Nashville (Tennessee, US), Oct. 8 : As long as John McCain talks about the current economic crisis in America, the Democrats will stand to gain because the crisis is being seen as a creation of a Republican administration.

According to the Globe and Mail, talking about the economy benefits Democrats rather than the Republicans, despite McCain relentlessly criticizing the Democrats for the current economic emergency.

Obama says the real root of the economic crisis is the deregulation of the financial-services sector, championed by McCain, which led to abuses by banks and insurance companies.

According to the paper, the town-hall format of the debate, in which audience members asked questions and veteran NBC journalist Tom Brokaw read questions from e-mailers, prevented what might have been an even more acerbic contest between the two.

New polls show that Obama has entrenched his lead over McCain among voters. The Rasmussen and Gallup daily tracking polls show Obama enjoying 51 or 52 per cent of support among voters. McCain is in the low 40s, giving Obama a lead of about eight points.

Other polls, however, show the race as being much closer. The RealClearPolitics aggregate puts Obama''s lead at 5.5 percentage points.

The reason for the swing is simple enough: Voters are blaming the Republicans for the economic terror that it feels as though the country is living through. (ANI)