Tonight, the time for talk is over - at least by everyone else. The time for McCain and Barack Obama to get back to the issues and debate them is on. Again.
Our political reporter Dave Evans is in Oxford for the debate. He'll have the highlights, and lowlights, tonight at 11. And our Jen Maxfield is with a local family that is undecided going into the debate, for their reaction.
And for anyone who thinks that the candidates will stick to the pre-arranged subject of national security - it's hard to imagine. There's no way these two men who want to lead the country will not deal with the economy.
Speaking of the economy, our Jim Dolan is in Washington, where they are still trying to hammer out a bailout deal -- er, I mean rescue package for the receding economy.
That loud groan you're hearing is the American public who, understandably, has become angry and tired over this supposed "bipartisan" bailout-- er, I mean rescue - package. They're upset over the obviously political nature of it -- and how really could it be otherwise? - and they're upset over righting a private-sector ship that was sunk by the self-described Masters of the Universe, who, it turns out, shouldn't have been running hot dog stands, let along multi-billion-dollar enterprises that were in charge of peoples' mortgages and savings and retirement plans.
We are left to believe the same people who tried to sell the notion that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, that if we don't act now on the bailout, the whole system will collapse.
We're following the developments, tonight.
We're interested in what you think about the plan, and tonight's debate. At 10:30 p.m., after the debate ends, we'll open our website for an informal poll. Click HERE to be directed to the site.
We'll also have any breaking news of the night, plus Lee Goldberg's storm AccuWeather forecast, and Scott Clark with the night's sports, including the Mets last-minute pennant drive.
I hope you can join Liz Cho and me, tonight at 11, right after the Presidential Debate, which starts at 9 p.m.
Oh, and one other note: I'll be away next week. This column will resume on Oct. 6.
BILL RITTER