BLUE BELL, Pa. -- A feisty Sen. John McCain offered new proposals to buffer the effects of the credit crisis today at a noisy Montgomery County rally, in 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,'' Mr. McCain told hundreds of enthusiastic partisans gathered in a community college gymnasium.

The Republican nominee called for a variety of steps to ease the effects of the economic crisis, particularly for those near or beyond retirement age.

He said Congress should provide more generous tax write-offs for investors forced to take losses in the current market. He urged a temporary two-year reduction in capital gains taxes to encourage investment. He also called for the elimination of taxes on unemployment benefits.

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

With three weeks to go before the election, the Arizona Republican spoke on the eve of his final debate with Sen. Barack Obama tomorrow night.

In addition to his budget planks, Mr. McCain renewed his criticisms of Mr. Obama.

"Perhaps never before in history have the American people been asked to risk so much based on so little,'' he said of the opponent who is leading him in polls here and nationally.

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

Mr. Obama released his own package of new policies to address the crisis yesterday. After today's McCain speech, Mr. Obama's campaign responded with a statement saying, Mr. 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.''