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John McCain and Barack Obama clashed on the Iraq war, the US economy and the threat from a nuclear-armed Iran during their hugely anticipated first presidential debate today, an intense encounter viewed by tens of millions of Americans in which both candidates emerged declaring victory.

Mr McCain repeatedly sought to portray his rival as an inexperienced and high-risk bet for the White House while Mr Obama accused the Republican of being an out-of-touch extension of President Bush, during a 90-minute exchange in which the chaotic backdrop of the event – the financial crisis gripping Wall Street and Capitol Hill – was not seriously addressed by either candidate.

Aides to both insisted after the debate that their man had won, but the reality was that neither committed any gaffes or landed any major blows that significantly altered the extremely close nature of the race less than six weeks until election day.

In snap polls after the debate, men gave the debate to Mr McCain by a significant margin, while women gave it to Mr Obama overwhelmingly. It perhaps reflected the fact that Mr McCain appeared firmer and more experienced on issues of foreign policy; Mr Obama crisper and more focused on the economy.

After an extraordinarily sluggish opening few minutes, Mr McCain rallied and put in a forceful and focused performance, repeating frequently that his younger rival “doesn’t get it” on foreign policy. In the final few seconds he told a prime-time audience that might have exceeded 80 million: "There are some advantages to experience and knowledge and judgment. And I honestly don't believe that Senator Obama has the knowledge or experience" to serve as commander in chief. He added: “I don’t need any on the job training.”

Yet Mr Obama held his own in the foreign policy debate, and took Mr McCain head on over Iraq, a subject that the Republican is now trumpeting because of his early support for the “surge” of troops that has greatly reduced violence – a policy that Mr Obama opposed.

"When the war started you said it was quick and easy, you said we knew where the weapons of mass destruction were. You were wrong,” Mr Obama said, addressing Mr McCain directly during a debate in which the moderator repeatedly urged them to confront each other.

Having said that he opposed the war, Mr Obama continued: "You said that we were going to be greeted as liberators. You were wrong. You said that there was no history of violence between Shia and Sunni and you were wrong.” He added: “John, you like to pretend the war began in 2007."

Mr McCain accused Mr Obama of denying the achievements of the troops in Iraq, declaring: "We are winning in Iraq and we'll come home. And we'll come home as we have when we have won other wars and not in defeat.” He added: "Senator Obama refuses to acknowledge that we are winning in Iraq.”

The debate, held at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, came 48 years to the day since the first televised presidential debate between John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960. It had for weeks been scheduled as a foreign policy debate, but the first third of the evening was devoted to the financial crisis and the struggle on Capitol Hill to agree on the $700 billion rescue package being demanded by the Bush administration.

Both candidates indicated that they supported a deal on a bailout, with major modifications, but neither seemed to reflect the real urgency of the situation. Indeed, Mr McCain succeeded in getting his rival bogged down in a discussion of “pork barrel” spending – the pet projects politicians attach to spending bills – something the Republican loves railing against but which is largely irreverent to the crisis that has afflicted the US banking sector.

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