IndiaSphere

Obama, McCain clash on domestic policy.Washington (dpa) – In the final television debate of the 20-month US presidential campaign, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama Wednesday had sometimes testy exchanges over taxes and the increasingly negative tone of the final weeks before the election. With 20 days before the November 4 general elections, the two candidates held an often fast-paced, free-wheeling debate on domestic policy at Hofstra University in New York state. Both men said elections were “tough” but accused the other of bringing down the tone of the campaign. Obama said that “100 per cent” of McCain’s television advertisements had been negative and argued US voters were more interested in economic issues. McCain said that the Obama campaign had spent “unprecedented” amounts of campaign money on negative ads. The tone “could have been different” if Obama had agreed to more debates during the summer and fall, McCain said. In the days before the debate, opinion polls showed Obama’s lead over McCain widening across the country as Americans struggled with a faltering US economy amid a massive financial crisis. Opinion surveys have consistently shown an edge for Obama on economic issues. Both candidates promised to place more focus on the housing price deflation at the heart of the financial turmoil in the United States. Both have also proposed new fiscal stimulus measures to kick-start the US economy.