The Commission on Presidential Debates has announced it will hold three debates between top-ticket contenders and one for their veeps this fall, co-chairs Paul Kirk and Frank Fahrenkopf announced today.

The first debate, at the University of Mississippi, will happen on Friday, September 26, focused on domestic policy. The second will be Tuesday, October 7 from Belmont University in Nashville, in a town hall format on issues the audience brings up. Finally, nominees will meet on October 15, a Wednesday, at Hofstra University to debate foreign policy.

Voters have repeatedly told pollsters that Iraq is their biggest concern this year. The issue, which does not favor Republicans, will be front and center once more just two weeks before the election.

Vice presidential candidates will meet at Washington University in St. Louis on Thursday, October 2, to discuss both foreign and domestic policy.

The commission has announced a new format that sounds like it will lead to a much more open discussion. The moderator will introduce a segment and ask each candidate to comment, and then "will facilitate further discussion of the issue, including direct exchange between the candidates, for the balance of that segment," according to the release. And in good news for YouTube, viewers will be able to submit questions to the town hall-style debate via the internet.

The moderators for each debate will be chosen later this summer.