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OCTOBER 17, 2000

If all goes as planned, the voting public will get their chance to question Presidential candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush tonight as they meet for the final debate in St. Louis, Missouri.

But the debate will have a somber note, if it occurs as scheduled. Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan was killed on Monday night in an airplane crash, along with his son and campaign adviser, casting doubt on whether or not the debate will occur. Carnahan was set to help out this evening.

Tonight's debate, which takes place on the campus of Washington University, will be the least formal of the three sanctioned debates. The town-hall format has become more popular in recent years and both candidates have been looking forward to the final encounter.

The debate appears to be crucial for both candidates. Support for Bush has increased since the last debate in North Carolina and a Washington Post/ABCNews Poll gives the Texas Governor a slight lead over the Vice President.

Some 48 percent of likely voters chose Bush, while 44 percent chose Gore. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, however.

So with less than three weeks away until the election, the push is on both campaigns to take a significant lead. With questions coming from the audience instead of mediator Jim Lehrer of PBS, tonight's forum might help sway the uncommitted voters.

And the public might get to air the issues they feel significant. While polls have been conducted to give an indicator of what voters consider important, such as health care, there hasn't yet been a chance where the average American has been able to give the candidates a piece of their mind in such a public format.

The debate begins at 9PM Eastern Standard Time. It will run 90 minutes.

Relevant Links:
C-SPAN's Debate Center - www.cspan.org/campaign2000/presdebates.asp
The Commission on Presidential Debates - www.debates.org

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