Economy dominates early part of town hall debate

Barack Obama and John McCain clashed over the economy Tuesday night as audience members at the town hall presidential debate made clear that the country’s ongoing financial crisis is at the forefront of their minds. 

{mosads}Presidential nominees Sens. Obama (D-Ill.) and McCain (R-Ariz.), squaring off in front of a small crowd in Nashville, Tenn., were drawn immediately and heavily into a debate on the economy — ranging from tax policy to spending to the recently signed federal bailout of Wall Street — even as the campaign in recent days has seemed to focus more on character and past associations.

McCain came out trying to paint Obama as a tax-and-spend liberal, arguing that the Illinois Democrat wants to raise taxes on small businesses, and advocating a spending freeze for the federal government.

Obama disputed McCain’s characterization of his tax plan, promising tax cuts for 95 percent of Americans as the two men rehashed their ongoing economic debate.

Questioners in the audience asked specifically how the bailout and financial crisis would affect them, leading both candidates to talk about what they see as the root causes of the crisis and how they would fix them.

Obama faulted what he says as McCain and President Bush's policies of deregulation for fostering the current economic environment, while McCain insisted that it was he, not Obama, who was sounding the warning on the fault lines within the housing market.