McCain, Obama agree to three debates

ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain have agreed to three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate, the two campaigns said Thursday.

"The campaigns have come to the earliest agreement on presidential debates reached in any general election in recent history," campaign officials said in a joint statement.

The three, 90-minute debates are sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates, based in Arlington, Va.

The first presidential debate will be Sept. 26 at the University of Mississippi in Oxford on the topics of foreign policy and national security.

The lone debate between vice presidential candidates will be Oct. 2 at Washington University in St. Louis.

The second presidential debate is scheduled for Oct. 7 at Belmont University in Nashville. It will be a town hall debate format.

The final meeting between the two major-party presidential nominees is Oct. 15 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., focusing on domestic and economic policy.