Debate is Still Up In The Air

The first general election debate remained in limbo Friday, just hours before John McCain and Barack Obama were scheduled to appear on stage together at the University of Mississippi, with McCain’s camp continuing to send mixed signals about whether the Republican nominee intended to participate in the high-stakes forum. Since Wednesday, when McCain unexpectedly announced he would suspend his campaign to focus on the economic crisis, it has been unclear whether McCain would join Obama at the debate. And it remained that way after negotiations over a $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan broke down Thursday and late-night talks ended inconclusively. McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt said Thursday night that the Arizona senator was focused on passing a compromise bailout bill and would be on the phone, cajoling colleagues and trying to get closer to a deal. “He’s working very, very hard to try to get majority votes,” Schmidt said. In a Thursday interview with ABC News, McCain tried to downplay the significance of the first debate, possibly laying the groundwork for a decision to formally withdraw from the event. “I understand that there is a lot of attention on this but I also wish Sen. Obama had agreed to 10 or more town hall meetings that I had asked him to attend with me,” McCain said. “Wouldn’t be quite that much urgency if he agreed to do that. Instead, he refused to do it.” After spending most of Tuesday and Wednesday in debate preparations near Tampa, Fla., Obama and his campaign left little room for doubt about whether he would be in Oxford, Miss., on Friday night.
Obama’s aides said he was moving ahead with their plans for the debate and at a Thursday evening press conference at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, Obama reiterated his call for McCain to appear with him on Friday. “My hope is that the debate goes forward,” Obama said. “I intend to be there.” “I believe the most important thing that John McCain and I can do tomorrow, in addition to continuing to monitor the situation and talking to congressional leaders and the administration, is to go to Mississippi for 90 minutes, go in front of the American people and explain our vision of where the economy needs to go,” he continued.