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Debate sequel tonight
| Monday, Oct 6 2008 6:37 PM
Last Updated: Monday, Oct 6 2008 6:38 PM
The tone should be considerably more combative tonight when America gets another side-by-side look at John McCain and Barack Obama. The second presidential debate, which airs live at 6 p.m. from Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., comes a day on the heels of new charges from each camp.
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McCain, behind in the polls, leveled his harshest criticism yet at Obama Monday. At one point, McCain called the Democratic senator from Illinois a liar for having claimed that McCain opposed regulation that would have prevented the credit crunch. McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, continued to talk about Obama's supposed associations with William Ayers, a former Vietnam-era radical.
Obama's campaign released an ad portraying the Arizona senator as a reckless leader. "Erratic in a crisis," the ad says of McCain. "Out of touch." Another ad referenced McCain's role in the 1989 Keating Five savings-and-loan scandal, named for the head of a failed S&L who gave McCain and others large campaign contributions. A Senate Ethics Committee inquiry cleared McCain but criticized him for "poor judgment."
With things going south in a hurry, moderator/newsman Tom Brokaw may have his hands full.
The town hall-style debate will feature wide-ranging questions from audience members and from e-mailers. About 100 undecided voters from the Nashville area will fill the theater-in-the-round studio. Debate organizers will meet with audience members in advance to assure that questions cover an array of topics and are not repetitive.
The third presidential debate will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 15, at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. Candidates will face moderator/newsman Bob Schieffer in a format similar to the first debate. Domestic issues -- no doubt starting with the bailout -- will be the focus.