Obama comes out on top after latest presidential debate as McCain struggles to land knockout blow

Barack Obama won a points victory in the latest presidential debate which rival John McCain desperately needed to win to revive his faltering campaign.



Despite launching a flurry of attacks on the economy, taxes and foreign policy, Mr McCain could not land a telling blow on Mr Obama.



It was thought the casual town hall format of Tuesday's debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, would suit the 72-year-old Arizona senator's boisterous style.



Cold shoulder: Barack Obama speaks in John McCain's ear after their televised debate last night

But Mr Obama appeared equally at home and most U.S. pundits judged he came out on top with less than a month until the November 4 election.

Republican Mr McCain was criticised afterwards for patronising his 47- year-old Democrat opponent as they locked horns over energy policies.



Referring to an energy bill backed by President Bush and his Vice President Dick Cheney, he asked: 'You know who voted for it?' Pointing at Mr Obama, he sneered: 'That one! It wasn't me.'



Moderator Tom Brokaw of NBC laughs with Barack Obama and wife Michelle, as John McCain and wife Cindy prepare to leave

Washington Post columnist Tom Shales later described the remark as 'demeaning' and 'nasty'.





Mr Obama hit back at claims that he was inexperienced in foreign policy, mentioning an incident when Mr McCain sang 'Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb. Bomb Iran' to the tune of the Beach Boys hit Barbara Ann.



Rivals: John McCain and wife Cindy (left) and Barack Obama with wife Michelle. There was no love lost between the two couples at the debate

'I hate to go into that,' retorted Mr McCain, who again pointed to his military background, adding: 'I was just joking with a veteran friend.'

Both candidates reached rare agreement in saying that billionaire investor Warren Buffet, the so-called 'sage of Omaha', would be looked at by them as a possible successor to besieged US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Greeting before the war of words: The town hall set-up of the debate was said to favour Mr McCain - but Mr Obama appeared equally at home

Mr McCain said Americans were 'angry upset and a little fearful' about the financial collapse. He said he would re-negotiate bad home loans if he becomes president.

'As President of the United States I would order the Secretary of the Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages of America and renegotiate the diminished cost of those homes,' he said, although he didn't offer an explanation of how he would fund the initiative.

The winkers: John McCain employed the same winking tactic as his running mate Sarah Palin did during her own televised debate with Joe Biden last week

'We are in the worst financial crisis since the great depression,' opened Mr Obama, who blamed eight years of the Bush administration for the mess, a theme he returned to several more times.

He said 'step one' was the £400billion bail out package passed by Congress last week and "step two" was tax cuts for the middle classes.

He also highlighted claims that AIG insurance executives went on a £250,000 spa 'junket' just a week after the Wall Street giant was rescued by the government.

'Those executives should be fired,' he added.

'You are not interested in hearing politicians pointing fingers,' he added. 'You want to know how we are going to get you out of this mess.'

Frosty: The Obamas and the McCains. Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain did not shake hands during the event, during which Mr McCain was accused of patronising his rival