HOT SPRINGS -- U.S. Sen. George Allen and Democratic challenger James Webb sparred over the war in Iraq, economic policies and stem cell research Saturday during their first face-to-face debate of the 2006 campaign.

The two major-party candidates were so cordial during their low-key, 90-minute exchange at The Homestead resort that they even expressed a shared desire to have a beer together. But sharp differences emerged as they outlined their agendas and previewed their attacks on issues ranging from national security to the minimum wage.

The Virginia Bar Association sponsored the debate as part of its annual summer meeting, and a crowd of more than 300 people turned out to watch the first encounter of a campaign that is attracting national attention. The candidates answered questions from a media panel, a moderator and from each other.

Allen, the Republican incumbent and former governor, repeatedly emphasized his experience in public office and his familiarity with Virginia issues. He tried to underscore that point midway through the debate when he quizzed Webb about plans to expand the Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area in Portsmouth and possibly develop a marine cargo terminal there. Webb acknowledged that he didn't know anything about the project, prompting Allen to claim after the debate that Webb "is not conversant on the important issues."

Webb later dismissed the flap as "a gotcha question" and rejected suggestions that it exposed a weakness in his candidacy.

Allen said he is eager to defend his record on the campaign trail, declaring in his closing remarks that "the best way you can determine what someone is going to do is your past performance."

Webb, a first-time candidate who served as secretary of the Navy under President Reagan, took aim at the Bush administration's handling of foreign and domestic affairs and cast Allen as a virtual rubber stamp for the president.

"When two people agree with each other 97 percent of the time, one of them doesn't need a job," Webb said.

Webb was an early opponent of the U.S. military invasion of Iraq and has cited national security policy as a key factor in his decision to run for Allen's seat. Webb said Saturday that "the situation in the Middle East would be a lot different if we had not invaded Iraq."

"The United States does not belong as an occupying force in that region," said Webb, adding that the administration has not defined the conditions that would prompt an end to U.S military involvement in Iraq.

But Webb cautioned that the withdrawal of U.S troops "must be done carefully." He has opposed setting a firm timetable for a withdrawal even though his own son, a U.S. Marine, soon will be deployed there.

Allen defended the U.S. war effort and said: "I don't think we can just tuck tail and run and surrender."

"The reality is that progress is being made there, but it is tough -- it is a tough road," Allen said, noting that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein "would still be in his palaces" without U.S. efforts to remove him from power.

Asked to cite issues on which he disagreed with Bush, Allen gently criticized the administration's policy for dealing with illegal immigration. Allen said he supports tough border enforcement and opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants now living in the country.

When the debate shifted to domestic issues, Webb suggested that Allen's presumed presidential ambitions have caused him to lurch to the right on issues such as embryonic stem cell research.

"You can't help but wonder if he is being pulled more and more to the extremist base of the Republican Party which is the [presidential] nominating base," Webb said.

Allen countered the jab by noting Webb's history of shifting allegiances between the Republican and Democratic parties. He said Webb could comfortably wear the acronym "R2-D2."

Webb criticized Allen's vote Tuesday against a bill that would have eased restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, which many scientists consider essential to combating diseases. Allen was one of 37 senators who opposed the bill, which Bush vetoed a day after its passage. The state's senior U.S. senator, Republican John Warner, supported the bill.

"If I were sitting in a wheelchair somewhere with Parkinson's disease hoping for a solution, I know I would support this," Webb said.

Allen said that advancements in other forms of stem cell research show promise and reduce the need to fund research that would destroy human embryos.

"About every other month you see a breakthrough in stem cell research," Allen said. "It's not appropriate for the federal taxpayers to pay for the sort of stem cell research that would destroy a human embryo."

Webb chided Allen for opposing bills to increase the minimum wage of $5.15 an hour while accepting increases in his own Senate salary. Allen later said he would support a minimum wage increase if it is coupled with tax breaks for small businesses to help them absorb the impact of the raises for their employees.

Webb called for the passage of a modern-day GI Bill that would provide veterans of the war on terrorism with the same full tuition benefits that World War II veterans received. Webb called the proposal "the most important thing we can do" for veterans and said to Allen: "I would hope you would put the bill in next week."

Allen, who often complains about the pace of the Senate, replied: "If the Senate didn't move at the pace of a wounded sea slug, I would."

Webb supported Allen over Democrat Charles Robb in 2000. In response to a question about that endorsement, Webb said he still likes Allen personally.

"He's somebody I wouldn't mind going out and having a beer with," Webb said.

But, he added, "This country has changed a lot since 2000 ... and the issues I care about have come to overwhelm us."

Allen later quipped: "I wish Jim was still endorsing me. I'd buy him a beer."