The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 9/25/8
Will Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain show up for the first presidential debate Friday?
University of Mississippi leaders were scratching their heads after his bombshell announcement Wednesday that he was suspending his campaign, perhaps walking away from the Ole Miss debate and heading to Washington, D.C., to put his entire focus on solving the U.S. financial crisis.
“I think McCain is trying to change the campaign momentum and change things up in an unexpected way,” said veteran political observer Charles Overby, an Ole Miss alum leading seminars this week on campus in anticipation of Friday’s debate.
“Certainly the announcement today does that.”
But he said the political impact will depend upon the reaction from his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, who said later Wednesday that he thought the debate should proceed as planned.
Immediately after McCain’s announcement, Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat told a crowd at a symposium on race and politics that the university “is ready” for the debate.
