SOUTH BEND — It's been the focus of Barack Obama's campaign for months now. But is his comparison of John McCain to President Bush fair, or is McCain his own man?

As the two squared off in their final debate Wednesday night, Senator McCain fought back against the claims.

"Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run 4 years ago," McCain said during Wednesday night's debate at Hofstra University in New York.

So, which side is telling the truth?

Experts say the answer may not be a simple "yes" or "no," because it depends largely on which issues you're talking about.

But, do voters see it that way?

That answer may ultimately help decide the election.

It's become a familiar theme in Campaign '08.

It's been brought up in each of the three presidential debates. There was a mention in the VP debate too.

Then there are the advertisements. The Obama campaign released another one on Thursday, this time, taking aim at McCain's conservative voting record.

The campaign trail has been sprinkled with mentions in almost every speech, too, and the attacks continued even after the debate on Thursday.

The push has been clear.

"I can take 3 more weeks of these attacks from John McCain. But, we can't take 4 more years of the George Bush policies he's peddling," Sen. Obama said during a campaign stop in New Hampshire Thursday.

But, is that claim a fact?

"If you dig into McCain's record, yeah," said Saint Mary's College Political Science Professor Dr. Sean Savage. "Literally speaking, most of the time, with some very prominent exceptions on major legislation, he has generally voted the Republican Party line."

But that doesn't mean he's backed all of President Bush's policies.

According to a vote study by Congressional Quarterly and The New York Times earlier this year, McCain's records on big ticket issues like the economy and the war in Iraq, health care and abortion do closely match Mr. Bush's.

But on issues like the environment, nuclear proliferation, American diplomacy and, to some extent, immigration, the two are far apart.

But do those differences resonate with voters?

A CBS News poll in June showed 43% of registered voters believed McCain would continue the Bush Administration's policies.

Voters WSBT spoke with in South Bend said they felt little has changed since then.

"[I think John McCain and George Bush are linked together], yes, I do," said Jason Barsoda of South Bend.

"I feel like they follow a lot of the same policies," agreed Natasha Boddy of South Bend.

Experts say that perception — warranted or not — is a big problem for McCain.

"It's going to influence my vote, yes," said James Serban or South Bend.

The problem, says Dr. Savage, is that simply saying 'I'm not George Bush' may not be enough.

"I don't think that will work. It's late in the game with 3 weeks before the election. And with quite a few undecided voters out there, it keeps McCain in a defensive, reactive mode. And he doesn't want to be — shouldn't be — in a defensive, reactive mode," Savage said.

McCain's push, says savage, should instead, focus on something else: the effect of Obama's record on the average American.

"McCain needs to say, Bush is in the past now. Think about the differences between Obama and me, especially on taxes," Savage said. "Obama wants to avoid any kind of debate or opening on the character issues, on the social issues, on national security. Those are the three categories of issues that McCain needs to introduce."

Still, one big question remains.

Will that be enough to shift focus away from the past before time runs out?

The answer, Savage says, likely lies in the one place McCain is most closely linked to Bush: the economy.

"As long as the focus is overwhelmingly on the economic crisis, it makes it much easier for Obama to constantly link McCain to Bush. And no matter what McCain says, he is still more similar to Bush than different from Bush," Savage said.

Often lost among this debate is Obama's voting record.

According to that same Congressional Quarterly study, Obama voted with President Bush 40% of the time in 2007. He also voted along Democratic party lines 97% of the time.

McCain voted along Republican party lines 90% of the time in 2007, according to the study.

For more election headlines and voter resources, go to WSBT.com's Campaign ‘08 section.