GOP Debate Aims Mostly at Democrats: Days After the Other Party's Rough-and-Tumble, Republicans Were

Jan 25, 03:52 AM

Jan. 25--TAMPA, Fla. -- Unlike their Democratic counterparts earlier in the week, the five Republican presidential candidates chose not to go sniping at one another in their debate last night in Florida.

Instead, they went after the other party, saying that despite the nation's mixed economic performance under President Bush, Americans would be wrong to hand the reins of the economy over to the Democrats.

And for the most part, the candidates, who have few major policy disagreements, endorsed the economic stimulus package announced in Washington yesterday.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said of the package that he just wished "it went further." Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said it was "OK" but "doesn't go far enough." Arizona Sen. John McCain said, "I'll vote for it."

Somewhat less enthusiastic was former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. "We'll probably end up borrowing that $150 billion from the Chinese," he said, referring to the cost of the package. He suggested that spending the money on infrastructure improvements might be a better idea.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul said the nation needed to stop "spending itself into oblivion."

The debate, the Republicans' last before Tuesday's Florida primary, was broadcast by MSNBC from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

On Monday night in South Carolina, the Democrats, when not bickering over their records, talked about McCain as if he were already his party's nominee. Last night, the Republicans did the same with New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Giuliani took a shot at Clinton, saying that while she opposes the war in Iraq now, she supported it when the American people did. Romney took her on several times, saying at one point: "The idea of Bill Clinton back in the White House with nothing to do is something I can't imagine."

The candidates did mildly disagree over the idea of a national catastrophic fund that would insure homeowners in Florida and other places that are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, such as hurricanes.

Giuliani, who has made support for such a fund a central part of his campaign in this state, asked Romney whether he, too, would back the idea.

Romney said that he favored "some kind of national catastrophic effort" but that he did not think people in the Midwest should subsidize insurance for people along the Atlantic coast.

McCain also acknowledged the problem but said it should be addressed regionally, not through a federal bureaucracy.

While the economy has replaced Iraq as the top issue across the country, the candidates, with the exception of Paul, voiced considerable enthusiasm in their support of the war and their commitment to see it through to a positive conclusion.

They went further, saying that while they believed the war had been mismanaged after the 2003 U.S. invasion, they also believed it had been right from the start. Said McCain, "It was worth getting rid of Saddam Hussein."

Huckabee said the nation owed Bush its thanks for his decision to go into Iraq, and said he still believed that weapons of mass destruction -- the administration's stated motivation for the war -- "might have been there," even though they were not found.

Florida is the biggest state to hold a primary thus far. The Republican winner gets 57 delegates to the national convention in September, with the potential for 57 more should the national party reverse a 50 percent penalty it imposed on Florida for holding its primary earlier than party rules allow.

Recent polls in the state show McCain and Romney in a tight battle at the top, with Giuliani -- who for many months was the national front-runner -- in third place.

"We've lulled our opponent into a false sense of security," Giuliani said when asked to explain what had happened to his support. Likening himself to the New York Giants, the underdogs in the Super Bowl, he predicted that he would do well in Florida and win the nomination.

The Republicans have another debate Wednesday night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. That will be their last one before Super Tuesday, Feb. 5.

Contact senior writer Larry Eichel at 215-854-2415 or leichel@phillynews.com.

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