McCain, Obama cross swords

NEW YORK – Republican John McCain turned in his best debate performance, but front-runner Democrat Barack Obama batted away his opponent’s feisty attacks, as the presidential candidates sprint to the election day finish line.

Wednesday’s debate came as troubling news about US finances pile up and voters express growing anxiety. Surveys show Obama, as a Democrat, favoured as the best candidate to handle the crisis, one that many blame on the unpopular presidency of George W Bush, McCain’s fellow Republican.Democrats are traditionally favoured when the economy is bad.McCain now looks to hold onto traditionally Republican states as Obama makes progress there and pours money into TV ads.McCain planned to visit swing states but was being forced to defend traditionally Republican territory such as Virginia, Colorado and Florida, where polls show Obama leading.Obama was heading in the next few days to Virginia and Missouri.Realising the debate might be a last chance to reverse his slide, McCain went on the attack immediately, declaring Obama’s tax plans amounted to class warfare and deriding his opponent’s efforts to link him to Bush.”Senator Obama, I am not President Bush.If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago,” McCain said.The 47-year-old first-term Illinois senator countered: “If I’ve occasionally mistaken your policies for George Bush’s policies, it’s because on the core economic issues that matter to the American people – on tax policy, on energy policy, on spending priorities – you have been a vigorous supporter of President Bush.”The Republican nominee savaged Obama’s ties to 1960s radical William Ayers.Obama in turn accused McCain of trying to distract voters.McCain (72) said he did not care about “an old washed-up terrorist” like Ayers, once a bomb-throwing militant in the Weather Underground group who is now a Chicago professor of education.”But as Senator (Hillary) Clinton said in her debates with you, we need to know the full extent of the relationship with you,” he said.McCain also assailed the liberal group Acorn, which is accused in several states of adding fraudulent names to pro-Obama voter registration lists.In the historic contest, McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, would become the oldest first-term American president.Obama would be the country’s first black commander in chief.Nampa-AP-Reuters-AFPSurveys show Obama, as a Democrat, favoured as the best candidate to handle the crisis, one that many blame on the unpopular presidency of George W Bush, McCain’s fellow Republican.Democrats are traditionally favoured when the economy is bad.McCain now looks to hold onto traditionally Republican states as Obama makes progress there and pours money into TV ads.McCain planned to visit swing states but was being forced to defend traditionally Republican territory such as Virginia, Colorado and Florida, where polls show Obama leading.Obama was heading in the next few days to Virginia and Missouri.Realising the debate might be a last chance to reverse his slide, McCain went on the attack immediately, declaring Obama’s tax plans amounted to class warfare and deriding his opponent’s efforts to link him to Bush.”Senator Obama, I am not President Bush.If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago,” McCain said.The 47-year-old first-term Illinois senator countered: “If I’ve occasionally mistaken your policies for George Bush’s policies, it’s because on the core economic issues that matter to the American people – on tax policy, on energy policy, on spending priorities – you have been a vigorous supporter of President Bush.”The Republican nominee savaged Obama’s ties to 1960s radical William Ayers.Obama in turn accused McCain of trying to distract voters.McCain (72) said he did not care about “an old washed-up terrorist” like Ayers, once a bomb-throwing militant in the Weather Underground group who is now a Chicago professor of education.”But as Senator (Hillary) Clinton said in her debates with you, we need to know the full extent of the relationship with you,” he said.McCain also assailed the liberal group Acorn, which is accused in several states of adding fraudulent names to pro-Obama voter registration lists.In the historic contest, McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, would become the oldest first-term American president.Obama would be the country’s first black commander in chief.Nampa-AP-Reuters-AFP