Analysis: Debate draws familiar battlelines

— -- Democrat Barack Obama acted as though there was a third man on stage during last night's opening presidential debate: President Bush, whose name he repeated again and again as an ally and ideological predecessor of Republican John McCain.

McCain, in contrast, sometimes spoke as though he was standing on stage alone, dismissing his rival as naive, even dangerously so, on issues ranging from the Iraq war to negotiations with Iran and relations with Russia.

"There are some advantages to experience and knowledge and judgment, and I honestly don't believe that Sen. Obama has the knowledge and judgment" to be president, the Arizona senator said toward the end of their 90-minute encounter at the University of Mississippi. "I don't think I need any on-the-job training."

Obama in turn accused McCain and the Bush administration as being so focused on the Iraq war that "we took our eye off the ball" in Afghanistan and have seen U.S. standing around the world deteriorate. "The next president has got to have a broader strategic vision about all the challenges we face," he said. "That's been missing over the last eight years. That's what I want to restore."

The debate that nearly wasn't — McCain announced only at mid-morning Friday that he would show up — didn't have the sort of knock-out blow or major gaffe likely to reshape the race. Dressed in dark blue suits and red patterned ties, the two candidates reviewed familiar policy differences. Both seemed confident and well informed.

Still, they presented starkly different versions of the choice Americans face in the election.

McCain repeatedly mentioned the foreign lands he had visited and leaders he had met, portraying himself as an experienced hand with a track record. In the opening half hour, which focused on the financial crisis, he emphasized his credentials on fighting spending and holding down taxes.

McCain said he would consider a freeze on federal spending on everything except veterans programs, national defense and entitlements.