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Oxford, Miss. 鈥� Against the backdrop of what could be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama presented starkly different visions of how they would lead the nation during Friday night鈥檚 high-stakes debate.

In what was perhaps one of the most substantive encounters in recent history, the two candidates clashed on everything from tax policy to the war in Iraq to how they鈥檇 handle the growing threat from Iran.

Senator McCain repeatedly tried to paint Senator Obama as naive and untested, while Obama regularly sought to tie McCain to what he called the 鈥渇ailed policies鈥� of the Bush administration.

Both countered the attacks with a sense of command and control. Obama called for a new approach to foreign and economic policies, calling the current economic crisis 鈥渢he final verdict on eight years of failed economic policies promoted by George Bush and supported by John McCain.鈥�

As he touted his credentials as a pork-barrel-cutting maverick, McCain regularly quipped 鈥測ou don鈥檛 understand鈥� to Obama. 鈥淚t鈥檚 well known I have not been elected Miss Congeniality in the United States Senate nor with the administration,鈥� he noted twice.

鈥淚t was one of the more competent debates we鈥檝e 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,鈥� says Allan Louden, a debate expert at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. 鈥淚 would rate it as a draw, but if it鈥檚 a draw, the draw goes to the challenger and that would be Obama.鈥�

Several instant polls during the debate gave the overall advantage to Obama on handling the economy and Iraq. By a margin of 51 percent to 38 percent, viewers said Obama did the 鈥渂est job鈥� overall, a CNN poll found. A CBS poll of undecided voters found 40 percent said Obama won, and 22 percent gave the nod to McCain. But such immediate reactions are often short-lived, coming before each campaign begins 鈥渟pinning鈥� its view of the encounter to the public through the media.

Immediately after the debate, both campaigns sent a battery of high-profile supporters to what鈥檚 called 鈥淪pin Alley鈥� in the Media Filing Center in Oxford to declare their candidate the clear winner.

鈥淛ohn McCain won this debate by a wide margin. The entire debate was fought on McCain鈥檚 ground,鈥� says Charles Black, a top McCain campaign adviser. 鈥淭he economic segments were largely on federal spending and he was talking about his record of cutting spending. Then you moved into the foreign policy segments, and on every single one of them 鈥� Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia 鈥� McCain was able to show experience, knowledge, judgment, and Obama was on the defensive the whole time.鈥�

Obama鈥檚 defenders were just as adamant that the Illinois senator won the debate.

鈥淥bama made the case for change on domestic issues and foreign policy,鈥� says David Plouffe, Obama鈥檚 campaign manager. 鈥淲hat John McCain did was basically defend the policies of the last eight years. Again, this was supposed to be John McCain鈥檚 debate, his home court advantage 鈥� but Barack Obama commanded the foreign policy segments of this debate.鈥�

There were several heated exchanges. The first concerned federal spending and tax policy. McCain said 鈥渨e have to 鈥済et spending under control in Washington,鈥� pointing repeatedly to the $18 billion in so-called earmarks 鈥� money for special projects slipped into bills by individual members of Congress.

鈥淗e has asked for $932 million of earmark pork-barrel spending,鈥� McCain said of Obama. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 nearly a million dollars for every day he鈥檚 been in the United States Senate.鈥�

Obama agreed that the 鈥渆armark process has been abused鈥� and needs reform. He noted he鈥檚 suspended any more requests for his state.

Then he turned the tables on McCain, attacking the Arizona senator鈥檚 tax plan for wasting far more than $18 billion a year by 鈥済iving $300 billion in tax cuts to some of the wealthiest corporations and individuals in the country.鈥�

鈥淲hat I鈥檝e called for is a tax cut for 95 percent of working families, 95 percent,鈥� Obama said.

McCain countered that he wanted tax cuts, as well. 鈥淚 want every family to have a $5,000 refundable tax credit so they can purchase their own healthcare,鈥� he said.

Obama shot back: 鈥淣ow what he doesn鈥檛 tell you is that he intends to, for the first time in history, tax health benefits鈥�.鈥�

On foreign policy, two of the more heated exchanges dealt with Russia and Iran.

McCain attacked Obama for saying he鈥檇 be willing to sit down with some leaders like Iran鈥檚 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "without preconditions." Such an action would 鈥渓egitimize him,鈥� McCain said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not just dangerous, that鈥檚 naive.鈥�

鈥淟et me get this straight, we sit down with Ahmadinejad and he says, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to wipe Israel off the face of the earth鈥� and we say, 鈥楴o you鈥檙e not?鈥� 鈥� McCain said.

Obama said that was absurd 鈥� that he would of course respond to Ahmadinejad鈥檚 鈥渘onsense.鈥� But he reserved the right 鈥渁s president鈥� to talk to whomever, if he thought it was in the national interest of the United States.

鈥淭he idea is that we do not expect to solve every problem before we sit down to talks,鈥� he said, noting that even the Bush administration has now come around to seeing the need for talks with Iran.

McCain also accused Obama of 鈥渁 little bit of naivet茅鈥� in his initial reaction to Russia鈥檚 incursion into Georgia this summer, because Obama called for 鈥渞estraint鈥� on all sides.

Obama called that a mischaracterization and said he鈥檇 been ahead of the curve, warning the Bush administration 鈥渂ack in April鈥� about the presence of Russian peacekeeping troops in Georgia, which 鈥渕ade no sense whatsoever.鈥�

鈥淲e have to have foresight and anticipate some of these problems,鈥� Obama said.

During the debate, McCain rarely looked at Obama and never once called him Barack. Obama, by contrast, smiled wryly at some of McCain鈥檚 attacks and repeatedly called McCain John. It had the feel of a father-son encounter, some analysts said, with the older man touting his judgment and experience and the younger one calling for change and a different set of priorities to be used in making judgments.

鈥淢cCain was primarily past-looking 鈥� looking back to the record and his experience. The premise was the past predicts the future,鈥� says Kathryn Olson, a debate expert at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 鈥淥bama was more future-looking, focusing on plans: His message was we need fundamental change because the past doesn鈥檛 necessarily predict the future.鈥�