If everything goes well today in Washington, D.C. and a bipartisan deal can be reached on a bailout for Wall Street, the first presidential debate between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama will be held on the University of Mississippi campus at 8 p.m.

It has been, to say the least, an interesting week in politics, one that we sure will be studied by historians in the future. With some investment firms going bankrupt, others being bought at fire sale prices, earlier this week the government decided to step in and bail out insurance giant AIG.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and President Bush are urging that lawmakers resolve their differences and pass a $700 billion bailout measure as soon as possible.

Market events on Thursday seemed to underscore the urgency of the situation as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) seized the assets of Seattle-based Washington Mutual Inc., commonly referred to as WaMu. The assets of WaMu were sold to JP Morgan Chase for $1.9 billion. The failure of WaMu is the largest in the nation's history. The firm, founded in 1889, had $307 billion in assets, making this the largest bank failure in the nation's history.

Sen. McCain on Wednesday suspended his campaign to return to Washington to help work out the bailout. Both he and Sen. Obama were in a summit meeting at the White House to hear the details of what was supposed to be a deal. The proposed deal fell apart late Thursday.

McCain has wanted to delay the debate until a deal is reached, while Obama wants the debate to proceed as scheduled. While it will take months before the nation fully realizes the ramifications of the current financial crisis as well as the impact of the bailout, the election is only 39 days away and voters need to see and hear the candidates, more now than ever.

With a campaign season comprised of negative campaigning on both sides, the debates become even more important. Here is one opportunity to see and hear the candidates tell us, in their own words, what they are going to do for the country.

Neither senator has been actively involved in the Senate since the spring. The debate should go on, deal or no deal. We simply can't wait.