Combatants use words to draw blood

ATLANTA --- After weeks of nasty campaign ads, the final debate of the Senate race quickly grew testy, with the candidates shaking fingers at each other, making snide remarks and disagreeing on several major issues.

The debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club pit incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss against Democrat Jim Martin and Libertarian Allen Buckley.

At one point after several interruptions, Mr. Chambliss told Mr. Buckley, "You should have taken your pill tonight, Allen."

Financial issues sparked the feistiest clashes, particularly the $700 billion bailout of the financial industry and tax cuts, the topics of the most pointed of the ads.

Mr. Martin lashed out when Mr. Chambliss said he would not favor a new economic stimulus plan until the bailout was allowed to work.

"Outrageous. How outrageous," Mr. Martin said. "Saxby Chambliss economics is taking care of people at the top."

Mr. Martin said Mr. Chambliss should have supported extending unemployment compensation rather than providing support for large banks that he said were using the funds to compensate executives and purchase other banks.

Mr. Chambliss responded by turning to Mr. Martin, shaking an index finger and asked which banks were abusing the bailout funds.

"Tell me one bank that's going to do that," the senator said.

Mr. Martin faced Mr. Chambliss, wagged his own finger and said newspaper stories have mentioned banks buying other banks with the funds. Mr. Chambliss said some banks that are in danger of failing would be purchased, but that was what the bailout funds were designed to do.

Mr. Buckley said both were avoiding the issue of cutting the spending. "Look what they're selling: more fiscal irresponsibility."

Mr. Chambliss defended his vote for the bailout bill, saying Georgia business owners told him they would begin laying off workers if it didn't pass.

Mr. Martin said the legislation should have tightened regulations on lenders, and Mr. Buckley said it should have been structured so the financial industry paid the cost instead of taxpayers.

The three also disagreed on taxes.

Mr. Chambliss' support for a proposed national sales tax, called the Fair Tax, has been the subject of several ads for Mr. Martin.

Mr. Chambliss said it would help ordinary people control their own finances by abolishing the Internal Revenue Service.

Mr. Martin said he's for a middle-class tax cut proposed by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Mr. Buckley said he favors shifting the income tax structure to four rates, with the highest rate fluctuating with the size of the federal deficit.

The three now await the decisions of voters Tuesday.

If none gets more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two will face each other in a Dec. 2 runoff.