U.S. presidential candidates Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama have outlined their plans to stabilize the struggling U.S. economy, three weeks before the election.

Senator Obama proposed a temporary tax credit for companies that create new jobs in the United States.

During a rally today (Monday) in the key battleground state of Ohio, Obama also proposed penalty-free withdrawals from individual retirement accounts (up to 10-thousand dollars) and temporarily barring banks from foreclosing on people trying to pay their mortgages. His campaign says his proposals likely would cost 60 billion dollars over the next two years.

Senator McCain highlighted several steps to address the economic crisis, during campaign stops in (the southeastern U.S. states of) Virginia and North Carolina.

McCain said he has a plan to keep taxes low, protect workers' retirement savings, and bring relief to people devastated by what he called "the excesses of Wall Street and Washington."

National polls show McCain trailing Obama ahead of the candidates' last televised debate Wednesday.

One opinion poll (by Reuters, C-Span and Zogby) released today shows Obama with a four-point lead over McCain (down from a six point lead Sunday), while a separate survey (by "The Washington Post" and ABC News) indicates Obama is leading by 10 points among likely voters.