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It was as though Crossfire had come to Canada as two leading Democratic minds sparred Monday with Republican talking heads in a heated debate over U.S. national security.

An impressive crowd of Canadian intelligensia gathered at the ROM to hear the inaugural Munk Debate, a new biannual event launched by Peter and Melanie Munk, on the topic: "The world is a safer place with a Republican in the White House."

Arguing against the resolution was Samantha Power, a human rights scholar and Pulitzer Prize winning author, and Richard Holbrooke, a former ambassador who served in Bill Clinton's cabinet.

They faced off against Charles Krauthammer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist, and Niall Ferguson, a Harvard history professor and John McCain supporter.

"I was told that trying to defend the Republican government in Ontario was a kind of suicide mission," Mr. Ferguson joked as the debate began.

Although the event was billed as a discussion of national security, it boiled down to an argument about the credentials of two men: John McCain, the Republican party's presumptive nominee, and Barack Obama, who appears headed for victory in the Democratic primaries.

Ms. Power was an adviser to Mr. Obama's campaign until March, when she was quoted as calling Ms. Clinton a "monster." And even Mr. Holbrooke, a senior policy adviser for the Clinton campaign, acknowledged during the debate that Mr. Obama would likely achieve the nomination.

The two men arguing for the Republican position based their position largely on the improved situation in Iraq. Mr. Krauthammer suggested that a pre-emptive withdrawal would mean "catastrophic defeat taken out of the jaws of victory."

Ms. Power, who won the Pulitzer Prize for a book on genocide, argued that the Republicans had weakened the U.S. army through over-extension, and had undermined its international authority through its detention policy and use of torture and its refusal to engage in diplomacy.

"To rule out aggressive diplomatic contact is reckless," she said.

But the two conservative debaters jumped on Mr. Obama's pledged openness to discussion with rogue states.

"He turned a gaffe into a policy and a policy into a doctrine," said Mr. Krauthammer. "Does he believe that his eloquence alone will convince Iran to give up its nuclear weapons?

Not one for subtlety in his arguments, Mr. Ferguson called Mr. Obama "the heir to Jimmy Carter" and said that the "Iranians will be celebrating if he is elected."

"What astounds me is that in the wake of Iraq, you are not even a tiny bit chastened," responded Ms. Power.

The only thing the four seemed to agree on was their annoyance with moderator Lyse Doucet, a BBC World correspondent who was chastened more than once for interrupting the debaters.

"Is it possible to finish a sentence around here?" Ms. Power asked at one point.

After Ms. Doucet also interrupted Mr. Ferguson, a male audience member yelled "let him finish," prompting the Scottish-born scholar to assure the man "I can handle her myself."

Throughout the evening, the participants showed their varied strengths. Ms. Power was at her best when speaking passionately about the crisis in Africa, while Mr. Holbrooke showed his diplomatic background by playing to the Canadian crowd, dropping names of audience members and paying tribute to the country's role in Afghanistan.

Mr. Ferguson used his charming accent and fierce wit to win laughs from the audience. When Mr. Holbrooke praised the actress Mia Farrow for bringing attention to Darfur, he deadpanned: "Really. What is Mia's position on Tibet?"

In his closing argument, he also reminded the Canadian audience that "this is your only chance to vote in this election."

The event was attended by more than 600 people, including Deputy Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, former consul general Pamela Wallin, former ambassador Alan Gotlieb, William Thorsell and Ben Mulroney.

The debate did appear to alter some people's opinions. At the beginning of the evening, only 29 per cent of attendees agreed with the resolution, a number that rose to 48.5 per cent by the time the smoke had cleared.

"I hope our own electorate takes the election as seriously as Canada does," said Mr. Holbrooke.