energy security, the deficit and Iraq. Those ideas will also be featured on the ABC News website at www.abcnews.go.com/politics and on ABC News Now, which provides live 24/7 news coverage online, on television and on mobile devices.

Political analysis will also be posted on the Opportunity08 website as a way of covering the policy dimension of the presidential race, rather than simply the "horserace" aspect of the campaign.

Opportunity08 will be launched on Wednesday, Feb. 28 and will feature three panel discussions focused on a variety of issues that will influence the 2008 campaign. The first panel will be moderated by ABC News' George Stephanopoulos and will include Opportunity08 advisory committee chairs Kenneth Duberstein, former chief of staff to President Reagan and an advisor to every Republican president since Nixon, and Thomas Donilon, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Warren Christopher and a Democratic presidential advisor for more than 20 years.

The second panel on foreign policy will be moderated by former Pentagon spokeswoman and ABC News consultant Torie Clarke, and a third panel will cover domestic policy.