BLUE BELL, Pa. -- A combative Sen. John McCain yesterday offered new proposals to buffer the effects of the credit crisis at a noisy rally in Montgomery County, the heart of a region crucial to his hopes of a come-from-behind victory in Pennsylvania.

"If I am elected president, I will help to create jobs for Americans in the most effective way a president can do this -- with tax cuts that are directed specifically to create jobs and protect your life savings," the Arizona Republican told hundreds of enthusiastic partisans after he had mounted a community college gymnasium stage to the obligatory strains of the "Rocky" movie theme.

With just three weeks before the election, Mr. McCain spoke on the eve of his final debate with his Democratic rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, and the day after Mr. Obama had unveiled his own new package of economic relief plans.

In a state with one of the nation's largest blocs of older voters, the GOP nominee called for a variety of steps to ease the effects of the economic crisis, particularly for those near or beyond retirement age.

Mr. McCain said Congress should provide more generous tax write-offs for investors forced to take losses in the current market and urged a temporary reduction in capital gains taxes to encourage investment. He also called for elimination of taxes on unemployment benefits, a proposal like one his opponent had made the day before.

In a conference call with reporters, McCain economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin estimated the measures' total price tag at $52 billion.

Mr. McCain also repeated proposals he offered earlier to have the federal government directly purchase troubled home mortgages and suspend rules that mandate withdrawals from tax-preferred retirement accounts once their owners reach age 70.

Mr. McCain's new proposals call for a two-year halving of the tax on capital gains, from 15 percent to 7.5 percent, as a spur to investment in turbulent markets. He also proposed a lower tax rate, 10 percent, on the first $50,000 in withdrawals from tax-sheltered retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401Ks. He would also quintuple, to $15,000, the maximum tax deduction for losses from the sale of stocks.

In the wake of the Treasury Department's announcement that it would make $250 billion in direct investments in major banks, Mr. McCain said: "We will not merely inject billions of dollars into companies and walk away, hoping for the best. We will require that those companies be reformed and restructured until they are sound assets again, and can be sold at no loss -- or perhaps even a profit -- to the taxpayers of America.

"And when that is accomplished," he continued, "in each instance, government will relinquish its interest in these private companies. We're going to get government out of the business of bailouts and equity stakes, and back in the business of responsible regulation."

The Obama campaign responded to their Republican foe's speech with a statement charging, "McCain's unsteady responses over the course of this crisis have demonstrated how out of touch he is with the struggles facing working Americans, and how ill-equipped he is to implement the solutions and changes that we need."

The Democratic campaign also circulated criticisms of the McCain initiatives from two of Pennsylvania's top officeholders, Gov. Ed Rendell and Sen. Bob Casey. "McCain's plan would spend $300 billion to bail out the same irresponsible Wall Street banks that got us into this mess in the first place -- without doing anything to jump-start job growth for America's middle class," Mr. Casey said in a reference to the earlier McCain plan for the government to purchase troubled mortgages directly.

In addition to his financial ideas, Mr. McCain renewed his criticisms of Mr. Obama, asserting: "Perhaps never before in history have the American people been asked to risk so much based on so little.

"You can look at the record of what he's done, or you can just go with your gut," the Republican said. "But either way, you're left with the same conclusion: Senator Obama is going to raise your taxes. And in this economy, raising taxes is the surest way to turn a recession into a depression."

Yesterday's event, in a sharply contested county within the state, was originally billed as a town hall meeting focusing on women's issues. The stage behind the nominee and his wife, Cindy McCain, was indeed filled with women. But in the face of the nation's continuing financial turmoil, the campaign pivoted instead to the new economic recommendations.

Some reports, denied by the campaign, had said the new McCain plan was to have been unveiled Monday, when Mr. Obama offered his own package to address the economic crisis.

A friendly crowd cheered Mr. McCain yesterday in Blue Bell.

"I'm a small-business owner, and when I look at the Obama plan, it would put me out of business," said Anthe, an artist who goes by one name, as she watched Mr. McCain greet supporters following his speech.

Claire Snell, of nearby Lansdale, said Mr. McCain had captured her vote because "the most important thing is he's a pro-life candidate. That's what America needs today, someone who thinks every life has meaning and purpose." As she held her 20-month-old son Christian, she added: "I think he has a great running mate, too. She's inspiring."

She spoke as Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was campaigning in Scranton, continuing a series of appearances across the state in recent days. Underscoring his focus on Pennsylvania's 21 electoral votes, Mr. McCain will return for a rally tomorrow in Chester County, another of Philadelphia's bedroom suburbs.

Both presidential candidates were preparing yesterday for their third face-to-face encounter tonight at Hofstra University in Long Island, N.Y. While their two prior meetings ranged from substantive to somnolent, tonight's event gives the Republican a chance to recapture the momentum of a race in which Mr. Obama has assumed polling leads nationally as well as in pivotal states such as Pennsylvania.

The previous debates have failed to produce dramatic campaign turning points, in part because they were overwhelmed by news of the credit crisis and turbulent stock market. Yet a variety of polls suggested that more voters thought the Democrat had prevailed in both. Their meeting last week in Nashville, in particular, failed to live up to expectations that the trailing Republican would launch a sharp assault on his rival.

One subject Mr. McCain avoided then was the frequent GOP criticism of Mr. Obama's association with William Ayers, an education professor who was a member of a 1960s radical group, the Weather Underground. Mr. Obama has described Mr. Ayers as a casual acquaintance whom he knows from his neighborhood and their joint tenure on a Chicago school reform foundation's board.

After the last debate, Mr. Obama and his allies -- including his running mate, Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack -- practically dared Mr. McCain to raise the Ayers issue, remarking in interviews that the Republican had cited it in speeches but not to his rival's face.

"I was astonished to hear him say that he was surprised that I didn't have the guts" to bring up Mr. Ayers, Mr. McCain said in a St. Louis radio station interview cited on the Time.com Web site. "I think he is probably ensured that it will come up this time."