(CBS) Both presidential candidates agree the nation is in a recession. Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain, appearing in separate interviews for a special 40th anniversary edition of 60 Minutes, say the economic term applies to the current troubles and lay out their plans to solve the situation if they are elected.

Their interviews will be broadcast this Sunday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

“Oh, I think there’s no doubt that…when the numbers come out, that we are officially in recession,” Obama tells Steve Kroft. “I think, for a lot of people, they’ve been feeling like we’ve been in a recession for years now. When their wages and incomes don’t go up, and the cost of gas and groceries and home heating oil and prescription drugs are all going up, that feels awfully like a recession to them,” says Obama.

Scott Pelley asks McCain whether he thinks the country is in a recession. “Sure. [but] technically, I don’t know…Americans today don’t care about what the, quote, ‘technical term’ is,” says McCain. “Unemployment is up. Wages are down. Home foreclosures are incredibly high, the worst in many, many, many years. All of the indicators that affect the American family, unemployment being up – those people, they don’t care whether technically we’re in a recession or not. Fact is they’re hurting and they are hurting very, very badly,” he says.

The candidates were interviewed within a 24 hour period, Obama in Nevada this past Wednesday, and McCain in Wisconsin on Thursday afternoon . Their interviews will fill the entire broadcast Sunday, providing viewers a revealing side-by-side look at the candidates and their positions before their first debate on Friday, Sept. 26.

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60 Minutes
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