Back to Gideon RachmanAnyone who was hoping for some reassurance at this time of financial crisis, will not have got much from tonight’s presidential election debate. I thought the McCain-Obama exchanges on the Wall Street meltdown and the bail-out plan were feeble in the extreme.
At least Obama had four succinct points to make at the beginning, before getting sidetracked into debates about “earmarks” and other irrelevances. McCain gave the impression that he thought that the source of the problem is excessive spending in Congress. Or maybe he just knew that voters would respond to slogans about “pork-barrel spending” - and would get bored or irritated by complex talk of bail-outs. Still, the level of the discussion of the financial crisis was frankly depressing.
I also thought that McCain became noticeably more confident and coherent, once the discussion switched to foreign policy. While he was rambling on about the economy, I really thought his age was showing. But when the conversation switched to stuff he actually cares and knows about, he was quite sharp and effective.
As for Obama, I thought he was relaxed, coherent and showed flashes of humour. There were also flashes of silly populism - like the repeat of his pledge to eliminate US dependence on foreign oil within 10 years. But overall, I thought he did well.
However, let’s face it, I’m a foreigner sitting in an internet cafe at a conference in China. Who knows what Joe and Josephine Sixpack will make of it all.
This blog covers a variety of topics from US foreign policy to European politics and the Middle East - and whatever else happens to be in the news or catch my attention. I joined the FT as chief foreign affairs commentator in 2006, after a 15-year career at The Economist which included stints as a correspondent in Brussels, Bangkok and Washington. I write a weekly column on foreign affairs, which appears in the paper on Tuesdays. Occasionally my FT colleagues contribute posts to this blog.
Geoff Dyer is the FT's China bureau chief. He has been a correspondent in Shanghai and in Brazil and has also covered the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries from London.
Roula Khalaf is the FT's Middle East editor. She has worked for the FT since 1995, first as North Africa correspondent, then Middle East correspondent and most recently as Middle East editor. Before joining the FT, she was a staff writer for Forbes magazine in New York. 
James Blitz is the FT's defence and diplomatic editor. He has been the FT's political editor, based in London, and Rome bureau chief. James is a former Moscow bureau chief for the Sunday Times.
Alan Beattie is the FT's world trade editor. He has previously been economics leader writer and spent two years in Washington DC as chief US economics correspondent. Before joining the FT, Alan was an economist at the Bank of England. 
Victor Mallet is the FT's Madrid bureau chief. He is a former Asia editor of the FT, and, in more than 20 years at the organisation, has also worked in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. In 1990 he escaped from Kuwait after being one of the few foreign correspondents there when Iraq invaded. 
Stefan Wagstyl is the FT's eastern Europe editor, co-ordinating coverage of the region. He has also been the FT's bureau chief in Tokyo and New Delhi.
