29 September 2008
Presidential Debate Puts Spotlight on Oxford, Mississippi
Residents participate in, react to latest chapter in 2008 campaign
Oxford, Mississippi — Cheers, laughter and applause filled a green space on the University of Mississippi campus Friday evening as thousands gathered to watch the first presidential debate between senators John McCain and Barack Obama.
“Both did well, but I wish Obama would’ve gone after McCain harder than he did,” said Ronald Odom Jr. of Bartlett, Tennessee, who was watching the debate in the Grove.
Several thousand people spread out on their blankets or sat in lawn chairs to watch the debate on two big screens set up in the Grove, four hectares (10 acres) of large hardwood trees and grass in the center of the Ole Miss campus. The Grove had been filled with people throughout the day at an outdoor festival called Rock the Debate that included live music, food, games and activists’ demonstrations.
With the exception of journalists drawn from around the world, most attendees advertised their support for Obama or McCain on T-shirts, stickers and campaign buttons.
The September 26 event was the first of three scheduled debates between McCain and Obama. (See “No Clear Winner in First Presidential Debate.”)
STUDENT REACTION
“We’re a small university, and definitely having the debate here is a tremendous honor,” said Ryan Gloeckner, a sophomore from Randolph, Mississippi, who was wearing an Obama T-shirt. “This is the first debate that I’ve ever watched all the way through.”
Law students Lyle Gravatt and Katy Braden won tickets to sit inside the Ford Center to watch the debate.
“It was better than on television,” Gravatt said. “I liked being able to see both candidates at all times so I could see the faces one would make when the other said something.”
They said they felt frustrated with McCain for trying to delay the debate until Congress had dealt with the country’s financial crisis, but their opinions differed as to whether it had been a calculated political move.
Gravatt said it was a stunt and that McCain never intended to stay in Washington Friday evening; Braden disagreed.
“I don’t believe it was just a political move,” Braden said. “I’m grateful he’s been working on the issue.”
Nick Luckett, a sophomore classics and public policy major from Drew, Mississippi, also watched the debate from inside the Ford Center as a CNN volunteer.
“All the drama that went on about if McCain would show really built it all up,” Luckett said. “But now that the debate is over, it seemed lackluster.”
MILITARY, FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES
Even though the debate on foreign policy bored some watchers, others found it exciting.
“I was undecided before the debate, but now I’m leaning more towards Obama,” said Daryl Magee, a junior sociology major from Petal, Mississippi. “They both talked about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Kurt Smith, a sophomore international studies and German major from Clarksdale, Mississippi, visited the Grove on Friday but decided to watch the debate from home.
“McCain was strong and showed his history, while Obama was idealistic,” Smith said. “I liked what McCain said about Iran because Israel is important and closely tied to American foreign policy.”
Jose Rodriguez, a senior Spanish and linguistics major born in Nicaragua, cannot vote because he is not a U.S. citizen. If he could, he said, he would vote for Obama. He watched the debate from a restaurant in downtown Oxford.
“I travel a lot abroad, and America’s reputation has gone down the drain,” Rodriguez said. “Obama would be the best one to improve it.”
Diplomacy is also an important issue to Cam Abel of Oxford. He watched the debate while attending a party inside the Tollison Law Firm on the Square in downtown Oxford. Two large screens set up on the Square broadcast the debate to people who filled the street.
“Their broadcast was a few seconds faster than it was on cable, so we’d know when something good was coming up from the clapping in the street,” Abel said.
Abel said Oxford and the university put a great amount of time, effort and money into preparing for the debate, and he said he hopes the community’s moment in the spotlight reaps benefits.
Lindsay Murphy of Oxford agreed with Abel, expressing the hope that the publicity surrounding the debate with the first black Democratic nominee for president would help to erase racist stereotypes about Mississippi. The state was the scene of many racially charged incidents during the U.S. civil rights movement of the 1960s. Murphy said she is pleased the debate brought world recognition to Oxford, but she remains an undecided voter.
“A president’s tax policy is very important to me, as well as how he will strengthen the economy,” Murphy said. “I felt like neither one really answered the moderator’s question about the economic bailout plan, so maybe they didn’t know the answer. I look forward to watching the next debate to see if they figure it out.”
