As Nashville prepares for Belmont University’s hosting of the 2008 Presidential Debate, a private Grand Ole Opry show took place Sunday night for the visiting public figures. Belmont University proudly showcased alumni featuring Trisha Yearwood, Brad Paisley, Josh Turner and Julie Roberts. Darius Rucker made a special appearance, as did CBS’s Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.Schieffer, however, did not take to the stage as a reporter, but rather as a performer with his Country band, Honky Tonk Confidential, who received a standing ovation. “I’m going to moderate the third presidential debate”, said Schieffer, who’s band performed between Trisha Yearwood and Brad Paisley, “but I won’t feel nearly the pressure I feel tonight.” In reminiscing about his first taste of Nashville, Schieffer told his audience that the first trip he ever took was to Nashville from Texas. He saw Ernest Tubb at the Opry and “never forgot it.” He also said, “I’ve been listening to Country Music all my life. Tonight I feel I’m in some sort of parallel universe.” Schieffer's Country career began at his roast, which was a Washington, D.C. benefit. He performed a song he wrote for the roast Sunday night. He wrote it as a gag about a gas station attendant discovered by TV executives who said he had a nice face and made him a newscaster. In just a matter of time, Shieffer’s band began receiving bookings in New York and even released a CD. Sheiffer laughed, “If I can just get to the Grand Ole Opry, then I was going to retire. But you know, now that I’m here, who knows?” When Brad Paisley was asked about the political issues that he found most important, he said, “A few months ago I would have asked about the war, and now it’s the economy. It’s a sign of the times that you almost can’t keep track of everything that is self-destructing." Trisha Yearwood is not yet sure of who she will give her vote to. She said, “I’m the one who goes back and forth. I’m really kind of a moderate if I had to pick one. I’m more an independent than one or the other, so I listen to get swayed, and then listen to the other side and get swayed.” Yearwood plans to early vote in Tennessee, noting, “I’m not hedging; I’m just undecided." As for her husband, Garth Brooks, she does not know whom he will be voting for, but she pointed out that he is more conservative than she is. Opry’s general manager Pete Fisher said of the pre-Debate show, “This is a real special occasion for Nashville, and the Grand Ole Opry is synonymous with all things Nashville, so we didn’t want to let this opportunity pass us by without sharing a true taste of Music City.” For Josh Turner, performing at the pre-debate show was an honor. He said, “For me it was just history in the making when they told me about the whole concept of tonight.”
