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Final debate critical for both candidates

President Bush and Sen. John Kerry will square off tonight in the last of three presidential debates, and with the election less than three weeks away, commentators say the stakes are high for both men.

"It's a competitive race again," said John Jackson, a visiting professor with the Public Policy Institute. "The stakes on both sides have increased."

With the pressure on, both candidates have a lot riding on tonight's culminating match up, which will begin at 8 p.m. central time from Arizona State University's Gammage Auditorium in Tempe. Moderated by Bob Schieffer, anchor of CBS's "Face the Nation," the debate is set to focus on domestic policy, an issue that has been largely overshadowed in the previous debates by the war in Iraq.

As Bush and Kerry head into the evening's event, polls show them running at almost a dead tie in the upcoming election. According to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll conducted over the weekend, 49 percent of likely voters indicated a preference for Kerry while 48 percent put themselves in the Bush column.

Independent candidate Ralph Nader garnered 1 percent.

With a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, the poll was based on responses from 793 potential voters.

The deadlock has been the standard since they met for the first debate Sept. 30 at the University of Miami, where Kerry's perceived victory helped to close the 8-point gap between the two.

Although Friday's debate in St. Louis was initially tagged at a tie, recent polls have demonstrated that Kerry walked off with the victory. Despite that, the Democratic senator has made no further substantial climbs in the polls.

Jackson said the debate, which is expected to zero in on the economy and tax issues, is a side of the presidential race that hasn't yet been explored.

"Foreign policy has clearly overshadowed the domestic side so far," Jackson said. "They haven't really explored the domestic to well."

Moreover, Mike Lawrence, director of the Public Policy Institute, said both of the candidates have a lot riding on this debate, which will either continue their deadlock or propel one to a pre-election advantage. Regardless of what happens in the end, Lawrence said both candidates need to exercise caution in getting to the other end of the debate.

"Each candidate has to make sure not to make a gaffe," Lawrence said. "Bush needs to be presidential, and Kerry needs to demonstrate that he can be presidential. Both need to worry about their image."

 

 

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