McCain, Obama set for debate
NASHVILLE -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain was set to challenge the qualifications of Democratic rival Barack Obama during a town hall-style debate Tuesday, while Obama was prepared to question McCain's ability to grapple with the bad economy.
The two presidential nominees prepared for their second face-off on a day that the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled another 508 points, and the resulting financial anxiety loomed large over the debate.
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said the GOP nominee planned to discuss his economic and foreign policy plans, but also to "be very aggressive about holding Barack Obama accountable" for policy plans that McCain contends will raise taxes and enlarge the size of government.
Obama, who spent two days in Asheville, N.C. getting ready for tonight's encounter, is arrived at the debate "aware that John McCain could go on the attack in minute one," said Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the Democrat, adding: "We will respond in kind."
The face off presidential hopefuls' meeting here at Belmont University fell during a week when McCain began to sharpen his attacks on Obama, and Republican surrogates associates — most notably, vice presidential nominee candidate Sarah Palin — revived efforts to make an issue of Obama's association with William Ayers, a 1960s radical turned education professor.
Ayers, 67, was a founder of the Weather Underground, a student group that opposed the Vietnam War and was involved in several bombing incidents. Now a professor at on the University of Illinois-Chicago faculty, Ayers helped Obama on several of his state Senate races. The two served together on the board of a Chicago foundation's board that gives grants to civics and arts organizations.
Obama has played down their relationship, referring to Ayers —who lives several blocks away from him on Chicago's South Side — as "a guy who lives in my neighborhood." The Democrat has also denouced the violence and views of Ayers' former group.
McCain launched his sharpest attack to date on Obama on Monday the day before the debate, saying voters do not know nearly enough about the first-term senator from Illinois and stopped just short of calling his rival a liar. "Who is the real Barack Obama?" he asked an audience in Albuquerque.
Obama, in Asheville, N.C., accused McCain of trying to distract voters' attention from the troubled economy. "I cannot imagine anything more important to talk about," he said.
The Democrat's campaign, meanwhile, released a video about McCain's links to Charles Keating, the owner of a failed savings and loan in McCain's home state of Arizona. Keating went to jail for his role in a banking scandal. McCain, along with four other senators, became the subject of a Senate ethics investigation that led to him reimbursing the U.S. Treasury and Keating for contributions and plane trips he received from the disgraced S&L owner.
Obama strategist David Axelrod said his candidate plans to stress the issues, particularly the struggling ecomony. Obama has said he plans to cut taxes for the middle class and establish "21st Century" regulations for the financial institutions.
"They've announced their strategy," Axelrod said of the McCain team. "They want to divert attention from the economy, because if the election is about the economy they lose."
"If it's a little turbulent, so be it," Axelrod added. Voters "aren't very interested in schoolyard taunts. They want substative answers."
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said McCain's goal is to "inform, persuade and contrast." Graham said McCain plans to tell people they should be worried, but that he has a plan to grow the economy based on growing the economy, while Obama's plans would expand grow the government and raise taxes.
"Our solution is to grow the economy," Graham said. "We're not looking for the Herbert Hoover solution here, which is to raise taxes."
NBC's Tom Brokaw was on tap as the debate moderator. Questions were coming from an audience of 80 Nashville-area voters, who will be seated in a semi-circle in front of the candidates. Members of the audience were selected by The Gallup Organization to represent a demographic cross-section of undecided voters in the region.
The town-hall format, which relies on audience participation, is a favorite of McCain's — a fact that Democrats hastened to emphasize. "He excels at town hall meetings," Howard Dean, chairman of the national Democratic Party, said of McCain.
Even so, McCain "has a tightrope to walk," the Democratic chairman added. "If he goes negative, people aren't going to like it. If he doesn't, it's going to be hard to make up ground."