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As of 7am this morning, no official announcement that McCain will appear at the Oxford Debate today.  The only thing he would say last night was that he was “hopeful” that enough progress would be made on the economic bailout plan that he would be able to attend.

Speaking of “hopeful”, there are still many signs pointing towards this thing actually happening:

• McCain’s website is still pushing people to watch the debate (link via Clarion Ledger blogs).
• The University and Debate officials are still claiming that everything is a “go”.  
• Hundreds of people gathered on the Oxford Square last night, excited about the historic event.
• TIME Magazine’s “The Page” Blog was reporting last night that McCain’s plane was set to leave Washington today, inferring that he would be headed to O-Town.  I have no idea how they found that out and that message has been taken down, but there is other important information there. 
• McCain’s people on the ground in Oxford are setting up like everything is going down as planned.

A highly-placed source inside the McCain campaign told me early this morning that Sen. John McCain is expected to partcipate in the federal bailout negotions for most of the day, then fly to Mississippi at the last minute in time to participate in the debate with Sen. Barack Obama.

In the colorful history of our small town, both the 1st and 2nd most historic events have several things in common.  First, the 2008 Presidential Debate and the Integration Riots of 1962 are both centered on matters of national and immediate importance.  Second, they both have an African American at the center of the chaos, hoping to break through his own glass ceiling.  And thirdly, they both happen on nearly the same piece of real estate, as the Ford Center can be seen from the base of the Confederate statue around which so many rioters regrouped.

Yesterday, as I watched the news of John McCain suspending his campaign and calling for a postponement of the debates until the financial crisis on Wall Street can be sorted out in Washington, I realized another connection:

We’re stuck in the middle again.

In 1962, Oxford and Ole Miss were caught in a tense standoff between Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett and President John Kennedy and his brother Robert, the U.S. Attorney General at the time.  An issue of integration quickly escalated into one about State’s sovereignty vs. Federal oversight.  Oxford was caught in the middle as Ross Barnett forged ahead with his plan to stop Ole Miss from being integrated.  For several days, the town was flooded with angry rioters, protesters and Klansmen from all over the region.  Property was burned, citizens were attacked, and two people lost their lives.  The Kennedys were finally forced to call in National Guard troops to fortify the U.S. Marshalls protecting James Meredith at the center of the fury.

46 years later, in a situation much less dramatic, but no less historic, Oxford has once again become a pawn in an exhausting political game.  McCain will halt his campaign after a speaking engagement Thursday night, less than a day before a highly anticipated debate.  His goal is to fly to Washington and help congress hash out details for a proposed $700,000,000,000(!) bailout of the mortgage industry.  Obama has said that he understands the importance of a financial solution and has also pledged to take any step necessary to help out the country as well.  He has also called for the debate to go on as planned, stating that this is the time when people need to hear the plans of their future leaders the most.  McCain’s response is that he’s holding out for a solution before he heads this way.

And so here we sit, 36 hours to go, like all those Cobra security guards perched in front of the Ford Center for the last month.  Waiting. Watching.  Millions of dollars of fencing, shrubbery, infrastructure, man-hours, concerts, advertising, and a town excited about it’s moment in the spotlight, it’s contribution to our country.  We’re all waiting.

And by the way, we wont be the only ones upset about being stood up.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjkCrfylq-E

The whole town seemed to be on edge this afternoon as word spread about the potential for the debate to be cancelled.  Looks like the University and Obama want it to go on as planned.  Now it will be up to the Debate Commission and the McCain camp to see what will happen.  

This will really be a sad thing for our town/campus if it gets moved.  Not only will millions and millions of dollars have been spent for nothing, but all of the energy and excitement will be deflated.  

Oxford is a strange town where strange things happen often.  Let’s all hope this works itself out.

BTW, the crisis this afternoon was a great time for those of us who use twitter.  (Check out my previous blog post about it and join us).  We also looked at the “obama” and “mccain” findings on twitscoop, which is also very cool.

The photo is from Bruce Newman at the Oxford Eagle.

Classic

A full email exchange between “Blue Like Jazz” Author Donald Miller and Presidential candidate Barack Obama has been posted on Miller’s new blog.  It’s great.  Here’s an excerpt.

Mr. Obama,

Wow. I’m shocked. How did you get my e-mail address? I signed up on a clip board a cute hippie handed me, did you get my address from her? Do you know her? Can you ask her to call me? Anyway, no biggie, just cool that you wrote.

I wanted to talk to you after the rally but the guy with the curly earphones said you were busy. As for your e-mail, I don’t remember saying “the time has come to get beyond the same old tactics that divide and distract us,” but that’s exactly how I feel. I say a lot of things I don’t remember. My roommate Jordan said I said he could eat my leftover calzone from Pizzicatta but I don’t remember saying that and I know I was planning on having it for breakfast the next day.

Anyway, I hear you are going to Europe. I was thinking about trying to get over there myself but the exchange rate is nuts. My friend Karl said he pad nine bucks for a pint. That’s out of my league. Are you backpacking? Staying in hostels? Watch out in Amsterdam, that place is crazy. Write back about that hippie girl.

I gotta go.

Don

Read the rest here.

Here Miller’s prayer at the DNC on the youtubes:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b79m3fJfmuA&hl=en&fs=1]

I wondered at first why he didn’t bow his head and close his eyes, but then I realized that he was reading off of a teleprompter.  Lots to remember.  I thought he did a good job.  What do you think?

In case you were wondering about the part that the audio was lost for, click here to read it.