The debate was a draw. I say that because neither candidate delivered the knock out punches destined to catapult either of the campaigns to an undeniable November win.

John McCain accused Barack Obama of compiling "the most liberal voting record in the United States Senate" Friday night as the two rivals clashed over taxes, spending, the war in Iraq and more in an intense first debate of the White House campaign. "Mostly that's just me opposing George Bush's wrong-headed policies," shot back the Democrat.

Obama said his Republican rival has been a loyal supporter of the unpopular president, adding that the current economic crisis is "a final verdict on eight years of failed economic policies promoted by President Bush and supported by Sen. McCain."

The two men were polite but pointed as they debated at close quarters for 90 minutes on the University of Mississippi campus.

If you began the debate as a McCain supporter, you were probably not swayed and if you supported Barack Obama before the debate, you are most likely supporting him still.

McCain said he would consider a spending freeze on everything but defense, Veterans affairs and entitlement programs in order to cut back on government spending. Obama disagreed, saying, "The problem is you're using a hatchet where you need a scalpel.

"There are some programs that are very important that are currently underfunded," Obama said.

He agreed that the government needs to cut spending in some areas, but he said other areas, such as early childhood education, need more funding. McCain repeated his call to veto every bill with earmarks.

Obama said the country "absolutely" needs earmark reform but said, "the fact is, eliminating earmarks alone is not a recipe for how we are going to get the middle class back on track."

McCain and Obama also tangled over who would cut taxes more. McCain said he would lower business taxes in order to encourage job growth in the United States, and Obama said he would cut taxes for 95 percent of American families.

But then, as the conversation continued onto Foreign Policy, Obama showed too much deference to John McCain saying "John McCain is absolutely right" too many times for my taste. At the same time, John McCain began to repeat the condescending phrase he "just doesn't understand" to defend his policies against Obama's objections. And the McCain campaign wasted no time capitalizing on Obama's bipartisan, 'reach across the aisle' tendencies. Here is the web ad that appeared on You Tube within minutes of the conclusion of the debate.



Some say Barack Obama won by standing toe-to-toe with John McCain, when the senior (in Senate seniority not referring to his age) Senator claims foreign policy expertise. On the other hand, McCain has had a terrible political week and yet he rallied to hold his own and land some body blows on Obama. Round one a draw. Two more to go. Register to vote.

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