Tonight not only marks a beginning of the 2008 presidential race debates, it also is quite a symbol of Mississippi’s achievement.

Tonight is the first debate of the 2008 presidential race at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS. For those of you that don't know, Oxford is where Kris and I were raised and Ole Miss is my Alma Mater. I am very proud for Oxford and Ole Miss to have the honor of hosting such an event.

For those that are not aware of the Ole Miss history, this is really quite impressive. Do you think that James Meredith could have ever been able to dream that in a little over 40 years an African-American presidential nominee would be participating in a debate at the same university where he had to be accompanied by the National Guard to enter the Lyceum his first day of class?

Who is James Meredith? http://www.reference.com/browse/James%20Meredith