Obama faces road test for November election fight

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent - Analysis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was U.S. Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama's close-up look at the sort of slash-and-burn politics he has vowed to rise above -- and he did not appear to like the view.

The Illinois senator grimaced in clear discomfort at times in Wednesday night's debate as the spotlight shone on such issues as Obama's fiery pastor, his relationship with a 1960s radical, his remarks about small-town voters and his failure to wear a lapel flag pin.

The debate with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton gave Obama a chance to road test the responses he will need if he captures their party's nomination and faces Republican John McCain in what promises to be a tough November presidential election.

"This was a test for Obama, and I don't think he did particularly well. He is going to have to improve. He was clearly uncomfortable and looked a little pained by it all," said Cal Jillson, a political analyst at Southern Methodist University in Texas.

"He needs to develop some smooth, confident answers to these issues because he's going to hear plenty more of it," he said.

Obama was grilled by ABC News moderators about the inflammatory tirades of his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and about his characterization of small-town residents as clinging to religion and guns in bitterness over their economic struggles.

He also was asked about his failure to wear a flag pin in his lapel, a token of patriotism for some other politicians, and his relationship with William Ayers, a member of the violent leftist Weather Underground group in the 1960s and now a Chicago neighbour.

He replied that the heavy focus on campaign gaffes and hot-button issues was a distraction from bigger and more important decisions Americans face in the campaign.