Post mortems and in-depth discussions from Washington insiders have flowed freely following Friday's first McCain-Obama debate with the majority of pundits seeming to agree that neither side came out the winner in a spirited contest. Both Obama and McCain traded blows on issues ranging from foreign affairs to the economy without landing any killer punches though importantly neither contender produced any major gaffes - a big consideration for both campaign teams.

This was a typical example of the analysis:

"It was one of the more competent debates we've seen in a long time. There were no major gaffes. It was data-driven, and both spoke clearly to their constituencies, as they should have," says Allan Louden, a debate expert at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. "I would rate it as a draw, but if it's a draw, the draw goes to the challenger and that would be Obama." [source]

So it was down to perceptions with the tough, nuggety Senator from Arizona reinforcing his reputation as an experienced, down-to-earth debater with Senator Obama looking more cool and dispassionate. For this observer, though it seemed a draw, it was McCain who took the spoils, recovering from a disastrous week where the financial melt-down on Wall Street threatened to derail his campaign. Far from seeming out of sorts on the economy, it seemed that McCain reassured his supporters with his fighting display.

With the economy seemingly headed for dark days, could it be that voters may see the experienced McCain as the preferred option for president, over the inexperienced Obama?

This BBC article gives an interesting slant on the first debate:

Expect much more on the economy in those confrontations and, if the polls show that Mr McCain's more aggressive tone has paid off in this first clash, expect all the debates which follow to be a little more bad-tempered and direct than this one. [source]

However polls taken since the debate have continued to show Obama edging ahead though with the margin very close across the battleground states. Will the perception of the Bush administration as being "asleep at the wheel" during the financial meltdown infect the McCain campaign? Or will the doughty ex Vietnam hero convince the American people of his maverick status and independence from the tainted Bush administration?

Image top: Senator John McCain. Credit: bobster1985/flickr