McCain, Obama ready for White House debate

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-27 11:31

OXFORD, Miss. -- Republican John McCain ended days of suspense and agreed to attend the first of three debates with Democrat Barack Obama on Friday, setting up a showdown that could help decide a tight White House race.

Mississippi was Thursday holding its breath ahead of the much anticipated first debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, unsure if it would actually go ahead. [Agencies]

With time running out, McCain backed away from his vow to skip the debate if negotiations were not completed on a $700 billion rescue of the US financial industry. His campaign said enough progress had been made that he could participate in the debate.

"The McCain campaign is resuming all activities," a campaign statement said. "Following the debate, he will return to Washington to ensure that all voices and interests are represented in the final agreement."

McCain flew to Oxford, walked through the debate hall and held a debate preparation session at the local high school in the afternoon.

Obama was on his campaign plane in Washington preparing for the flight to Mississippi when McCain's announcement was made at midday. He also visited the University of Mississippi debate hall before the event.

Both men spent the hours before the debate resting at the same campus hotel, steps from where they will hold their first face-to-face battle of the campaign.

The debate is scheduled to focus on foreign policy and national security, but the turmoil on Wall Street has dominated the campaign trail for nearly two weeks and is certain to be discussed.

White House talks among McCain, Obama and congressional leaders ended in disarray on Thursday with no agreement on a stalled $700 billion bailout plan proposed by the Bush administration.

Both camps blamed each other for sinking the talks and accused their opponent of injecting politics into the process. "Barack Obama's priority was political posturing," the McCain campaign said in its statement about the negotiations.

Obama told reporters just before McCain's announcement that the White House meeting was not "as productive as it could have been."

"My strong sense is that the best thing I can do, rather than to inject presidential politics into some delicate negotiations, is to go down to Mississippi and explain to the American people what is going on," the Democratic presidential nominee said.

Significant Reversal

McCain's decision to attend the debate was a significant reversal after the Republican nominee said on Wednesday he was suspending his campaign and remaining in Washington until the bailout package was completed.

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