Will the first big presidential debate happen tomorrow? ET Producer Canaan Rubin is blogging behind the scenes at the University of Mississippi, where Jim Lehrer of PBS' NewsHour is scheduled to moderate the initial face-off.

Republican candidate John McCain announced yesterday that he is suspending his campaign in an effort to help solve the current national financial crisis, while Democratic candidate Barack Obama insists they must both stay the course and publicly talk about the relevant issues that need attention. Both presidential candidates have joined President Bush and congressional leaders at the White House for a meeting on the crisis.

"It is outrageous that we find ourselves in a situation where taxpayers must bear the burden and the risk for greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and Washington," said McCain on Wednesday in suspending his campaign. "But we also know that failure to act would have grave consequences for jobs, for savings and retirement for the American people."

In response to McCain's action, Obama said, "Our election is in 40 days, our economy is in crisis and our nation is fighting two wars abroad. The American people, I believe, deserve to hear directly from myself and Senator McCain about how we intend to lead our country. The times are too serious to put our campaigns on hold or to ignore the full range of issues that the next president will face."

Despite their disagreement over whether or not the debate should take place Friday night, the two candidates released a joint statement Wednesday, saying, "Now is a time to come together -- Democrats and Republicans -- in a spirit of cooperation for the sake of the American people. This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country."