Getting Ready to Rumble

Update (published Sept. 26): The original version of this story suggested that the debate would go on if McCain failed to show, but the debate commission later told NEWSWEEK that the event would be cancelled if either candidate was absent. Senator McCain has since indicated that he will be present for the debate.

Ensconced this week in his hotel near Tampa, Fla., Sen. Barack Obama has spent his evenings doing something he never attempted through more than 20 debates during primary season: running full dress rehearsals.

Holding his test runs at 9 p.m., the time of night when the presidential debates are scheduled, Obama has faced off against one of his most trusted advisers, who is playing the role of Sen. John McCain. Greg Craig, the powerhouse Washington lawyer who helped run the defense in the impeachment case against President Clinton and served as a top State Department adviser, has boned up on McCain's best lines in preparation for Friday's debate. According to Obama aides involved in the debate prep, Craig has proved an effective opponent in the mock sessions, while steering clear of mimicking McCain's mannerisms.

Craig has some history as a debate foil; he played the role of President Bush during Sen. John Kerry's mock sessions four years ago. Kerry entered the debates 8 points down in the Gallup poll in late September. The same poll had Kerry up by 2 after the second showdown—only to drop back to 8 points down again after the postdebate glow faded. Those Bush-Kerry verbal jousts were decided in part by body language, as the incumbent president palpably demonstrated his frustration.

Of course, it is still unclear whether the contest Obama is gearing up for will actually come off on schedule—given the uncertain fate of the financial bailout package now under debate on Capitol Hill, and the strategic maneuvering of his Republican rival. Obama's campaign and the University of Mississippi insist that the show will go on—whether or not McCain turns up. Late Thursday, McCain said: "I believe that it's very possible that we can get an agreement in time for me to fly to Mississippi. I understand how important this debate is,and I'm very hopeful. But I also have to put the country first." (Frank Fahrenkopf, co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates, told NEWSWEEK Friday morning that "there will not be a debate" if McCain does not show up, saying Internal Revenue Service and Federal Election Commission rules would prohibit a one-sided debate.)

Whatever happens, both sides have set about the traditional pre-game strategy of lowering expectations. The McCain campaign insists that Obama is a seasoned debater and world-class orator. The Obama campaign says foreign policy—he main subject of the first debate—is McCain's strongest point.