ORLANDO -- Ahead of the Republican presidential debate tonight, at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort and live on Fox News, top Florida Republicans profess their neutrality in the race for the GOP nomination. And while many think the large number of debates have watered down the effect of each individual forum, every stop comes with its own subplots. Tonight's event will go farther in answering some important questions:

-- Does Fred Thompson matter? In the last debate, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani spent more time going after each other than after Thompson. Have those campaigns already decided he's a non-threat? And if they have, can he do anything tonight to rebuild the excitement that once swirled around his candidacy? He didn't do himself any favors yesterday, when he addressed Florida Republicans for about five minutes, just a short while after Giuliani went on for about half an hour and Romney spoke for twenty minutes.

-- Can anyone stop Giuliani? Iowa may be Romney's stomping grounds, and there's a battle for New Hampshire. But make no mistake, Florida is Giuliani country. Social issues, for which some conservatives can't stomach Hizzoner, seem to matter less to Floridians assembled here, many of whom, even if they back another candidate, are still effusive in their praise of Giuliani. Thompson, Romney and the rest will do everything they can to close the gap in the Sunshine State. That means Giuliani better watch his back tonight.

-- Is Romney stopping or starting? Dogged by questions after the last debate, we estimate he will mention talking to lawyers approximately zero times tonight. People thought his debate performance last time was so-so, at best. Can he reassert himself as one of the best top-tier debaters tonight? And if not, will it keep stories of his stalled campaign alive until the next time the GOP candidates meet?

-- Will John McCain rebound? Last debate's topic was way outside his strike zone. A better performance tonight will only do more to further stories of a comeback. A lousy performance, and those stories disappear. Maybe no candidate faces more pressure than McCain tonight.

-- Is Huckabee for real? A few good Iowa poll numbers, a few good straw poll showings, and people are wondering whether Mike Huckabee belongs in the top tier. Add in kind words from Newt Gingrich and others and Huckabee's window may be opening. He will never perform at the financial level of the four leaders (or even at the level of Ron Paul) but he always does well at debates. He, more than any other candidate, is probably most irritated with the Cleveland Indians' inability to seal the deal last night, robbing him of a few hundred thousand viewers.

-- Who gets the biggest applause tonight? We're going out on a limb here and guessing the candidate who has been around the conference the most: California Congressman Duncan Hunter. A surprising number of the delegates we've talked to express admiration for Hunter, though they recognize in the same sentence his long-shot status. On a less risky limb, we'll also guess Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, for whom tonight is something of a national coming-out party. No presidential candidate inspires the same kind of reaction than Crist among his Florida GOP faithful.

Plenty of questions to answer. Don't flip over to baseball. By the time the debate ends, at 9:30, the game will only be in the third or fourth inning.