Gut reactions...

Kieron

I wanted to write down my initial reactions before I am influenced by the hours of analysis.

I suppose I'll start with the obvious...

Who won?

Well, it's not that clear cut. Both men scored points and missed opportunities I reckon.

The Economy:

The economy was top of the agenda, and whilst it hurt McCain I don't think Obama made enough of the issues. Perhaps he is saving his main attacks for the Domestic Policy debate in a few weeks, or maybe he figures that the damage to the economy speaks for itself.

Surprisingly, there was no mention of the McCain campaign suspension or whether or not that had been a good idea.

There was talk of changes to policy as a result of the bail-out but I'm not sure either candidate convinced on the issue. McCain repeated the need to lower taxes and Obama said that the rich needed to take the biggest hit to help the other 95% of Americans - Campaign speel...check!

McCain brought up pork and Obama didn't mention Palin... possible missed opportunity two.

There was nothing new here, they disagree on who to tax and how much to spend on social policy and you'd expect them to. If it favoured anyone it's Obama because McCain can't avoid his affiliation to the regime that has been in charge of the economic sh*t storm.

Iraq and Afghanistan:

Then the debate moved on to Iraq and Afghanistan and again I don't think it was clear cut.

McCain repeatedly attacked Obama's initial rejection of the surge and was quite crafty in making it seem like Obama didn't want victory in Iraq. But, unsurprisingly, Obama made repeated reference to the fact that the US shouldn't have been in Iraq in the first place. The surge might be working but there shouldn't need to be one and it's all your fault John etc etc.

As for Afghanistan, McCain has visited a lot and Obama didn't visit quickly enough, so he claims he has a better understanding of the issues. Obama rolled out his campaign line that McCain and the Bush regime have neglected the area for too long handing back influence to the Taliban, whilst leaving Al-Qaeda intact.

Both men see it as a key battleground. A friend of mine has just flown out to Afghanistan and it was interesting to see how important an issue it would be. I think it's safe to say that the next four years will see major spending on military action in that region.

Two key things here; McCain managed to make Obama look a bit war-mongery and naive at one stage by suggesting that he shouldn't be threatening action against Pakistan.
But on a seperate point, Obama did equally well in pointing out that Bin Laden was still at large as a result of failed policy.

Overall though, I think McCain did a better job of undermining his opponent and seemed more assured.

Iran

This was a big topic and it got genuinely heated at one stage.

McCain criticised Obama for suggesting that he'd have no pre-conditions when talking to the leaders of Iran, and by extension would legitimise their position on Israel. Obama said that Henry Kissinger, a McCain advisor, had agreed with him on the issue.

McCain said Obama was talking crap and they argued a lot.

Not sure how to read this one, I thought McCain was petulant but he might equally be viewed as bullish and strong by others. On the other hand, Obama got tetchy. It was the only time he lost his cool but it might prove significant.

Terror, the safety of America, North Korea, the economy again and other anecdotes

These subjects amongst others dominated the rest of the debate and throughout, both candidates attempted to question the previous decisions of their rival.

McCain focused on Barry's lack of experience, whilst Obama focused on John's recent mistakes.

So what to make of it all?

I think many viewers will be left with more questions. If you're undecided this debate won't change that.

The debate sometimes felt more like the two men were scoring points by pointing out flaws of the other, rather than defining America's future.

I felt McCain spent too much time on trying to twist Obama's words or question his experience rather than focus on his specialist field. According to McCain, Obama doesn't understand a lot of foreign policy but he didn't really clarify what Obama was missing, or what it is he knows that makes him the best candidate.

But, whilst Obama was playing the cool card, he let McCain bait him and didn't offer enough to suggest that McCain was wrong about his lack of experience.

So we're left with the maverick who wants us to believe he has the experience and for America to forget about his recent mistakes; and a new kid on the block who claims he's got a fresh approach, but won't tell us exactly what it is.

McCain probably came across better, but considering this was his subject he didn't show Obama up nearly enough.

Also, both candidates said a lot but veru little we haven't heard before. The few flair-ups were the highlights. As Obama leads McCain has to do more in the next two debates.

Now watch the professionals disagree with everything I've written.