Republican Rep. Joe Walsh and Democratic challenger Tammy Duckworth used the final face-to-face meeting of their campaign Thursday night to stress differences over the future of Medicare, a program she said should be a "guarantee" but one he said "would end as we know it" unless reformed.



Meeting for a half-hour on WTTW's "Chicago Tonight," the two candidates in the 8th Congressional District displayed a vastly more civil attitude to each other than during their previous get together this month.



Still, the hopefuls also had several combative moments, particularly over entitlements and abortion rights.



Duckworth and Walsh are vying Nov. 6 to represent parts of the northwest and west suburbs in one of the most closely-watched and bitter campaigns in the nation.



Walsh, the tea party icon known for controversial statements, said his election to Congress in 2010 was part of an effort "to help educate the American people" about the excesses of government under Democratic President Barack Obama's administration.



Duckworth defended herself against Walsh's prior criticism that she had used her military service for political purposes. "I am proud of my military service," said Duckworth, who lost both legs in an Iraq War helicopter crash. "It is part of who I am."



But the centerpiece of the discussion involved the future of Medicare and Walsh's support for a House Republican-backed budget plan authored by the GOP's vice presidential nominee, Rep. Paul Ryan of Janesville, Wis.



The Ryan budget plan would leave the government-funded health care plan for the elderly in place for those age 55 and older, but offer those 54 and under a choice of the current system or a federal subsidy to purchase health care coverage.



Walsh lashed out at Duckworth's support for Obama's signature health-care overhaul and contended it would cut $716 billion from Medicare, money trimmed from anticipated growth in the program.



But Duckworth quickly noted that the House GOP budget backed by Walsh also would eliminate $716 billion from the program.



"Mitt Romney proposes to keep those funds in Medicare," Walsh responded. The answer emphasized the contrast between the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee's spending plan and that of the presidential candidate.



Duckworth repeatedly accused Walsh of wanting to "put seniors out on the streets with a voucher" for health care.



The House GOP budget plan, she said, "would end Medicare as we know it." But Walsh responded, "If we don't end it as it is, it's going to end as we know it all by itself."



The two candidates also clashed on abortion rights.



Walsh said he was against abortion "without exception," including rape, incest and in cases in which the life or health of the mother was in jeopardy.



Asked by reporters after the debate if he was saying that it's never medically necessary to conduct an abortion to save the life of a mother, Walsh responded, "Absolutely."



"With modern technology and science, you can't find one instance," he said. "... There is no such exception as life of the mother, and as far as health of the mother, same thing."



Walsh is running on his record and outlined his philosophy by saying he "generally tried to make a rule when I went to Washington that I was going to try to cut government spending wherever I could."



Yet the one-term congressman also acknowledged voting for millions of dollars in government funding to sponsor NASCAR stock cars, saying he felt it was a valuable recruitment tool for the military.



With only weeks remaining in the contentious campaign, both candidates were asked at the outset to say something they respected about the other.



Duckworth said she believed Walsh "loves this country" and said that attitude, properly applied, could "go a long way" in serving the people of the district.



Walsh said Duckworth's "sense of duty" in moving forward from her war injuries to run for Congress was "incredibly noble."



Tribune reporter Bob Secter contributed.



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