Ole Miss Officials: Debate Cancellation Would Be $5.5 Million Loss

Ironically enough, if John McCain goes through with his threat to skip the foreign policy debate scheduled for this Friday for the sake of prolonging and complicating the ongoing negotiations over the Paulson bailout package, it may end up creating another distressed asset -- the University of Mississippi's investment in Friday's face-off. Officials from Ole Miss told ABC News today that a cancellation would be "devastating" to the University -- and that a postponement might not be possible:

Andrew Mullins, special assistant to University Chancellor Robert Khayat, told ABC News that the Ole Miss campus has been transformed to accommodate the candidates and the press. Road blocks are in place on campus and in the community and the debate television set for the candidates has already been constructed. He said the university has spent roughly five and half million dollars getting ready for the debate.

Mullins also noted that if the Commission on Presidential Debates asks the campus to hold the debate at a later date, he is not sure the university would be able to accommodate them.

"It's huge. You cannot just say that you're not going to do this thing," Mullins said. "I don't have any idea whether we do the debate" at a later date. "[We] probably wouldn't do it."

Comments

[RJII]

either biden and palin could debate friday. biden's ready.
or Obama could debate Palin. she's suppose to be ready to takeover prez duties.

either way she's toast. it woud be cruel, but worth watching her crumble in front of millions on tv. the truth comes out always.

[IowaGirl]

I hope this means that Mississippi goes for Obama. The only thing Republicans understand is their wallets.

[RJC]

And their richards!

[MarkInEugene]

This is pathetic!

The man should take his millions and retire in the lap of luxury.

He's not up for this, and at his age, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. I just hope the American people don't make the mistake of voting for him. At this stage many prominent Republican's are losing faith in their ticket.

Surprisingly, many millions of American's are still going to vote for him because they are too partisan not to. And voting for the Democratic ticket is just too bitter pill for them to swallow. I'll say this, I'd respect my Republican countrymen more if they didn't vote at all rather than vote in a disastrous ticket purely for partisan reasons.

[RJC]

Let's ask him which of his cars is at which of his houses. That should keep him busy for awhile

[itsjustmeee]

thats funny!

[Cogs]

What's to debate? McCain is a maverick. Obama doesn't have experience. McCain was a p.o.w. Obama a community organizer. McCain is a maverick. Obama wants to lose a war. McCain was a p.o.w. Obama is an elitist. McCain is a maverick. Obama is not ready to lead. McCai was a p.o.w.
Obama is a celebrity. McCain is a .........

[ifonlyuknew]

mccain is a liar

[eirrac]

Mavericks are often reckless, unreliable, and unaware of the problems their erratic behavior cause for others. We need someone who is calm under pressure and who can be relied on to think things through strategically before acting. McCain and Palin have neither of those qualities.

[waters60]

White House spokesman Tony Fratto yesterday said that plans for the bailout had been in place for some time, but they were only rolled out last week? The compressed time frame scenario is familiar; remember the rush to authorize the Iraq war before elections? I am surprised that more attention has not been given to this manipulation.

[PAposter]

Where did you get this information from, I need a link to pass it on.

[thebluecrayon]

I read this Daily KOS article about it. There is a quote from Tony Fratto saying the plan was not slapped together:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/23/124453/470/612/607556

[RJC]

Let's just bail them out

[PAposter]

Who is "them"?

[RJC]

Mississippi, hell, whoever, it doesn't matter. It's only tax money! It's the season, don't ya know?

[Roschelle]

Barack Obama is heading back to Washington

http://roschellenelson.blogspot.com/2008/09/cnn-confirms-mccain-obama-to-meet-with.html

[PAposter]

Thank you. I agree,for what purpose do they need to be there?

[renatam]

Maybe Mississippi should reconsider voting Republican.

[PAposter]

Yeah, really.

[Centaur]

You would think, right? The "repugs" keep on making fools out of these people and others like them and yet they continually vote for them. How asinine can they be?

[mrblifil]

Once again we see McCain acting with plenty of wisdom aforethought.

[PAposter]

I guess you haven't heard about the "talking points" on how to campaign about putting the economy first, that was accidentally sent to reporters.

Aaaaaaaaaa­ahahahahah­ahahahahha­haaaaaaaaa­aaa!

Have you seen Obama's new Ad? It's running here in Pennsylvania. It's over for McCain. He needs to cancel his campaign permanently.

[GeoLee]

Funny,,,I caught some irony in mrblifil

[aliceautumn]

Why dont they open up the debate to the other candidates runin gfor President? I would love, love, love to hear Nader and Barr talk about this economy. Nader predicted this economic mess in a letter to congress 2 months ago. They took that letter to the floor and made fun of him! What a bunch of dumbasses!

[Higherground]

Hey McCain.

Um, you can't just throw together debates at SEC schools during football season (blocking off campus is usually reserved for games.) The only reason they can hold the debate this weekend at Ole MS is because their team is away @Florida.

[CraftyScreenwriting]

I know, let's have the VICE PRESIDENTIAL debate first!

[bootcamp]

McCain-Palin have nowhere to go now but down, and I will tell you exactly how this will happen. They can run away from President Bush, but they can't run away from the Republican Party. The Republicans will be regarded from now on as "the party that wrecked America." Over the weeks ahead, as carnage in the economy and the financial markets ramps up, it will become increasingly clear. It is important that this meme be spread through the internet. I urge all commentators to adopt and spread the idea that the Republicans are "the party that wrecked America." It will work because it is the truth. Use it freely. Just spread the word. Get the meme going.

[Anastasia]

Good idea.

Another idea for a meme, is that John McCain is a loose cannon.

From wikipedia:

The expression "loose cannon" or "loose cannon on rolling deck" refers to an irresponsible and reckless individual whose behaviour (either intended or unintended) endangers the group he or she belongs to.

The term originates in the Age of Sail and wooden men-of-war, apparently first used in Victor Hugo’s novel Ninety Three in 1874. When a storm began, all cannon had to be securely fastened and lashed in place. A gun that broke free of its lashings would roll uncontrollably around the deck with the motion of the ship, causing havoc. A loose cannon, weighing thousands of pounds, would crush anything and anyone in its path, and possibly even break a hole in the hull, thus endangering the seaworthiness of the whole ship. If a loose cannon fired in the wrong direction, it could severely damage the ship or kill crew members.

In modern usage, it is used almost exclusively to refer to individuals with largely uncontrollable and thus potentially destructive behavior.

[Jingo]

If McCain can't be President and ruin the economy himself, he'll try to ruin it one organization at a time.

[johnnygoodwud]

off subject, but did anyone watch bushie tonight??? this guy looked freaked out, and you could just tell he was lying through his teeth. bad body language.

[who38]

I thoughtt that he was trying very hard to not break out in gales of laughter. Did you notice that he specifically stated that regulation would come later? I laughed at that one too.

[GeoLee]

or was that "would be considered" which is a phrase I use to delay sayng straight up NO!