In the midst of what has been called the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain took the floor Friday for the first presidential debate in 2008.

And Western students were watching.

The debate, which took place at the University of Mississippi, was the first of three debates between the presidential candidates.

McCain temporarily delayed his campaign Wednesday and sought to push back Friday’s debate in order to go to Washington, D.C., to work on the financial crisis, according to the New York Times.

But the Obama campaign rejected the call to delay the debate, according to the New York Times.

Both candidates showed up at the university to discuss the issues on Friday.

Union junior Shane Noem, president of College Republicans, said McCain’s decision to suspend his campaign showed a level of maturity.

“It shows he’s got a responsibility to his country first instead of doing a publicity stunt,” Noem said.

Bowling Green junior Monique Braun, College Democrats president, said she commended McCain’s decision to try to help with the financial crisis, but said that as a presidential candidate, he should be able to do more than one thing at once.

“The debate was something the American people deserved to see,” she said.

College Republicans didn’t plan an event around the debate since members didn’t know if McCain would attend the debate until Friday afternoon, Noem said.

“We decided to let everyone watch it on their own,” he said. “But we all called each other after it was over to talk about it.”

Braun said several mem-bers of the College Demo-crats watched the debate at the Democratic headquarters on State Street, though she was out of town.

The debate, which was moderated by PBS news anchor Jim Lehrer, began with the candidates discussing their views on the financial crisis and bailout plan.

Both candidates said it’s important to turn the nation’s attention away from Wall Street and toward “Main Street” and the average working American.

The candidates also discussed foreign policy and national security.

Noem said the College Republicans are getting ready for Debate Watch on Oct. 7, when Western students can watch the second presidential debate on DUC South Lawn.

The College Democrats will also be attending Debate Watch, Braun said.

The next debate will be between the vice presidential candidates on Oct. 2 at Washington University in St. Louis.

Reach Emily Ulber at news@chherald.com.