Remember yesterday? When I was dissing people who would wake up early enough on a Sunday to watch this weekend’s Democratic debate in Iowa?

Well…

Call it payback from the political junkie in the sky, or good karma, or whatever, but one day later here I am at SeaTac, getting ready to board a plane for Iowa, where I will be watching the Democratic debate live and in person at Drake University. (Which means I will be getting up ridiculously early Central Time on Sunday. Like, in time to get to an 8 a.m. Iowa-time debate.)

I could say payback’s a bitch, but really I’m not complaining. This debate looks like it could be a fiesty one, with Obama now joining Edwards in adopting a sharper tone on the stump, and Hillary looking like a likely target of attacks from all comers, especially now that she’s opened up a 30-point lead in California.

What’s it like to try to elbow my way into a nationally televised debate at the last minute while hailing from a publication with a somewhat scary name like The Stranger?

I emailed the debate organizers at ABC News asking for credentials and was hit with the usual question, sent from a Blackberry:

What kind of publication is the stranger?

Yikes. My flight is boarding. I’ll let you know what happens…