21.   However, it is still unclear whether the debates, as set by the Presidential Commission on Debates, will take place.

22.   If the CNN and NBC debates take place, they would be the first in a presidential election not carried by more than one network.

23.   If the Texas debate takes place, they said, it would be yet another indicator of the growing importance of the Latino vote in American politics.

24.   In a highly charged political atmosphere, the debate has taken a different turn.

25.   In a telephone interview Monday from St. Louis, where the final debate will take place on Tuesday night, Lehrer said his critics were missing the point.

26.   In fact, the whole arms debate is taking place at the margin of reality.

27.   In conservative Arizona where locals prefer limited government, the debate has taken a telling turn.

28.   In state legislatures, the debate takes on a slightly different focus.

29.   Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia, says the debates take on added significance this year because the contest remains so deadlocked.

30.   Much debate is taking place on this issue.