This seals the deal, as it seems pretty unlikely that the rest of the field would want to show up, or that the CBC would want to do a debate without the front-runners.

Well, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have decided not to participate in the Democratic debate that the Congressional Black Caucus institute and Fox News channel had planned for September in Detroit. Their decision follows that of John Edwards from last week. Mr. Edwards was the first to decline both this one and one that was canceled by Nevada Democrats after liberal activists and several of the most influential lib-blogs had mounted pressure against Fox for its conservative-leaning programming.

We mounted a great deal of pressure on the first debate, but the real pressure on this one came from the African-American community. But there was very little direct pressure on the campaigns themselves, so this is particularly encouraging. Thanks to Edwards for leading, and to Obama and Clinton for joining him. Good show, all.