JOHN McCAIN has returned to the offensive following a debate in Nashville during which neither candidate struck a fatal blow but which polls suggested left Barack Obama on top.
The McCain campaign yesterday released an advertisement declaring that Mr Obama was "not presidential" and portraying him as an extreme liberal. "Who is Barack Obama?" the advertisement begins, before labelling the Democrat as the Senate's most liberal member.
"How extreme," the narrator says, followed by clips of Mr Obama accusing his critics of lying. "Mr Obama, we all know the truth. Not presidential."
The Republican campaign also released an emotional statement from John Murtagh, whose home was firebombed by the Weather Underground, whose co-founder, William Ayers, has served on a number of charitable boards with Mr Obama.
Mr Murtagh's father was a New York State supreme court justice presiding over a Black Panther trial when three firebombs exploded at the family home in February 1970. "When I was nine years old, the Weather Underground, the terrorist group founded by Barack Obama's friend William Ayers, firebombed my house. Barack Obama has dismissed concerns about his relationship with Ayers by noting that he was only a child when Ayers was planting bombs at the Pentagon and the US Capitol. But Ayers has never apologised for his crimes, he has revelled in them, expressing regret only for the fact that he didn't do more," Mr Murtagh said in the statement.
"Barack Obama may have been a child when William Ayers was plotting attacks against US targets - but I was one of those targets. Barack Obama's friend tried to kill my family."
The two candidates sparred over the economy, taxes and foreign policy during Tuesday's spirited 90-minute debate in Nashville, which displayed clear policy differences but produced no game-changing moment for either candidate.
The debate at Belmont University, the second of three between the presidential candidates, featured questions from 80 undecided voters in a town-hall format that saw Mr Obama and Mr McCain roaming the stage in their most intimate encounter yet.
It took place at the end of a day that saw the Dow Jones plunge to its lowest level in five years and the first half-hour was dominated by questions about the economy.
Mr McCain unveiled a new policy to deal with the crisis in the housing market, proposing that the federal government should buy bad mortgages, reset them at the diminished value of the home and negotiate with borrowers a new payment plan so they could keep their homes.
"Is it expensive? Yes. But we all know, my friends, until we stabilise home values in America we're never going to start turning around and creating jobs and fixing our economy, and we've got to give some trust and confidence back to America," Mr McCain said.
During Mr McCain's answers Mr Obama sat on a stool, watching the Republican and often smiling. While the Democrat was speaking, Mr McCain would look away, scribble notes and sometimes walk around the stage.
At one moment Mr McCain's disdain for Mr Obama came to the surface when he referred to the Democratic candidate as "that one" during an exchange about their records on tax and energy.
"By the way, my friends, I know you grow a little weary of this back and forth: there was an energy Bill on the floor of the Senate, loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies, and it was sponsored by [George] Bush and [Dick] Cheney. You know who voted for it? You might never know," Mr McCain said, before pointing at Mr Obama. "That one. You know who voted against it? Me."
Mr Obama's most effective moment came after Mr McCain criticised him for suggesting US forces could pursue Osama Bin Laden inside Pakistan without the permission of Pakistan's government. The Republican said Mr Obama was ignoring Theodore Roosevelt's injunction to speak softly but carry a big stick.
"Now, Senator McCain suggests that somehow, you know, I'm green behind the ears and, you know, I'm just spouting off, and he's sombre and responsible," Mr Obama said. "Senator McCain, this is the guy who sang 'Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran', who called for the annihilation of North Korea. That, I don't think, is an example of 'speaking softly'. This is the person who, after we had - we hadn't even finished Afghanistan, where he said 'Next up, Baghdad'."
The candidates rehearsed their disagreements about the Iraq war but agreed that they would not seek UN approval for military action if Iran attacked Israel.
Mr Obama suggested that the US should intervene militarily elsewhere to prevent genocide even if no US national security interest was at stake.
Mr McCain's chief campaign adviser, Charlie Black, acknowledged after the debate that it had not been a game-changer in the campaign.
"Fundamentally, probably not," he said.
Mr Black insisted, however, that the debate had helped Mr McCain, despite instant polls by CNN and CBS showing that most voters believed Mr Obama had won the evening.
Mr Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, said the debate was "a really good discussion", but he described Mr McCain's reference to the Democrat as "that one" as a curious moment.
"I thought it was odd," he said. "Senator Obama has a name and candidates usually use their opponent's name."