Two-thirds (67%) of U.S. voters have a favorable opinion of Tom Brokaw, the moderator of tonight’s presidential debate, and nearly as many (62%) expect him to be neutral.

But 25% think the longtime NBC newsman will try to help Democratic candidate Barack Obama, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Only five percent (5%) believe he will try to help Republican nominee John McCain.

Republicans aren’t so sure. Forty-nine percent (49%) of GOP voters believe Brokaw will try to help Obama versus 40% who think he will be neutral. Among Democrats, by comparison, 78% say Brokaw will be neutral, and only eight percent (8%) think he will try to help their candidate. Sixty-seven percent (67%) of unaffiliated voters expect Brokaw to play it down the middle, but 22% think he’ll try to help Obama.

One thing all three agree on by overwhelming numbers, however, is he won’t be trying to help McCain.

Men are more suspicious than women. While 58% of male voters say Brokaw will be neutral, 31% think he will try to help Obama. Sixty-six percent (66%) of women say Brokaw will play fair, while only 19% believe he will be on Obama’s side.

Nationally, Obama has opened a steady lead over McCain in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll as turmoil has grown in the U.S. economy. To counter this trend in the polls, McCain is expected to aggressively focus on Obama’s lack of leadership experience at tonight’s debate and for the rest of the campaign.

In a survey last month, 56% said debate moderators were biased in their questioning. But following the first presidential debate on September 26, 76% felt PBS television personality Jim Lehrer who moderated was neutral.

Nearly as many (73%) felt PBS newswoman Gwen Ifill played a neutral role as moderator of last week’s vice presidential debate, despite conflict-of-interest concerns about a new book she has written that focuses on the rise to power of black leaders like Obama.

In several surveys in recent months, a majority of voters said reporters try to help the candidate they want to win, and this year most believe they are trying to help Obama.

Just 26% of voters have an unfavorable view of Brokaw, but that includes 43% of Republicans versus just 13% of Democrats and 24% of unaffiliated voters.

Forty-nine percent (49%) correctly identified Brokaw’s employer as NBC, although 29% weren’t sure who he worked for. Among those who knew which network Brokaw worked for, 69% expect him to be neutral, while 24% think he will try to help Obama.

Two-thirds (66%) prefer tonight’s town hall format for the presidential debate, with fellow voters asking questions rather than journalists, and 73% say they are very likely to watch. Only three percent (3%) say they are not at all likely to watch the debate.

Both Republicans and unaffiliated voters like the town hall format more than Democrats.

The final McCain-Obama presidential debate, moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News, is scheduled for October 15 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.

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