Channel C: The Great Debate Edition!

After one of the wildest political weeks in memory, tonight presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama will be meeting at the University of Mississippi campus for the first of three debates between the two senators.

The McCain Camp released a statement earlier today: "He [McCain] is optimistic that there has been significant progress toward a bipartisan agreement now that there is a framework for all parties to be represented in negotiations, including Rep. [Roy] Blunt as a designated negotiator for House Republicans."

This comes after a week of speculation as to whether or not the debate would even take place. In a surprising (some say bold, some say dumb) move, John McCain announced earlier in the week that he was suspending his campaign in order to help figure out a bailout solution that would aid the American economy.

Opinions ran wild (check out our previous coverage here) as to whether or not McCain's move was politically motivated, but all of the focus has now shifted to tonight's debate.

The good people at the Presidential Zone say that even though McCain has decided to attend the debate, he's still going to catch heat for this week's commotion:

• Whether or not the Republican Presidential nominee had hoped to sidestep the first debate, he has taken a lot of flak for his earlier statement that he will not attend the debate if the bailout plans hadn’t been finalized.

Earl Ofari Hutchingson from The Daily Voice says that the presidential debates make for good theater, but not much more:

• Some studies find that a majority of voters feel they don't learn much from the debates, and are disappointed at that.