Obama, McCain bring campaign positions to debate

Republican John McCain and Democratic opponent Barack Obama clashed on the Iraq war in their critical second presidential debate Tuesday but shied away from the rancor and character attacks of the days leading up to the face-off. Neither candidate offered new proposals on the war, which McCain supports and Obama has opposed from its inception. Likewise they did not put forward new proposals to shore up America's crumbling financial system, a significant drag on the four-term Arizona senator's candidacy given his membership in the incumbent party of deeply unpopular President George W. Bush.