Domestic policy to take stage during last battle

President Bush and opponent Sen. John Kerry will face off for the third and final time at 9 p.m. tonight in Arizona State University's Gammage Auditorium.

The candidates will discuss domestic issues through questions presented by a moderator in a set-up similar to the first debate.

Matt Beckmann, a professor of political science at the University of California-Irvine, said he hopes the candidates will come out with their plans for the future.

"If you're elected, what will you do first?" he said.

Beckmann said it is hard sometimes to get that information because the candidates are so well rehearsed on what to say and what phrases work best.

But he added that not being specific can be helpful for the candidates, as long as they get the basic idea across to the viewers.

During the last month of campaigning, he said it is the candidates' job to explain their positions and the voters' civic duty to find out more.

Experts have varying opinions on who will leave tonight's debate on top. Some say the setting favors Kerry, but others say Bush could shine through.

"If it is set up like the first debate, the advantage is for Kerry," said Joel Aberbach, a political science professor at the University of California-Los Angeles.

Kerry has the stage presence for a formal debate, Aberbach said, and he looked more like a president during the first debate.

Matthew Baum, a political science professor at UCLA, also said Kerry could have the advantage because tonight's topics are what he has focused on during the campaign.

But Baum is not completely sure that Kerry will win.

"The irony is that Bush is often more eloquent with domestic topics," he said.

Baum also said the president obviously has learned from his mistakes during the first debate.

He said that throughout the second debate, Bush did not make as many facial gestures and performed better than the first time.

Others say Bush has the advantage because he holds the office both candidates seek.

"There is an incumbency advantage to being President Bush," Beckmann said. "There is a pageantry associated with the office, not necessarily the individual."

He also said it is the competitor's job to show how he can do better and why he should replace his opponent. "Kerry, I think, has to continue to push that Bush has screwed up the long-term economy," Aberbach said.

"Bush has to try to convince people that despite the first debate, he is up to the challenge ... and that Kerry is not up to the job."

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