New York, 17 Oct. The final US presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama is over and the verdict is the same as the last: Obama won. However, he will face massive economic hurdles assuming he is elected this November.

Over the past month or so as the US financial crisis unfolds and even worsens, Obama’s ratings have improved. Popular opinion is that the Illinois senator will be able to handle the situation – and the economy in general – better than McCain.

With such polar differences in candidates, one might find it difficult to believe there is such a thing as undecided voters. But there are enough of them to cause an upset and put McCain in the office.

But whichever candidate makes it into the White House will have to deal with this crisis, among other issues. Tax policy, government spending, the budget deficit, and trade agreements are just some of the economic matters at hand.

Austan Goolsbee, a top economic advisor to Obama and University of Chicago professor, Likened McCain’s policy to Bush’s, “The contrast couldn’t be greater with the approach of McCain, which is the same as the Bush approach that ‘hey, we’re in trouble so let’s cut taxes for the highest income people and the biggest corporations and hope it trickles down.’”

In yesterday’s debate, McCain irritatedly proclaimed, “"I am not President Bush. If you want to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago. I'm going to give a new direction to this economy and this country.” McCain needed to get that point across to the public – the undecided voters in particular, if he had any hopes of swaying the population’s perception of his economic impotence.

The McCain team has been critical of Obama’s approach to the economy even from the beginning; specifically Obama’s planned tax cuts for families earning less than $250,000 per year.

“I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it,” McCain promised during his acceptance speech.

US and world markets have been exhibiting what some call a bipolar personality – going from elated to depressed and back again overnight. When this happens in humans, we medicate them and if they are a danger to themselves or society, we lock them up. The new president will be saddled with this burden, and the American people will be watching carefully. Who can best treat this ill patient, and what will his medicine be?

For either candidate it must feel a bit like a CEO who is about to take a prestigious job in an ailing company, but currently has a lower profile job in a stable one. But both are promising change – something this economy and foreign policy desperately needs.

Ron Portobello, EconomyWatch.com