The town of Oxford and the University of Mississippi have dumped huge resources into the affair.

Khayat said 700 volunteers and 500 university employees have worked on preparations.

University spokeswoman Barbara Lago said the price tag, funded by private donors and sponsors, is somewhere around $4 or $5 million. She said the university has already set up a massive media filing tent equipped with tables and booths for interviews and work stations for 700 media representatives.
If McCain skips this thing over his BS excuse, he is going to piss off so many people. Maybe we should just color Mississippi blue right now...