US:BARACK OBAMA and John McCain have clashed on energy policy and anti-terrorism legislation as a new poll points to a close presidential contest next November.
Mr McCain last night criticised his Democratic rival's plan to levy a windfall profits tax on oil companies: "If that plan sounds familiar, it's because that was President Carter's big idea, too . . . I'm all for recycling, but it's better applied to paper and plastic than to the failed policies of the 1970s," he said.
The Republican, who has sought to present himself as representing a new departure from the policies of President George Bush, appeared last month to embrace the windfall tax proposal.
"I don't like obscene profits being made anywhere. I'd be glad to look not just at the windfall profits tax, that's not what bothers me, but we should look at any incentives that we are giving to people - or industries or corporations - that are distorting the markets," he said.
Earlier, Mr McCain's campaign condemned as irresponsible Mr Obama's suggestion that detainees held at Guantánamo Bay should be tried in civilian courts. In an interview with ABC News yesterday morning, Mr Obama welcomed the supreme court's ruling that those held in Guantánamo had a constitutional right to challenge their detention.
"What we know is that, in previous terrorist attacks - for example, the first attack against the World Trade Center - we were able to arrest those responsible, put them on trial. They are currently in US prisons, incapacitated," Mr Obama said.
"And the fact that the administration has not tried to do that has created a situation where not only have we never actually put many of these folks on trial, but we have destroyed our credibility when it comes to rule of law all around the world, and given a huge boost to terrorist recruitment in countries that say, 'Look, this is how the United States treats Muslims'."
Randy Scheunemann, a foreign policy adviser to Mr McCain, said that Mr Obama was ignoring the fact that Guantánamo inmates included "very dangerous people" such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.
"These aren't just your run of the mill drug dealers that are picked up on the south side of Chicago," he said.
The latest clashes came as a Washington Post/ABC News poll gave Mr Obama a six-point lead over Mr McCain but suggested that the candidates are in a dead heat among independent voters and those who say they are most likely to vote in November.
Mr Obama's lead is about the same as it was a month ago, suggesting that he received little or no "bounce" from his clinching of the Democratic nomination and Hillary Clinton's withdrawal from the race.
Mr McCain leads by 14 points among white Catholics, a crucial group of swing voters and the Republican has made gains among women voters since Mrs Clinton's exit. Among Democrats who supported Mrs Clinton for president, almost one in four prefer Mr McCain over Mr Obama, and 13 per cent pick someone else or say they would not vote.
Some of Mrs Clinton's supporters have been offended by Mr Obama's appointment of Patti Solis Doyle, Mrs Clinton's former campaign manager, as chief of staff to his eventual vice-presidential nominee. Ms Solis Doyle, who was sacked from the Clinton campaign earlier this year, is blamed by many of the former first lady's supporters for the campaign's poor performance.
Former vice president and Nobel peace laureate Al Gore has endorsed Mr Obama, declaring at a rally in Detroit that the outcome of November's election will affect the future of the planet.
"Take it from me: elections matter," Mr Gore said. "If you think the next appointments to our supreme court are important, you know elections matter. If you live in the city of New Orleans, you know elections matter. If you or a member of your family are serving in the active military, the National Guard or Reserves, you know elections matter . . . If you bought tainted pet food made in China, you know elections matter.
"After the past eight years, even our dogs and cats have learned elections matter. And this election matters more than ever, because America needs change more than ever."