Washington: Barack Obama and John McCain today slated one anothers showing in their feisty first presidential debate, which was laced with rows over foreign policy and haunted by the Wall Street crisis.

Obama went right after Republican nominee McCain at a rally in North Carolina, saying his rival had exposed himself in Friday's clash as out of touch on the economic and national security perils facing America.

"Last night we had a debate. And on issue after issue -- from taxes to health care to the war in Iraq -- you heard John McCain make the case for more of the same policies that got us into this mess," Obama said.

"But just as important as what we heard from John McCain was what we didn t hear," Obama said at a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina.

"The truth is, through ninety minutes of debating, John McCain had a lot to say about me, but he had nothing to say about you. He didn t even say the words middle class -- not once."

The Arizona senator s spokesman Tucker Bounds responded that Obama had a "selective memory."

"If he was honest, Barack Obama knows he was unable to debate the merits of supporting higher taxes on the middle class, and bloated government spending during a looming economic crisis -- it simply proved indefensible last night." Bounds said.

McCain flew back directly to Washington after the debate at the University of Mississippi to throw himself back into the search for a deal in Congress on a 700 billion Wall Street bailout before the financial markets open on Monday.
Source : PTI