Presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama will square off at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., on Sept. 26 before a worldwide audience, and as many as 3,000 journalists are expected to converge to tell the story.
Officials and townspeople — proud, excited and sometimes downright stressed — are working hard to make the Magnolia State shine in a global spotlight. They're finding homes for newspaper and TV folk, laying miles of cable, bringing Internet capabilities up to date, and figuring out where to park dozens of satellite trucks that will surely lumber into Oxford like Winnebagos on game day.
Marty Wiseman, executive director of the John C. Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University, said the Ole Miss debate would capture a wide audience, particularly if Obama doesn't accept McCain's invitation to town hall meetings this summer. So far, Obama has not committed to the town hall format and Wiseman said Ole Miss officials should hope he doesn't.
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