tab in wysiwyg + tinymce

I need users to be able to post simple lists of dates/events like:

09 Dec     event 1
13 Dec     event 2
20 Dec     event 3

The only ways to preserve the 'tab' space, is to put five normal spaces and use a fixed-width font, or use a table. Both methods are inadequate for various reasons.

Does anyone know how to get the tab button working in TinyMCE, so we can create simple columns easily?

Thanks.