Breaking – McCan't-make-it wants out of Friday's Debate UPDATED

UPDATE in comments

The Sun Herald has the story

Republican John McCain said he wants to delay the international affairs discussion to focus on solving the nation’s financial crisis. McCain said that the Bush administration’s Wall Street bailout plan seemed headed for defeat and a bipartisan solution is urgently needed.

Democrat Barack Obama responded by saying that it was now more important than ever for the two to debate, given that one of them soon “will be responsible for dealing with this mess.”

Streets are blocked and campus security is tight. Ole Miss has been holding seminars, voter-registration drives and other events leading into what’s supposed to be McCain and Obama’s first debate since they were nominated at their parties’ national conventions last month.

The University of Mississippi, in the north Mississippi city of Oxford, has spent more than $4.5 million to prepare for the debate. Most of the money is from private donors.

So, anyone not already questioning McCan’t-make-it’s judgment, is certain to have questions now – like who needs a President that can’t meet his other obligations when there’s a crisis? 

Barbara Lago, the university’s public relations director, said the campaigns and the Commission on Presidential Debates must decide what happens. The university continued its preparations Wednesday because the debate had not been canceled.

“We’ll just see what happens, what they decide,” Lago told The Associated Press.

Even with the uncertainty, both campaigns continued their advance work. McCain’s wife, Cindy, was scheduled to make an appearance Friday in Oxford, and his camp was still calling news organizations to ask for coverage.

Surely, someone on McCan’t-make-it’s staff has the sense to know how unwelcome she’ll be and buys the poor fellow some Geritol before he just has to withdraw from the race completely.

The debate has been the biggest event to hit Oxford since a promising quarterback named Eli Manning signed to play Ole Miss football nearly a decade ago.

For months, light posts on campus have been festooned with red and blue banners with the slogan: “The debate starts here.”

TV satellite trucks have been wheeling into place this week near the Gertrude Ford Center for the Performing Arts. The university built a massive white tent – complete with water and sewer lines, and high-tech capabilities – to use as a media filing center outside the Ford Center.

Ali Willimont, a 25-year-old Oxford resident who manages a chicken restaurant near the town square, said in a phone interview Wednesday that she’s “really upset” about the possibility of the debate not happening.

“This town has spent a lot – a lot -of money getting ready for it. I mean, suspend your campaign, that’s fine, but come to the debate,” Willimont said. “I was an Obama supporter anyway, but now I just kind of feel like maybe McCain doesn’t care so much because if he did, he wouldn’t be putting this small town in Mississippi out of so much money.”

Tyler Craft, president of the College Republicans at Ole Miss, said he wants the debate to take place. But he said McCain is correct in wanting to focus on solving economic problems.

“I definitely think his intentions are noble,” Craft said.

“Maybe just the fact that he’s talking about this will give Congress the gumption to get together and work out bipartisan legislation and work with the White House and get the economy back where it should be.”