PORTLAND – Wall Street woes and the economy were heavy on the minds of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Bangor) and her opponent, U.S. Rep. Tom Allen (D-Portland) in the first debate of the campaign season this morning at Temple Beth El in Portland.

Both candidates consistently pushed through their own messages. Allen consistently highlighted the need to help the middle class that he said has suffered under Bush Administration policies, and attempted to link Collins to them.

Collins emphasized her ability to work across party lines, citing several pieces of legislation she sponsored with Democratic colleagues.

The first question concerned the problems on Wall Street this week.

Allen said the collapse of companies such as AIG, which did receive a government bailout, and Lehman Brothers, which did not, were the result of lack of regulation in the Bush Administration policies. He called for more oversight, regulation and transparency, while at the same time not stifling innovation.

Collins said that Congress needs to find “just the right amount” of regulation. She is calling for extensive oversight hearings to figure out where this bar lies, and get around the “ad hoc” approach of saving some companies and not others. “We need to reunite risk and responsibility,” Collins said.

The candidates also touched on trade. Allen said that the state has lost too many jobs as a result of badly developed trade agreements with no consideration of labor or environmental standards, and called for a review of all of them.

He said he is a sponsor of legislation that U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud (D-East Millinocket) developed that will set new standards for future trade agreements.

Collins called trade agreements a “double-edged sword”, and said they need to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. A positive result of the Chilean trade agreement, she said, was that potatoes from the United States were exported to Chile for Burger King french fries.

She linked job loss and mill closures in Maine back to energy costs, which she said made it too costly for them to operate.

Another major difference came out in a question about tax relief. Collins said she was proud to have supported the 2001 and 2003 tax relief programs, which she said helped taxpayers. The 2003 bills provided relief from the marriage tax, for families with children and small businesses, she said.

Allen said these packages brought tax cuts to the wealthy, and by doing so hurt the American economy.

When the discussion turned to foreign policy, Collins criticized Allen for taking his name off a resolution for the country to take the lead in building international support and diplomatic sanctions against Iran. “It sends a strong message that the world cannot tolerate a nuclear armed Iran,” she said.

Allen said that while he initially supported the resolution, he removed his name because it had a clause urging the president to impose a blockade of oil products going into Iran – something that could be viewed as an act of war.

There were several questions about the state of Israel. Allen said Israel is the country’s most important ally in the Middle East, and the government has a moral and political obligation to help the state defend itself. Also, the United States has to help the Israelis and Palestinians come to a solution.

Collins called for a two-state solution, and also said the country should help Israel defend itself against Islamic terrorism.