ShareThisOXFORD, Miss. -- Kathleen Williams stared at the display window of the shop where she works, cocked her head and frowned."It's supposed to say 'Presidential Debate,'" she said.It currently says "Presi Debate.""I know," she said. "I had written the rest, but it was crooked."She scrubbed away a few more letters. She tried again with her marker."I have to get it right," she said.Because tens of millions will be watching?"Exactly," she says. "And because my boss told me to take a picture with my cell phone and send it to him."Whatever it takes, ladies and gentlemen. Debate week has finally arrived in Oxford.Friday at 8 p.m., John McCain and Barack Obama will walk onto the stage of the Ford Center at the University of Mississippi -- an event that's thrilling for just about everyone connected with the town or the university."The town is sooooo excited," said Angela Gapinski, an Ole Miss senior. "The next president of the United States is going to be here, in Oxford. It's incredible."Not that Ole Miss hasn't hosted some serious shindigs before. Like every home football Saturday.But 62.4 million television viewers have never watched Ole Miss play football. That's how many watched the first presidential debate of 2004.Will McCain show his age? Will Obama show his inexperience? Will either man say he's willing to talk to the president of Mississippi State without conditions?The future of the free world is at stake. Which makes this even bigger than Saturday's game against Vanderbilt.That sucker wasn't even on TV. The debate will be beamed from here to Iceland."A television reporter from Iceland was here the other day," said Andy Mullins, the university's point man on all things debate. "He said Oxford and the University of Mississippi were going to be very big in Reykjavik."Small wonder the university recruited dozens of volunteers to walk the campus Sunday, equipped with rubber gloves and garbage bags.Students from Bramlett Elementary School drew pictures and wrote notes for shop windows."If I were president, I would be a cowboy on a horse," wrote Benjamin Wells.Wait. Aren't we getting rid of one of those?"If I were president, I would be best friends with Superman," wrote Gunnar Lee.Lee and Superman in 2060. They'll run on a platform of change, doubtless.For now, it's McCain or Obama, which is hard to miss, given the local merchandise. Buy "An American Story," a book about Obama. Buy "An American Life," a book about McCain. One thing you can't buy is a Republican flag, from a shop called The Lily Pad."We sold out very quickly," said Diana Wier, from behind the counter.But Democratic flags?"Oh, yes," she said. "We still have some of those."So by the informal flag poll, you know which way this community is leaning. Which is also beside the point."It's just a great, great week for Oxford," said Williams, still at work on those shop windows. She erased. She tried again. She erased. She tried again."I'm trying to make it look..."What?"Presidential!"(Contact Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., at calkins(at)commercialappeal.com.)
Oxford, Miss. aims for that presidential look for debate
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