Barack Obama built on his momentum as he came face-to-face with his Republican rival John McCain in the second presidential debate in the race for the White House.
The "worst financial crisis since the Great Depression" dominated the encounter, which also saw the two candidates trade blows on foreign policy, the Iraq war and health care.
A CNN poll taken immediately after the debate showed 54% thought Mr Obama won, compared with 33% for Mr McCain.
Some US political pundits said the Republican often came across as condescending, suggesting voters may not have heard of the US mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and at one point referring to Mr Obama as "that one" when talking about an energy bill.
Mr McCain also left the debate hall at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, before his Democratic rival, who stayed behind with his wife Michelle to chat with audience members.
The Arizona senator needed a game-changing performance in the debate to get his campaign back on track, and initial reactions in the US showed there were no signs of it.
With just four weeks to go until the election, Mr Obama leads in virtually all the battleground states and has more than a five point lead nationally in the latest average of polls by RealClearPolitics.com.
Mr McCain's poll numbers plummeted as his campaign stumbled in its handling of the financial crisis engulfing the nation in recent weeks.
Mr Obama said it was the "final verdict on the failed economic policies of the past eight years".
The Illinois senator said the US was "in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression" and the 700 billion dollar (£400bn) financial rescue package was "step one".
He also reminded the millions of Americans watching that his rival had recently said "the fundamentals of the economy are strong".
Eager to get started in the town hall debate format which he was known to favour, Mr McCain stood up next to his seat while Mr Obama was talking.
