The campaigns of US President George W. Bush and his Democratic rival John Kerry have assaulted each other over everything from Iraq to economy since the two presidential candidates started their campaigning for the November election.

So it sounds strange when the two campaigns commended each other over the ability of the candidate from the other camp to win a debate.

The Bush campaign called Kerry "a seasoned debater" who was once a debate champion. The Kerry campaign said Bush is "a great debater" who has never lost a debate in his political career.

In fact, the praises were part of the two campaigns' strategies to win the first face-to-face debate between Bush and Kerry: lower expectations. Bush defied expectations and won his debates with former vice president Al Gore in the 2000 election.

Bush and Kerry will have a 90-minute nationally televised encounters Thursday in Coral Gables, Florida, the first of three debates which have the potential to tip the race for the White House.

Stakes are high because the debates offer the best opportunities, and maybe the last chances also, for the candidatesto reach out to undecided voters before the Nov. 2 voting.

A recent poll by the Pew Research Center showed that up to 61 percent of the 200 million potential voters expect to watch the debates. While about 68 percent of voters say they have already made up their minds, some 29 percent say the debates could influence their choice.

"Campaign 2004 has all the earmarks of an election that could turn on the presidential debates," Pew said in a recent report.

Historically, debates have proven decisive in the election outcome when the race was close or there were unresolved questions about the personal character of one, or both, of the candidates, the Pew report said.

"The upcoming Bush-Kerry debates would appear to fill the bill on both counts," it said.

A new Washington Post-ABC News Poll published Tuesday showed that among likely voters, Bush enjoyed a six-percentage point lead, 51 percent to 45 percent, over Kerry. A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll showed Bush led by 52 percent to 44 percent among likely voters.

Both results were within their margins of error. Some recent polls gave a mixed view of where the race stands.

In the current campaign, questions abound about the candidates'personal strengths and weaknesses.

Polls consistently show voters giving Kerry an edge on a number of domestic issues like Social Security, healthcare and the economy. But he will have to use the debates to convince Americans he is a strong leader and firm commander-in-chief.

The Republicans and the Bush campaign have charactered Kerry as a flip-flopper who keeps shifting positions on key national security issues such as the Iraq war and terrorism.

This campaign proved to have effectively damaged Kerry's image and eroded his support. Polls show that a majority of voters are concerned about Kerry's leadership and believe he does not have a clear plan for dealing with Iraq and terrorism.

The Kerry campaign has also ratcheted up attacks on Bush's character and credibility. Kerry said Bush failed to tell the truth about Iraq to the public by painting a rosy picture of the war while facts on ground and intelligence estimate point to the opposite.

The first debate will focus on Iraq and the war on terror, two issues which the Bush campaign has successfully made the dominate issue of the campaign. Polls consistently give Bush a very clear edge over Kerry on these two issues.

In this sense, Kerry will have a harder work to do than Bush during the first debate. Enditem