Less than 40 days before Election Day, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain met for the much-anticipated debate at the University of Mississippi that almost didn’t happen on September 26, 2008. McCain announced on Monday that he was suspending his campaign, and pledged to postpone Friday’s debate, saying that "I understand how important this debate is and I’m very hopeful, but I also have to put the country first." After hearing that, Obama continued his plan to attend whether McCain made an appearance or not, leading McCain to announce Friday morning that he would attend.

In an election this close, the debates are likely the most influential elements in swaying undecided voters to a candidate. They allow the voters to really get a feel for the candidates’ stance on the issues, and analyze who performs better under pressure. The debates have always played a large role in the election; since the invention of the television and JFK’s win over Nixon, the candidates’ performance in debates usually correlates to the election results.

Friday night’s debate ended in a virtual draw. As per the norm, each campaign released statements claiming that their candidate "clearly came out on top". However, in this case, they could both be right. Neither made any big mistakes, and both made smaller mistakes that are being analyzed by many.

Obama agreed with McCain on several issues – 8, in fact – and some call that a weakness. However, according to Bruce Miroff, a professor of political science at State University of New York at Albany, "McCain very visibly smirked and showed a kind of disrespect for Obama, which was also evident in constantly saying that Obama did not understand this or that. And to some people that may convey strength, but I suspect to more people it was a negative for McCain." At the same time, however, we have to consider the relevance that this holds to the actual presidency. Does McCain’s smirking hold any bearing on the quality of his presidency, if he’s elected? The public’s reaction to the debate is split strongly by gender. In a CBS poll following the debate, men favored McCain 46 to 43 percent, while women highly favored Obama, with a percentage of 59 to 31.

The basic theme of the election hinges on the two candidates’ projections of each other. Obama works tirelessly to portray McCain as another Bush, who would merely continue "another 8 years of failed policies." McCain continuously attacks Obama on his lack of experience, stating several times during the debate that a president needs to have experience working with foreign countries, not just ideas on how to handle it.

In all, if you were a supporter of Obama going into the debate, you were still a supporter at the end – and the same goes for McCain. Neither of the candidates struck a chord to really resonate with either their supporters or undecided voters. Now we only have to wait until October 7, when the candidates will face each other again at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Tune in to watch your candidate sink or swim.