McCain, Obama battle on economy, war in first debate

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OXFORD, (Mississipp), Sept 27 (AFP): John McCain and Barack Obama battled in the shadow of the US finance crisis late Friday in a first presidential debate crackling with sharp disputes over the economy, Iraq and terrorism.
Democrat Obama, 47, vying to make history as America's first black president, branded McCain as a inheritor of President George W. Bush's unpopular legacy of "failed" economic and foreign policies.
Republican McCain, 72, presented himself as a reformer and posed as a superior potential commander-in-chief, repeatedly saying Obama did not "understand" foreign policy threats or was "naive" in his outlook to the world.
"I don't think I need any on-the-job training. I'm ready to go at it right now," McCain, 72, said.
Both candidates avoided major gaffes in a spirited debate, taking place at a time of deep national peril with the Wall Street crisis threatening to ruin the US economy and millions of working class jobs.
Obama came across as polished and well briefed, and seemed to meet the threshold many analysts set for him going in as a credible future leader of the United States.
An instant telephone poll by CNN and Opinion Research Corp. scored a decisive win for Obama among 524 debate watchers. Asked who did the better job, 51 percent said Obama and 38 percent said McCain.
The Democrat had a yawning lead of 58-37 percent on handling the economy, and a narrower edge of 52-47 percent on the Iraq war, the pollsters said.
Another snap poll by CBS News and Knowledge Networks of about 500 uncommitted voters had 39 percent saying Obama was the winner against 24 percent for McCain. A total of 37 percent said it was a draw.
Most leading US newspapers on Saturday offered a cautious analysis of the debate -- stopping short of declaring any of the candidates the outright winner.
The Wall Street Journal said the encounter largely followed the script and offered no surprises.
"Neither candidate broke from talking points, neither one made a gaffe, and both men won on the grounds where they are most comfortable -- John McCain on foreign policy, and Barack Obama on domestic issues," the paper said in an editorial.
McCain steered clear of errors that could be chalked up to his age, looked focused and engaged in the debate, mostly on foreign policy, which both sides see as his strong point.