McCain, Obama Debate America's Economic Crisis At Nashville Town Hall

Nashville, TN (AHN) - Presidential candidates Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Barack Obama (D-IL) are in Nashville, Tennessee to hold the second of their three nationally televised debates. The town hall-style debate at Belmont University, will focus on what voters want to hear the most - answers on how to fix the American economy.

NBC's Tom Brokaw, who is moderating the debate, asked the candidates who they would appoint as Treasury Secretary after current Cabinet member Hank Paulson said he would step down in a new administration.

McCain began by saying he would look for someone like former eBay President and CEO Meg Whitman, while Obama said he might want someone like billionaire Warren Buffet "would be a pretty good choice" for the position.

Pundits say McCain must find a way to turn the tables against his Democratic rival, as Obama has begun to show increasingly strong leads in polls taken across the country.

The latest poll, Gallup's daily tracking survey, found Obama leading McCain 51-42 percent - his highest lead to date since McCain trailed in July, when Obama met with leaders in Europe and the Middle East, also by nine points.

"Obama has now held a statistically significant lead since Sept. 24-26 polling and has not trailed McCain since Sept. 13-15, roughly coinciding with the intensification of the financial crisis," Gallup reported.

AHN's Kris Alingod contributed to this report.