Romney on the Ropes at Republican Debate
WSJ.com
In Global
Susan Davis reports from Manchester, N.H. on the presidential debate.
Mitt Romney couldn?t catch a break tonight. Repeatedly the former Massachusetts governor was accused of being a flip-flopper from a number of his opponents, and even the moderator. ?I?m trying to explain my policies,? Romney said when discussing the war in Iraq. ?Which one?? shot former Gov. Mike Huckabee, prompting loud laughter and guffawing from the 700 reporters in the press filing center.
Huckabee soundly defeated Romney in the Iowa Caucuses, and Romney is in a tight race with Sen. John McCain in the primary contest here on Jan. 8. Even host Charlie Gibson referenced the many attacks on Romney?s shifting record, when noting that all of the candidates have moderated their positions in their bids for the White House.
Rudy Giuliani took a shot at Romney for running negative ads against his opponents on illegal immigration. The former New York mayor noted that Ronald Reagan supported amnesty for illegals. ?I think he?d be in one of Mitt?s negative commercials,? Giuliani quipped.
But the most heated exchange came when Romney and McCain sparred at length over illegal immigration — an issue which Romney has accused the Arizona senator of supporting amnesty. ?You can spend your whole fortune on these attack ads and it still won?t be true,? McCain charged, again to laughter from the crowd.
McCain piled it on later when he said that Romney was similar to Sen. Barack Obama because ?You are the candidate of change? — yet another veiled flip-flopper attack. Finally, Romney had had enough. ?The continued personal barbs are interesting, but unnecessary,? Romney said.
Bush Record Praised at Republican Debate
In Global
Susan Davis reports from Manchester, N.H. on the presidential debate.
The Republican field running for the White House almost never mentions President Bush on the trail — an implicit acknowledgement of Bush?s relatively low popularity ratings these days. But tonight at the presidential debate in St. Anselm College in Manchester, many of the men on the stage sided with the Bush record on foreign policy.
?I think he got the big decision of his presidency right,? said Rudy Giuliani, referencing the administration?s decision to go ?on defense? after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, ?And I give him credit for that.?
Similarly, Mitt Romney said Bush does not get enough credit for his decisions. ?The president is not arrogant, the president is not sucked into a bunker mentality, the president acted out of keeping this country safe and we owe him a debt of gratitude over the past seven years,? the former Massachusetts governor said, adding that he believed the U.S. need to increase the military by at least 100,000 and move towards using more non-military resources.
Fred Thompson also defended the doctrine of pre-emptive war and said the concept was in place before the Bush administration. ?Preemption didn?t just appear one day as good idea,? Thompson said. Sen. John McCain has been Bush?s biggest defender on the stage for his so-called surge strategy and he did not back down tonight.
Rep. Ron Paul was the skunk at the garden party for trashing Bush?s record and providing one of the livelier moments of the night. ?The Bush doctrine that created war is not a minor change. This is huge,? Paul charged, ?All options are on the table to go after Iran? This is not necessary.? Paul is the only Republican calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops in Iraq, which makes him an easy target for the other Republicans on the stage. ?Unfortunately, Ron you need a thorough understanding of what radical jihad is,? Romney responded to Paul, accusing him of reading the propaganda of terrorists. Added Giuliani, ?Ron?s analysis is really seriously flawed.?
Bush also made a video cameo tonight courtesy of host Charlie Gibson who showed a clip from a recent White House press briefing on what Bush would like to ask the candidates. ?What are the principles you will stand on in good times and bad times? What will be the underpinning of your decisions?? Bush asked in the clip. No one offered any telling or unexpected answer, with nearly all offering the U.S. Constitution as the basis of their principles. |
