McCain, Obama prepare for tuesday debate

In one of the most beautiful spots on the globe, John McCain spent much of Saturday holed up in a dark hotel conference room...

In one of the most beautiful spots on the globe, John McCain spent much of Saturday holed up in a dark hotel conference room, engaged in intense debate preparation. At the end of it, he told his aides that was crazy, and so Sunday8217;s first round of debate preparation was held outside, near the creek by his house in the scenic Arizona desert.

Other than that last-minute audible, McCain appears to be engaged in especially serious preparations for Tuesday8217;s debate, one of his last opportunities to change the trajectory of a race that may be slipping out of his control. He is certainly doing more formal preparation than he did before last month8217;s debate in Mississippi.

Since leaving Washington on Thursday, McCain has kept a light schedule, his only public appearances being two town-hall-style events in Colorado 8212; that will be the format of Tuesday8217;s debate in Nashville. On Saturday and Sunday, he held three formal practice sessions, with former Republican Rob Portman, standing in for Obama.

8220;McCain has done so many of these over the years that it8217;s probably going to be the best kind of forum he is going to be in,8221; said his former campaign manager Terry Nelson. 8220;It8217;s a great opportunity for him and the campaign.8221;

Obama aides were trying to raise expectations for McCain even higher. 8220;We are expecting to see John McCain at the top of his game,8221; said Jen Psaki, a campaign spokeswoman. 8220;Town halls have been the signature event of both of his presidential campaign 8212; he likes them, feels he does well at them and credits them for his political comeback in the summer of 2007.8221;

Obama is preparing in Asheville, in a state where he is hoping to sway voters who typically vote Republican in presidential elections. He was joined at a resort hotel by several top aides, including strategists David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs, campaign manager David Plouffe, and Greg Craig, the Washington lawyer and Clinton administration official who has portrayed McCain in practice debates.

In the words of one campaign aide, Obama will seek on Tuesday to continue his efforts to present himself as a 8220;very pragmatic, non-ideological and very even-keeled8221; politician, one who can be trusted to take over the country at a time of uncertainty both abroad and at home.

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At the same time, the Obama campaign is trying to raise questions about McCain8217;s temperament, launching on Monday a new television ad that labels the Arizona senator as 8220;erratic in a crisis.8221;

8220;Senator McCain8217;s campaign has announced that they plan to 8216;turn the page8217; on the discussion about our economy and spend the final weeks of this campaign launching Swift-boat-style attacks on me,8221; Obama said. 8220;Senator McCain and his operatives are gambling that he can distract you. 8230; I want you to know that I8217;m going to keep on talking about issues that matter.8221;

An open question is how aggressively McCain will personally take the fight to Obama on Tuesday night. One senior McCain advisor said that he expects both McCain and Obama to draw contrasts with the other on the economy, but he seemed to suggest McCain himself would stay away from personal attacks.