Ignore the rain and wind. Can’t you feel the excitement in the air? Yeah? It’s positively electric! Oh, it’s a scene, man. And this morning we are really wishing we were in Las Vegas taking informal polls at the craps table, having the sex with our favorite blonde photographer, calling our Dr. Feelgood for laser juice, and watching Hillary draw blood. All at the same time. Why not? We’ll celebrate, because tonight Hillary Clinton’s wrath promises to be a better bloodletting than the Hatton-Mayweather fight. Oh yes, it will be a massacre. Many will fall. Kicking off the day’s pre-debate coverage, The Caucus blog at The New York Times rounds up various news chatter about the race reaching “new levels,” campaign “fluidity,” and the relevance of Sun Belt voters. I think I just peed a little.

The Early Word: Democrats in Vegas [NYT]