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October 15, 2008

US Candidates to Hold Final Televised Debate
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1EBC571:A6F02AD83191E160340175A956B50BD10531BB26A5003E7B&
 
Face-off at Hofstra University in New York expected to focus on
country's economic crisis 
Senators Barack Obama (l) and John Mc Cain circle each other during 2nd
presidential debate, 7 Oct 08U.S. presidential candidates John Mc Cain
and Barack Obama hold their final televised debate Wednesday night with
less than three weeks left in the race for the White House. The face-off
at Hofstra University in New York is expected to focus on the U.S.
economic crisis, an issue that has helped Obama pull ahead of his
Republican rival nationally and in key battleground states. A New York
Times-CBS News poll has Senator Obama, a Democrat, leading Mc Cain 53 to
39 percent. A Reuters/C-Span/Zogby poll Wednesday has Obama ahead of Mc
Cain by four percentage points nationally. Mc Cain and Obama are both
expected to present themselves as the candidate best able to pull the
country out of its economic turmoil. Earlier this week, Mc Cain and
Obama each announced proposals to help ease the financial crisis. On
Tuesday, Mc Cain proposed a nearly $53 billion-plan that would eliminate
taxes on unemployment benefits and help retired workers keep their
savings. He said the plan would include tax cuts that could help create
jobs. Obama's plan includes a 90-day freeze on home foreclosures,
penalty-free withdrawals from retirement funds and a temporary tax
credit for companies that create U.S. jobs.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.