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The war in Afghanistan, bolstering the country's ailing economy and whether to repeal health care reform were among the top subjects Monday night during the first of the 8th District debates for Congress.

The 90-minute debate, the first of four to be held in the next week, was between Republican incumbent Jo Ann Emerson, Democrat Tommy Sowers, Libertarian Rick Vandeven and Larry Bill, an independent. The debate was largely civil, although there were a few direct challenges on the facts in front of about 200 invitation-only guests at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus.

The candidates answered a series of questions posed by media panelists Mike Smythe and Jon Rust on topics ranging from corporate bailouts and the future of Social Security to government-funded abortions and the conflict in Afghanistan. Smythe is vice president and general manager of KFVS12, and Rust is publisher of the Southeast Missourian.

Sowers used an oft-repeated refrain, asking voters to send "new blood" to Washington, D.C., while Emerson suggested her 14 years of political experience in the U.S. House of Representatives was crucial because she thinks the "next two years will be the most important in history." It would take a Republican, she said, to provide a check on President Barack Obama's administration.

Libertarian Rick Vandeven trumpeted his party's platform, saying he was pushing for "a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefits of others."

Independent Larry Bill told those in attendance and those watching the locally televised debates that he thinks he should be elected, especially because he accepted no outside donations and would not be beholden to any special-interest groups and only to the people of the 8th District.

Many believe, however, it is a two-candidate race between Emerson and Sowers. Sowers, thought to be Emerson's strongest challenger in years, looks to have an uphill climb, though, with Emerson's most recent polling data showing her with the lead.

But Sowers challenged Emerson's record, saying the economy has turned sour, there has been reckless spending and two costly wars have taken place under her watch. He also said he believes there is an anti-incumbent sentiment across the country.

"The choice is clear: We can send one of us to fight all of them," said Sowers, a veteran of the war in Iraq and a former Green Beret. "In my time in the military, I've learned that you're responsible for what you do and what you fail to do. "

Emerson did directly challenge one claim by Sowers, when he asserted that 150 factories had closed down and 16,000 jobs had been lost in the district while Emerson has been in office.

"You might need to hire another research firm," she quipped. "We haven't lost 150 factories."

He responded that all one needed to do is travel the district to see that factories had closed and jobs had been lost.

On the issues, Emerson said she believed there was really "no choice" but to vote for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, the government's plan to save struggling banks and financial institutions. She asked her opponents what they would have done "when faced with the economic collapse of America."

Sowers said he found that unacceptable and that taxpayers should have been able to avoid paying a "$780 billion bailout."

On health care, Sowers said Obama's health care reform law was "too big, too expensive and too complex" and the next Congress should fix and repeal portions. Vandeven said there is "no panacea" for the health care problem and that the law should be repealed entirely and that deregulation of the industry is needed as well as replacing the Food and Drug Administration. Bill said it was a wasted 18-month period when lawmakers should have been dealing with the economic collapse of the country.

The candidates were split on extending the Bush tax cuts, with Bill calling for extending the tax cuts at all levels and Emerson saying that they should be cut until the economy rebounds. Sowers said it was no time to raise taxes, but the country's massive debt needed to be dealt with.

On federally funded abortions, Emerson said she's "dead-set against it." Sowers said "the simple answer is no," and then shifted gears to the economy.

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