Republican
front-runners Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney defended their
conservative credentials in the face of pointed attacks from
campaign rivals Sunday night in the most aggressive
debate to date of the race for the White House.
Republican
front-runners Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney defended their
conservative credentials in the face of pointed attacks from
campaign rivals Sunday night in the most aggressive
debate to date of the race for the White House.
''You've just
spent the last year trying to fool people about your
record. I don't want you to start fooling them about mine,''
Arizona senator John McCain bluntly told Romney, the
former governor of Massachusetts.
Former senator
Fred Thompson made Giuliani his target, saying the former
New York mayor supported federal funding for abortion, gun
control, and havens for illegal immigrants.
'He sides with
Hillary Clinton on each of those issues,'' added Thompson,
referring to the New York Democrat who leads in the polls
for her party's presidential nomination.
The clashes in
the early moments of a 90-minute debate prompted former
Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee to say he wanted no part of
a ''demolition derby'' with others of his own party.
''What I'm interested in is fighting for the American
people.''
Whatever their
disagreements among one another, the eight rivals agreed
on one issue. They took turns criticizing Clinton, the
Democratic front-runner. Asked whether she was fit to
be commander in chief, Romney replied, ''I'd vote
no.''
Giuliani said he
agreed with one thing the former first lady said
recently. ''I have a million ideas. America cannot afford
them all,'' he quoted her as saying as laughter filled
the debate hall. ''I'm not making it up.''
McCain said
Clinton had recently tried to spend $1 million on a
Woodstock Museum, commemorating perhaps the most
famous counterculture event of the 1960s. ''Now, my
friends, I wasn't there. I'm sure it was a cultural and
pharmaceutical event,'' he said.
''I was tied up
at the time,'' he deadpanned, and the audience rose to
applaud the reference to the 5 1/2 years McCain spent as a
prisoner of war during Vietnam.
The debate was
the first since Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas dropped out
of the race, winnowing the field. The remaining rivals stood
on a stage at a resort 10 miles from Walt Disney
World, fielding questions at an event broadcast by Fox
News Channel.
The leadoff Iowa
caucuses are scheduled for January 3, for Republicans.
In their most recent debate, October 9, Giuliani and Romney
swapped charges with each other, vying for primacy in
the race.
This time they
largely ignored each other. Instead, Giuliani's lead in
the nation polls, as well as Romney's perceived strength in
early voting states, made them obvious targets for
McCain and Thompson.
The first
question went to Giuliani, asked whether he was more
conservative than Thompson. ''I can't comment on Fred,'' the
former mayor said. He then added that he had brought
down crime, cleaned up Times Square, cut taxes, and
eliminated the city's deficits. ''I think that was a
pretty darned good conservative record,'' he said.
Giuliani took a
more conservative position on same-sex marriage than he
has thus far, saying he would support a constitutional
amendment banning marriage equality if states
begin to legalize it.
Giuliani lived
with an openly gay couple after separating from his second
wife, Donna Hanover, and one member of the couple said at
the time that Giuliani promised to marry them if
same-sex marriage was ever legalized.
Attacked by the
former Tennessee senator moments later, Giuliani fired
back at his antagonist. ''Fred has problems too,'' he said.
He said Thompson was the ''single biggest obstacle''
in the Senate to legislation limiting the ability of
individuals filing lawsuits to recover unlimited
damages. ''He stood with the Democrats over and over again''
on the issue, Giuliani added.
Thompson said he
believed states should decide whether to limit lawsuits
in their own states.
Republicans in
Congress tried for years to pass legislation that would
cap damages in lawsuits, but never succeeded before losing
their majority to Democrats in 2006.
Romney was asked
about McCain's earlier claims that he had shifted
positions on a number of issues to appeal to conservative
Republicans.
The former
Massachusetts governor responded that he was proud of his
record, particularly since the state had an overwhelmingly
Democratic legislature. ''I fought to make sure we
kept our taxes down. I fought for pro-growth
strategies. I cut taxes,'' he said.
Moments later,
though, McCain personally turned on Romney. ''Governor
Romney, you've been spending the last year trying to fool
people about your record. I don't want you to start
fooling them about mine,'' he said.
Saying he would
run on his record as a conservative, McCain added, ''I
don't think you can fool the American people. I think the
first thing you'd need is their respect.'' (AP)
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