Preparations begin for TV debates as Obama fears racial backlash

Barack Obama may virtually vanish from the campaign trail this week as he hunkers down with advisors in central Florida to prepare for what could prove a pivotal moment in the dwindling days of the American presidential race – the first of three televised debates with John McCain on Friday in Mississippi.

Mr McCain is expected similarly to take time out from campaigning to prepare for the encounter. If the sky-high television ratings achieved by the recent conventions are any guide, all three debates are likely to be watched by tens of millions of Americans and could alter the course of a race made more volatile than ever by the Wall Street crisis and new evidence that racial prejudice is hurting Mr Obama.

Under pressure from Republicans, the organisers of the debates have tweaked the format of the vice-presidential debate between Joe Biden and Republican Sarah Palin set for St Louis on 2 October to limit significantly the time available for free-flow debate and direct challenges to one another. Because of Ms Palin’s star power, that debate may be at least as big an audience draw as the presidential clashes.

Aides to Mr McCain had insisted on the more structured format because of concern that Mrs Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, might be put on the back foot too easily by the more seasoned Senator Biden. Advisors to Mr Biden gave no indication that they objected to the change, however, possibly a reflection of concern on their side about their candidate’s famous capacity for loquaciousness and gaffes.

The debates are approaching just as both sides are struggling to be heard above the din of the financial crisis. The economy dominated interviews given by both Mr Obama and Mr McCain last night to the CBS current affairs magazine, 60 Minutes. Each agreed that America was in economic recession.

“I think, for a lot of people, they’ve been feeling like we’ve been in a recession for years now. When their wages and incomes don’t go up, and the cost of gas and groceries and home heating oil and prescription drugs are all going up, that feels awfully like a recession to them,” Mr Obama told the show.

Senator McCain concurred saying it didn’t matter if the indicators say American is technically in a recession or not. “Unemployment is up. Wages are down. Home foreclosures are incredibly high, the worst in many, many, many years,” he said.

Aides to Mr Obama confirmed that the candidate has chosen the Tampa area to cram for the first debate, reflecting hopes that he can snatch Florida from Mr McCain with polls showing the state a toss-up. In rehearsal sessions, senior foreign policy advisor, Greg Craig, will play the role of Mr McCain.

As Democrats continue to fret over Mr Obama’s failure to break away from Mr McCain in daily tracking polls, many may see some explanation in a new Associated Press-Yahoo poll exploring the degree to which racial prejudice will play a part on 4 November.

The survey concludes that lingering hesitation among white voters to vote for an African-American could cost the Illinois Senator 6 percentage points on 4 November. The margin of victory for President George Bush in 2004 was a mere 2.5 percentage points.

The poll showed that 40 per cent of all white Americans hold at least a partly negative view of blacks. Moreover more than a third of all white Democrats and Independents held to at least one negative adjective about blacks and were significantly less likely to pull the lever for Mr Obama because of his skin colour.