Candidates Prepare for Tuesday's Town Hall Debate

Sen. Barack Obama campaigns at Asheville High School in Asheville, N.C. He told supporters that as the election nears, "Senator McCain and his operatives are gambling that he can distract you." (By Scott Halleran -- Getty Images)

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

This official said McCain is looking forward to the debate because he likes the freewheeling town hall format, and he expects it to focus on the candidates' economic plans.

"The key for McCain, if he is to close the race, is to argue that the change Obama wants is change Americans don't want," said Sara M. Taylor, former White House political director for President Bush. "Whether it's higher taxes or increased government involvement in health care, Senators McCain and Obama couldn't be more different."

Gibbs, the Obama strategist, said that any personal or character-based attacks from McCain would be complicated by the style of the debate, in which the candidates will take questions posed by audience members and, through moderator Tom Brokaw of NBC, from people online.

"I think they've announced they want people to forget about the economy and talk about Barack Obama," Gibbs said. "I think that's very dangerous and very hard in a debate where you are taking questions from real people."

Bacon reported from Asheville.