A Hard-Hitting Final Round

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McCain, Obama Spar in Final Debate

Less than three weeks before election day, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama debated from Hofstra University in New York. The event was moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News.

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"That, to me, was so hurtful," McCain said. "And Senator Obama, you didn't repudiate those remarks."

Obama said polls show that the country believes that it is McCain who is running the negative campaign. "And 100 percent, John, of your ads -- 100 percent of them have been negative," Obama said.

"It's not true," McCain responded, even though a recent study showed that all of the Republican's recent ads have been negative.

"It absolutely is true," Obama shot back. "And now I think the American people are less interested in our hurt feelings during the course of the campaign than addressing the issues that matter to them so deeply."

McCain made Joe Wurzelbacher, an Ohio man looking to buy a plumbing business, the third character in the debate, mentioning him 20 times and using him to criticize Obama's tax proposals and to make the charge that the Democrat is waging "class warfare."

Wurzelbacher met Obama in Toledo this week and said the Democrat's proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy would keep him from buying the business. McCain said Obama's proposals would mean that some may "not be able to realize the American dream of owning their own business."

Moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS News asked Obama, "Is that what you want to do?"

McCain jumped in: "That's what Joe believes."

Obama responded: "He has been watching ads of Senator McCain's."

McCain cited the Ohio man again in discussing his health-care proposals. "Now, my old buddy Joe, Joe the Plumber, is out there," he said. "If you don't . . . adopt the health-care plan that Senator Obama mandates, he's going to fine you. . . . I don't think that Joe right now wants to pay a fine when he is seeing such difficult times in America's economy."

Obama weighed in: "And I'm happy to talk to you, Joe, too, if you're out there. Here's your fine -- zero."

It was in the context of Joe's taxes that McCain accused Obama of class warfare, noting several times that the Democrat was quoted as having told Joe that he would "spread the wealth around."