Keyes may not win, but it'll be nice to see him carve up Obama in debates and bring him down a notch. There will be a ton of national media spotlight on this race so Keyes may open the eyes of a few blacks in Illinois who previously would dismiss the conservative viewpoint right off the bat.
I'm not so sure there will be debates. I don't see what incentive Obama would have to accept a debate challenge, given his likely huge lead, and given Keyes's formidable debating reputation.
Obama might agree to a couple of very tightly formatted debates, with no direct candidate-to-candidate exchanges -- close to alternating press conferences, really -- just enough so that charges of ducking debates won't stick.
My early prediction: Obama 62, Keyes 38. Which, come to think of it, would be Keyes's best showing ever, wouldn't it?