Apparently, the debate may or may not go on. Sources conflict. I guess will just have to wait and see. Here is some tidbits that may help clairify what will happen
From CNN:
University of Mississippi Chancellor Robert Khayat said Friday morning that if GOP nominee McCain does not show for the first presidential debate at the school in Oxford, the format may include members of the audience to submit questions to the moderator, Jim Lehrer.
Lehrer would then pose the questions to Obama. It would take on a kind of town hall format, according to Khayat.
Khayat said he will recommend that to the Debate Commission, which would make the final decision.
Good news. Lets hope the debate committee makes the right choice.
Committee Membership:
Commission Leadership
Co-Chairmen
Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.
Paul G. Kirk, Jr.
Honorary Co-Chairmen
Gerald R. Ford†
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan†
William J. Clinton
Board of Directors
Howard Buffett
John C. Danforth
Antonia Hernandez
Caroline Kennedy
Michael D. McCurry
Newton N. Minow
Dorothy Ridings
Alan K. Simpson
H. Patrick Swygert
Executive Director
Janet H. Brown
Statement from Committee on September 24:
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is moving forward with its plan for the first presidential debate at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. this Friday, September 26. The plans for this forum have been underway for more than a year and a half. The CPD’s mission is to provide a forum in which the American public has an opportunity to hear the leading candidates for the president of the United States debate the critical issues facing the nation. We believe the public will be well served by having all of the debates go forward as scheduled.
Check out their website for more details.
Update 2X:
I guess I got all worked up for nothing. Salon says not:
A common misconception is that the 90-minute debate would feature Obama, moderator Jim Lehrer and an empty chair if McCain clung to his resolve to stay in Washington. But such a scene -- frequently invoked by talk-radio hosts and bloggers -- is about the only thing guaranteed not to happen on Friday night. "The law requires that there must be two candidates for a debate," said Fahrenkopf, a former GOP national chairman, who helped establish the bipartisan debate commission in 1986. "If we did anything else, we would be making an in-kind contribution to the Obama campaign."
Update 3X
And of course, this is all just a political theater intend to get everyone riled up. McCain will be there:
But Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), McCain’s closest ally on Capitol Hill, suggested on morning shows that McCain will go to the debate with as little as "an outline or a proposal" pending.
Link
Update 4X
Thanks for reading my diary. I know it lacked substance, but I wanted to get a feel for what everyone is thinking about the debate. And I am in my first semester of law school so time is limited. I got class in hour so I gotta go. Thanks for reading and lets hope the debate is on!!