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By Ben Pershing
washingtonpost.com staff writer

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) kicked off the first general election debate of a tight presidential contest tonight, tackling the national economic crisis and then pivoting to an increasingly heated series of exchanges over policies in Iraq and Afghanistan..

The debate, moderated by Jim Lehrer of the PBS NewsHour, was designed to focus on national security and foreign policy, but the early rounds were dominated by the country's grave economic news.

Much of the debate featured McCain on offense, lobbing charges at Obama that the Democrat has been forced to rebut. McCain repeatedly sought to cast Obama as inexperienced and unsophisticated on national security issues, saying several times that the Democrat "doesn't understand" foreign policy concepts and dynamics.

"There are some advantages to experience, and I honestly don't believe Senator Obama has the knowledge or experience, and has made the wrong judgeement in a number of areas," McCain said near the end of the debate.

Lehrer began the debate by immediately plunging into the news of the day, asking the two men: "Where do you stand on the national recovery plan?"

Obama answered first, saying "we are at a defining moment in our history," amidst two wars and a difficult "financial crisis."

Obama ticked off his priorities for the bailout package, emphasizing oversight, the need for taxpayers to potentially recoup their money, ensuring that CEOs of companies that receive aid not get "golden parachutes," and making sure that homeowners get assistance.

McCain, who has been criticized for not acknowledging quickly enough the severity of the economic situation, warned: "Have no doubt about the magnitude of this crisis."

Asked whether he would vote for the bailout plan, McCain said "I hope so" and "sure."

McCain emphasized his disdain for the current Wall Street culture, in which "greed is rewarded, excess is rewarded ... People are going to be held accountable in my administration."

Obama attempted to take a longer view, lamenting that Washington didn't craft better policies before the current crisis.

McCain went on the attack on the next question, criticizing Obama for his record of requesting more than $900 million worth of earmarks for his state and vowing to veto overstuffed spending bills. "That's a fundamental difference between me and Senator Obama. I want to cut spending. I want to keep taxes low," McCain said.

Obama fired back by criticizing both the Bush administration's tax proposals and McCain's plan, suggesting that tax cuts for the wealthy dwarfed earmarks in their relative slice of the federal budget.

"Eliminating earmarks alone is not how we are going to get the middle class back on track," Obama said.

Asked what they would have to give up as president because of the financial crisis, Obama avoided a direct answer and instead provided a laundry list of programs he would initiate and emphasize. Under further questioning, he said he might have to cut back on some of the programs he favors to reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil. McCain vowed to cut spending overall, and continued his aggressive stance by taking a swipe at Obama for being most liberal Senator, a reference to his vote rating by National Journal. McCain suggested it is difficult to reach across the aisle "when you're that far to the left."

Shifting abroad, Lehrer asked the candidates what lessons they had learned from the Iraq war.

"The lessons of Iraq are clear, you can not have a failed strategy," McCain said, adding that he had called for a change of strategy early in the war and that the troop surge, which he supported, had been successful in putting the U.S. on a path to victory "with honor."

Obama responded by referencing his opposition to going to the war in the first place, contrasting it with McCain and Bush's advocacy in favor of the conflict.

"I wish for the sake of the country that I had been wrong and they were right, but that's not been the case," Obama said, charging that Iraq was a distraction from American efforts in Afghanistan and that al-Qaeda was resurgent as a result.

The exchanges grew more heated as the next question continued on the subject of Afghanistan. Obama said more troops were needed in the country "as quickly as possible" and that he would send "two to three additional brigades" there. Obama also called for additional pressure on Pakistan to force the government there to crack down on al Qaeda within its borders.

McCain said he would "work with the Pakistani government" and would not call for cutting aid to the country, suggesting Obama was irresponsible. Obama struck back by recalling that McCain had once threatened North Korea with "extinction" and sang a song joking about bombing Iran.

Still on offense, McCain criticized Obama for saying he would meet with the Iranian prime minister "without preconditions." Obama retorted by pointing out that his policy has been echoed by the Bush administration and several former secretaries of state, including Henry Kissinger, an advisor to McCain.

The crisis on Wall Street has intersected with the campaign trail in recent days. High-level negotiations on Capitol Hill over a massive financial rescue package brought both candidates rushing back to Washington this week along with a brief suspension of the McCain campaign and a call by the Arizonan to delay tonight's debate, which was months in the making.

Obama resisted that call, and the fate of the gathering at the University of Mississippi in Oxford was uncertain until late this morning, when McCain judged that there was "significant progress toward a bipartisan agreement" and hastily left Washington to travel south.

The nominal topic of tonight's debate, foreign policy, was thought to be Obama's biggest weakness relative to McCain, and the Republican pressed for advantage. In particular, McCain emphasized his steadfast support -- and the apparent success -- of the troop surge in Iraq and contrast that record with Obama's mixed record on the issue.

As he has repeatedly done throughout the race, Obama sought to steer the discussion further back, to make the case that he was right in initially opposing the war while McCain was as misguided as the Bush administration in backing it.

Polling has shown the race to be tight since McCain and Obama clinched their respective party nominations, but the debate came as Obama has opened a narrow lead driven by the focus on economic news -- a strong suit both for him and the Democratic party in general, according to surveys. The Washington Post/ABC News poll released Wednesday showed Obama leading McCain, 52 percent to 43 percent, among likely voters. Other surveys this week have showed a tighter race, and the RealClearPolitics average of recent national surveys gives the Democrat a four-point edge.

Having apparently lost the burst of momentum he gained after choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate and staging an energetic Republican National Convention, McCain has had a turbulent two weeks leading up to tonight's debate.

Democrats pounced last week when McCain said "the fundamentals of our economy remain strong," the same day the storied financial firm Lehman Brothers collapsed and the stock market was tumbling. McCain quickly revised his public outlook on the economy, but the Obama campaign was already racing to paint him as out of touch with the concerns of average Americans.

Even after acknowledging the severity of both Wall Street and Main Street's problems, McCain still saw his poll numbers dropping and the narrative of the campaign shift in Obama's favor. Those factors may have contributed to his stunning announcement Wednesday that he was suspending his campaign, taking ads off the air and returning to Washington to involve himself in bailout negotiations.

As partisans argued over McCain's motivations and analysts debated the wisdom of his move, the Republican nominee entered the negotiating process just as a potential deal was collapsing Thursday afternoon. At McCain's urging, President Bush convened an unusual summit at the White House that included congressional leaders of both parties as well as McCain and Obama. At that session, the bailout package the administration and Hill Democrats were nearing agreement on fell apart when House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said his members would not go along and McCain was reportedly quiet and non-commital.

While Thursday's events marked a setback, there were indications today that all sides might be gradually working toward a compromise package that would incorporate at least some of the ideas advocated by House Republicans. Both McCain and Obama will likely have a chance tonight to make their own views known in detail.