With 28 days left to make their cases and the race still pretty tight, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have another chance Tuesday night (October 7) to get their licks in before a nationwide audience. The Senate colleagues will face each other and moderator Tom Brokaw on the stage at Nashville's Belmont University for the second of their three scheduled debates.

Unlike the first one, there won't be any drama about whether McCain will show up, but there is a hefty dose of the unknown. The 90-minute debate will be a town-hall-style event with questions submitted by the audience and from online viewers.

(What did you think of the candidates' first matchup and what are you expecting from them on Tuesday night? Let us know below.)

The format definitely favors McCain, who has long preferred the less-scripted town-hall format to reading from a teleprompter or answering questions from a moderator. With McCain essentially conceding Michigan last week and a new USA Today poll, in conjunction with Gallup and MTV, showing that the Democratic candidate has a historic lead among young voters, some conservative pundits have called on McCain to get more aggressive in his attacks on the Illinois senator.

Both men were relatively civil in their first matchup, but McCain has already promised that the gloves will come off in Tennessee. Asked at a campaign stop last week when he's going to "just go" at Obama, according to CBS News, McCain said, "How about Tuesday night?"

While most pundits will tell you that voters don't really pay that much attention to the vice-presidential picks when they vote in November, this year could be different — thanks to "the Palin factor." McCain's veep nominee, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, equaled Obama's ratings during her speech at the Republican National Convention last month. And her debate with Obama's VP candidate, Senator Joe Biden, was the most-watched vice-presidential debate in history, drawing nearly 70 million viewers to all or part of the 90-minute showdown. That number represents nearly 18 million more viewers than the first presidential debate on September 26 between Obama and McCain, and it could be a sign that the general electorate is finally starting to pay close attention to the race.

The last McCain/Obama debate was generally scored a tie by most pundits, with neither man landing a knockout punch. Now, the rhetoric has cranked up, with Palin taking hard shots at Obama over the weekend, according to The Associated Press, calling him "dangerous" and saying he "palled around" with terrorists, a reference to Obama's alleged friendship with former 1960s radical Bill Ayers, who served on the board of a charity with the senator and once hosted a campaign event for him. The Obama campaign hit back with stump references to a nearly 20-year-old savings-and-loan scandal that ensnared McCain and seriously harmed the Republican senator's public image, according to Politico.com.

The irony of both campaigns reaching back to ancient political history comes after Palin chastised Biden during their debate about Democrats being too focused on the past and not on the country's future.

Before the second matchup, we decided to take a look back at our scorecard for the first McCain/Obama debate and see how the candidates fared and what's in store Tuesday night.

For McCain

Strengths

» First debate: We said McCain's sweet spot was foreign policy, and the senator certainly proved his knowledge of foreign affairs — though he didn't really point to his suspension of his campaign as proof of his maverick streak.

» This debate: McCain is comfortable having town-hall-style conversations, and he's shown a quick wit at times, so he should be relaxed during Tuesday's debate.

Weaknesses

» First debate: Criticized for seeming too scripted lately, McCain did not rely too heavily on his carefully constructed attack lines and didn't make too many accusations that rang false after the fact. He got lucky when Obama did not reprise his critique that McCain's suspension of his campaign proved the Arizona senator has trouble doing two things at once. McCain also kept his previously notorious anger in check.

» This debate: Down in the polls and on the ropes in an economic downturn — a scenario that tends to favor Democrats during a presidential election — McCain has to give concrete proof of his pivotal role in the $700 billion bailout negotiations or face criticism that his campaign suspension was all for naught.

What He Needs to Do

» First debate: We said McCain needed to stick to the issue-oriented zingers he's employed in the past and which Palin has used effectively on the stump; he did not do that. He also failed to employ his sometimes-biting sense of humor.

» This debate: McCain needs to clarify his plan for ending the war in Iraq and prove that he can be a steward of the crumbling economy while multitasking on the world stage.

What You Can Expect to See

» First debate: McCain didn't hit Obama as hard on his Iraq drawdown plan as Palin hit Biden but did question his rival's openness to sitting down with leaders of rogue states.

» This debate: McCain will probably be in a much more aggressive attack model on the economy and Iraq and will likely rehash some of Obama's past questionable personal associations and calls for an immediate pullout of troops.

For Obama

Strengths

» First debate: Obama did not make it personal, but he also didn't mix it up with McCain, as some had predicted he would — or should. Obama was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with McCain when discussing foreign policy and did use the current economic crisis in an attempt to tie McCain to the failed Bush White House policies.

» This debate: Up in the polls and with the economic-bailout package passed, Obama can claim that his economic plans will put the country back on the right path. He's in the lead, so as long as he doesn't fumble any major answers, Obama can use his advantage to make McCain's attacks appear like desperate bids to scare voters.

Weaknesses

» First debate: Obama had no problem keeping up with McCain on foreign policy and the economy, but again faced criticism for not supporting the surge in Iraq and for advocating what McCain has deemed "surrender" in Iraq. He also deferred, and agreed with McCain too often and was not aggressive enough when provoked.

» This debate: Like McCain, Obama faces hard questions about what major programs or initiatives he's willing to scrap since the federal budget will likely be threadbare in light of the bailout bill. He needs to show he has a plan for that looming crisis and settle once and for all the question of sitting down with foreign leaders.

What He Needs to Do

» First debate: Obama needed to come across as less professorial and stiff and more conversational and down to earth, which he half-succeeded at doing the first time around.

» This debate: Likely to face harsh criticism and attacks from McCain — who needs a solid win to gain back some momentum — Obama needs to be prepared to fight back and not back down or refuse to engage McCain should the Arizona senator go on the offensive.

What You Can Expect to See

» First debate: Obama solidly lambasted McCain for supporting the Bush administration's execution of the war in Iraq and virtually ignoring Afghanistan and the search for Osama bin Laden.

» This debate: Look for Obama to get more aggressive and try to tie McCain even more closely to the economic meltdown under Bush and paint recent attacks by Palin as more of the same Washington politics from the self-styled team of "mavericks."

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