With less than three weeks to go in this long presidential campaign, as mesmerizing as any in memory, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain face each other one final time Wednesday night on the same stage. The stakes for their third debate could hardly be higher, especially for McCain.
Obama holds a lead in most national polls, and he has only to hold his own to emerge from the debate with his momentum intact. The Democrat’s approach tonight will be cautious; his goal is simply to avoid a damaging mistake.
McCain, on the other hand, faces possibly his last chance to regain the advantage. This likely will be his biggest audience by far before Election Day, Nov. 4, and he has sent signals he intends to go hard after Obama, perhaps much harder than in the first two encounters.
By taking a lead in longtime Republican strongholds like Virginia and Colorado, Obama has given himself several paths to the 270 electoral votes he needs. If McCain is to solve this electoral puzzle, he must do it in a series of swing states that, for now, virtually all favor his rival — while also stealing away some of the states that now lean toward the Democrat.
It’s not over. But it’s getting closer. And this debate begins the final chapter.
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The debate
TV: The networks and cable news outlets
Radio: WBBM-AM 780, WLS-AM 890