Washington, Sept. 27 : The first of the three presidential debates between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama in Oxford, Mississippi, have purportedly exposed McCain as inconsistent and inaccurate on many fronts and issues. Here is a sample of some of them.

Washington, Sept. 27 : Republican presidential candidate and Arizona Senator John McCain is facing a divided party and an increasingly skeptical public in the run-up to the November 4 presidential poll, the New York Times has claimed.

Oxford (Mississippi, US), Sept. 27 : Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday called for putting more pressure on Pakistan to rein in terror elements in its tribal badlands, while his Republican opponent John McCain pitched for giving that country more aid.

Though the first of three presidential debates held on the University of Mississippi campus here focused primarily on the Wall Street meltdown, both Obama and McCain used the platform to call for a change in foreign policy strategy.

Oxford (Mississippi, US), Sept. 27 : Departing from a pre-arranged pact that they would engage in a debate on foreign policy, presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain on Friday engaged in a verbal duel on the ongoing Wall Street meltdown.

While McCain accused Obama of being an extreme liberal on spending, Obama countered by describing his Republican opponent as a protégé of President George W Bush in their first of three presidential debates.

Washington - Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain began their first presidential debate Friday night in a discussion that was largely expected to focus on foreign policy.

But the two candidates are expected to also hear questions about the financial crisis in the United States and President George W Bush's 700-billion-dollar rescue plan.

Moderator Jim Lehrer, a long-time news anchor for the Public Broadcasting System, said that the topic of foreign policy "by definition includes the global financial crisis."