Republican presidential nominee John McCain on Wednesday announced he would suspend his campaign and asked Democratic nominee Barack Obama to delay the first in a series of presidential debates, scheduled for Friday at 9 p.m.
As of press time, Obama said he planned to proceed with the debate. McCain said he was suspending his campaign in order to return to Washington to work toward a bipartisan solution to the Wall Street crisis, and asked Obama to delay the debate, but Obama said in a news conference Wednesday that he believed “that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who, in approximately 40 days, will be responsible for dealing with this mess.â€
The candidates were scheduled to debate foreign policy and national security, moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS, at the University of Mississippi in Oxford.
The Peoples Channel, Chapel Hill and Orange County’s community media center and public access TV station, was scheduled to broadcast live debate coverage from 8:30 to 11 p.m. The public was invited to watch the debate at the station on South Elliott Road and to share their thoughts before, during and after the debates. Doors were scheduled to open at 8 p.m.
I would like to extend a personal invitation to the community to come on over to The Peoples Channel this evening to watch the debates. Don’t let the main stream media pundits have the last word! Come on by, share your opinions before, during and after the debates live on TV and participate in your right to be in the media.
Chad Johnston – Executive Director
The Peoples Channel