Texas Gov. Rick Perry has a lot to prove in Wednesday night's GOP Debate at the Reagan Presidential Library. For starters, this is the first debate the GOP presidential frontrunner will appear in. It also marks Perry's first major appearance in front of a nationally televised audience since he declared his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination last month. Furthermore, as the frontrunner according to the polls, Perry comes into his first debate with a big target on his back.

In short, the pressure is on for Perry to succeed. 

Here's a sampling of what's being written about Perry ahead of tonight's GOP debate.

From CNN: "After a quick and relatively easy ride to the top of the GOP field in less than a month, the Texas governor now has to perform. And for many conservatives, the Reagan Presidential Library is a solid scene-setter for a classic California western. Make that a wild west shootout for Perry, who will probably see attacks coming from all sides."

From The Daily Beast: "Perry has the least and the most to prove. And the stakes are huge. If he does okay, his status as frontrunner will be cemented. If he blows it, he could claw his way to the bottom fast. The game plan for Perry? Just come across as calm, thoughtful, and most of all, reasonable."

From The Texas Tribune: "Tonight’s debate at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., is significant for Perry for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is that it’s a rare public performance he can’t orchestrate in advance. 'It puts him on a stage the public really hasn’t seen him on, that Texans have rarely seen him on,' said Matt Angle, director of the Texas Democratic Trust."

From Politico: "Working in Perry’s favor? It’s a multicandidate debate, and the bar for Perry has been set pretty low, given the conventional wisdom that he’s not the Great Debator and questions about his basic smarts. He may be able to stick to his playbook from past debates — memorize a message and repeat it, repeat it, repeat it.

"Working against him? The rest of the candidates have met onstage at least once before to learn each other’s rhythms."

From The New York Times: "Mr. Perry is likely to be confronted with a series of substantive questions that could affect the public’s early perception of his candidacy. His writings about Social Security, gays, guns, religion and abortion are likely to be prime targets for the NBC and Politico journalists who are hosting the forum. 

"And his rivals may decide that the best way to get the camera to swing in their direction is to attack Mr. Perry."

From The Washington Post: Perry's "path to declaring a victory in tonight’s proceedings is relatively uncluttered. Look like you belong on the stage and don’t make any big gaffes. Pretty simple — in theory."

Perry will be joined on-stage in Wednesday night's debate by Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain and Jon Huntsman. The debate starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time and you can watch it on NBC.