McCain to Attend Tonight's Presidential Debate

Mississippi, Shedding the Shadows of the Past

Ole Miss is poised to host tonight's debate -- and intent upon showing the nation how far the state has come from its divisive past. (Photo: Linda Davidson/Post)

By Michael D. Shear and Shailagh Murray

Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, September 26, 2008; 12:49 PM

The debate is on.

Sen. John McCain late this morning declared a partial victory in the negotiations on Capitol Hill for an economic bailout package and said he would travel to Oxford, Miss. this afternoon to face Sen. Barack Obama at 9 p.m. EST.

 

Shortly after noon, the Republican presidential nominee and his wife Cindy McCain boarded their campaign jet at Reagan National Airport -- along with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, his wife Judith, campaign aides and reporters -- for the nearly two-hour flight to Memphis.

Obama left the capital around the same time, telling reporters on his plane that he was "optimistic" about a bailout deal.

"I think that there is real progress being made this morning and last night and I think it's important that the markets seem to be staying relatively calm at this point," Obama said. "And at this point, my strong sense is that the best thing that I can do, rather than to inject presidential politics into some delicate negotiations, is to go down to Mississippi and explain to the American people what is going on and my vision for leading the country over the next four years."

He said he would "look forward after the debate to coming back to Washington, and hopefully getting a package done."

The sudden turnabout by McCain, who had suspended his campaign and called for a delay in the face-off with Obama, clears the way for an historic clash between the two presidential candidates at a time of national turmoil at home and abroad.

The debate is designed as a forum for discussion of international issues, most importantly the war in Iraq, which has been a central issue in the election. But the meltdown on Wall Street is all but certain to emerge as the main topic, especially given McCain's dramatic and highly publicized actions during the last 48 hours.

On Wednesday, McCain declared that he was suspending his campaign to return to Washington, and urged President Bush to convene meetings of key congressional leadership and the two presidential candidates.

He said they should "meet until the crisis is resolved."

"I am directing my campaign to work with the Obama campaign and the commission on presidential debates to delay Friday night's debate until we have taken action to address this crisis," he said.

But after a contentious and unproductive day Thursday, in which the White House meeting devolved into argument, McCain reassessed the need for that kind of a conclusive resolution.