The first televised debate between John McCain and Barack Obama probably came out evenly enough to enable both sides to claim victory -- which is, of course, exactly what they did.

Certainly, neither man was obviously and overwhelmingly the winner. Both were in command of their material and ably defended their views.

Several people to whom I spoke after the debate mentioned that McCain had not looked directly at Obama, whereas Obama did speak directly to McCain. Personally, I hadn't noticed this, but I am sure the observation is correct. Whether it matters is another question. McCain was no doubt mindful of the huge audience of millions of television viewers who were listening and was anxious to engage them directly. But, of course, the direct object of his remarks was Obama.

One of Obama's early comments on the subject of the economy sounded critical of "the market" and implicitly favorable to "regulation," which is the usual liberal mantra on that subject. McCain followed with a sharp attack on excessive government "spending," which is the conventional conservative complaint on that issue. Thus far, both debaters were hewing faithfully to positions with which their supporters are familiar and feel comfortable.

McCain, following up his attack on the evils of spending, then called for a "spending freeze," and Obama neatly changed the subject by suggesting that we "save on Iraq" -- i.e., cut expenditures by eliminating the heavy cost of the Iraq war. That brought up the whole issue of Iraq, to which the debate now inevitably shifted.

McCain declared confidently that we will win in Iraq. Obama replied that he had opposed the attack on Iraq from the start, and he believes we should cut back our efforts there and concentrate on finishing our military operation in Afghanistan.

McCain countered that Obama had opposed President Bush's decision to launch a "surge" in Iraq, contending that it wouldn't work, when in fact it has worked remarkably well. Continued...