Economic Jabs, Then Punches On World Affairs

But Obama did not shrink from the foreign policy debate, arguing that on Iraq and Afghanistan, his judgment was superior to McCain's. "Over the last eight years," he said, "this administration, along with Senator McCain, have been solely focused on Iraq. That has been their priority. That has been where all our resources have gone. In the meantime, bin Laden is still out there. He is not captured. He is not killed. Al-Qaeda is resurgent.

The two broke no new ground on the most topical issue, the financial rescue package under negotiation in Washington. Both were hesitant to be pinned down on the details of the emerging bill, only arguing that something must be done and restating past conditions.

Nor would they allow moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS to get them to acknowledge that the big rescue package likely will clip the wings of the next president. Neither would state with any specificity what they might have to give up from their domestic agendas.

Nor was their debate over earmarks and federal spending particularly enlightening. McCain brandished his credentials as someone who would attack spending. Obama said McCain's approach amounted to a hatchet when a scalpel was more appropriate.

Obama seemed to hit his stride earlier than McCain, particularly in the early stages of the debate that dealt with the financial crisis and domestic issues, arguing that his rival was nothing more than an extension of eight years of policies that the Democratic nominee said had harmed the country.

The first of three presidential debates came amid conflicting poll results that show anything from a very competitive race between Obama and McCain to a widening advantage for the Democratic nominee. Regardless of the polls, it came at a moment of perceived struggle for McCain and for that reason was seen as a critical opportunity for him to reassert himself.

The debate's subject matter favored McCain, given his long experience in national security matters and divided public sentiment about Obama's credentials to serve as commander in chief. Obama advisers, however, believed that it provided an opportunity for their candidate to dispose of the readiness question and challenge McCain on his perceived turf.

Events proved helpful to Obama, however, as there was no way to avoid economic issues even in a foreign policy debate. Turmoil in financial and credit markets pushed the economy into an even more dominant position in the voters' agenda and widened Obama's advantage as the candidate who is perceived to be more capable of dealing with it.

Partisans on both sides saw bright spots and ultimate success for their candidate. But it's likely that this race will continue as it has. Both accomplished much of what they hoped to do, without any serious mistakes. Voters likely saw attractive qualities in each of them.

So round one will give way to round two and perhaps a clearer outcome. But as with much of the rest of this presidential race, these are two well-matched candidates, and each has something to say.