OXFORD, Miss. - The mood at the University of Mississippi has turned from excitement over the presidential debate to great uncertainty after Republican nominee John McCain announced he wanted to postpone the event in light of the current U.S. financial crisis.
By the end of Wednesday it wasn't clear what, if anything, would happen here Friday night, in spite of millions of dollars spent and months of feverish planning by university and city officials. The debate would be the first of the 2008 presidential campaign. University officials said late Wednesday afternoon they were proceeding as if the debate will take place and have not heard otherwise from the Commission on Presidential Debates, which is overseeing the event.
After McCain's feelings were made clear that he and his opponent and fellow senator, Democrat Barack Obama, should be focused on the current U.S. financial crisis, students and journalists huddled around televisions. They anxiously awaited the press conference in which Obama said he believed the two candidates should continue with the debate.
At the moment Obama's intentions became clear, sighs could be heard through the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics at Ole Miss, where a daylong symposium was going on. The talk included figures from the civil rights movement and modern Mississippi politics, who lectured about the impact of events in Mississippi during the civil rights movement and beyond on American politics.
Samir Husni, chair of the department of journalism at Ole Miss, watched Obama's press conference in his office. He said no matter what, the debate, as well as the events associated with it, is invaluable for the students, who were witnessing history. There was some talk on campus that Obama might be the only one to show up Friday night.
"It is historic, regardless if it takes place here or not," Husni said. "... What if we get a crown with one less jewel?"
Clay Terry, a senior music major from Pensacola, said he hoped McCain would reconsider his decision.
"People want to know what they both have to say when it is not just ad versus ad," Terry said.
Terry, who said he wasn't too excited about either McCain or Obama, thinks he will support Libertarian Party nominee Bob Barr in the upcoming election.
Diego Romero, a sophomore economics major from Bolivia, said he believes there is a little more support in his home country for McCain than for Obama, but he hopes McCain will decide to debate at Ole Miss.
"Everything they are going to say is important because they are going to show what they are capable of doing," Romero said.
The university had estimated the cost of the presidential debate to be up to $5 million, all of which came from private donations. There were no announcements about when the debate would be held if it were to be postponed.
Most of the major televisions networks and many print journalists had already arrived in Oxford by the time the news broke Wednesday.
University officials had been using the debate as an opportunity to draw attention to how far the school has come since integration, but after McCain's announcement the mood quickly turned.
"Everyone is in a state of shock," Husni said.
Marty Wiseman, executive director of the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University, said the move is a Hail Mary that potentially could either connect for McCain or lose the game. There is the risk McCain could look like he doesn't want to debate.
"We've all not wanted to take our final exams," Wiseman said.
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