Bush, Kerry shake hands before going to “battle field”.

WASHINGTON, October 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Dominated by security and domestic issues, the third debate saw Democrat John Kerry scoring better than incumbent Republican George Bush, according to polls carried out following their final TV face-off.

The final 90-minute debate at the Arizona State University saw the Massachusetts senator lashing out at Bush's policies on terror-combat, saying they had caused the break down of US ties with allies.

Bush, who has repeatedly accused Kerry of being fickle and unreliable on national security issues, hit back at his challenger's remarks.

“My opponent just this weekend talked about how terrorism could be reduced to a ‘nuisance,’ comparing it to prostitution, illegal gambling,” Bush said, quoting a Kerry interview, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.

“That attitude and that point of view is dangerous.”

The Democratic challenger, on his part, accused Bush of letting Osama bin Laden – leader of Al-Qaeda, the ghostly network blamed by Washington of carrying out the September 11, 2002 attacks -– escape, pointing to Bush's comments six months later that he was unconcerned about his fate.

“Gosh, I just don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. It's kind of one of those exaggerations,” responded Bush.

The US war on Iraq and terror-combat policies had dominated the first and second debates between the US president Bush and the Massachusetts senator.

Domestic Issues

“This president has taken a $5.6 trillion surplus and turned it into deficits as far as the eye can see,”' Kerry said.

The presidential racers also traded punches on taxes and economy with Kerry accusing Bush of adopting policies that caused job losses, raised budget deficits and ballooned health care.

“This is the first president in 72 years to preside over an economy in America that has lost jobs - 1.6 million jobs,”' Kerry said.

“Eleven other presidents, six Democrats and five Republicans, had wars, had recessions, had great difficulties. None of them lost jobs the way this president has.”

“This president has taken a $5.6 trillion surplus and turned it into deficits as far as the eye can see. The American middle-class isn't making it right now.”

As tens of millions of Americans watched the televised confrontation, Bush hit back at his challenger's remarks, saying that Kerry is a lifelong liberal who adopts polices that aim to raise taxes and government spending.

“My opponent talks about fiscal sanity. His record in the United States Senate does not match his rhetoric. He voted to increase taxes 98 times and to bust the budget 277 times,” Bush said.

Kerry Leads

The final debate did not have any dramatic moments that would sharply shift the dynamic of a race even after opinion polls showed the Democratic candidate leading the race.

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup snap poll taken immediately after the presidential debate found that respondents gave a significant edge to Kerry over Bush, 52 percent to 39 percent.

The respondents were 511 registered voters who watched the debate. The poll is a reflection of immediate impressions of only those voters who saw the debate on television.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

A survey by ABC News also showed Kerry ahead 42 percent to 41 percent, while a CBS News poll gave him 39 percent to 25 percent for Bush and 36 percent called the debate a tie.

Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic rival John Edwards slugged it out over Iraq, jobs and each other's judgment in their one and only debate Tuesday, October 5.