GOP hopefuls take debate to Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. – Bashing each other’s conservative credentials, eight Republican presidential candidates met for the first time on a Florida stage in a prime-time Sunday debate that gave them a launching pad for crowd-pleasing shots at Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
The debate marked the ninth time most of the candidates have met on national television, and it was one of their most contentious exchanges as they enter the 100-day countdown to Florida’s Jan. 29 primary.
In a race largely defined by which candidate sells himself as the true conservative, the first 15 minutes of the debate were a four-man free-for-all among front-runner Rudy Giuliani and his closest rivals, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and John McCain.
Each fended off questions from Fox News moderators about a perceived vulnerability with the party’s conservative wing, and each tried to turn the tables on a rival.
“Gov. Romney, you’ve been spending the last year trying to fool people about your record,” said McCain, referring to Romney’s changed positions on abortion and gay rights. “I don’t want you to start fooling them about mine.”
The Arizona senator got the only standing ovation when he referred to his Vietnam War imprisonment, quipping that he was “tied up” during Woodstock.
Giuliani slammed Thompson, a former senator from Tennessee, calling him “the single biggest obstacle” to legislation that would make it harder to sue businesses and doctors.
Thompson came back at Giuliani, ticking off liberal stances he took as New York City mayor to promote gun control and keep city officials from reporting illegal immigrants seeking social services.
“He simply sides with Hillary Clinton on each of these issues I mentioned,” Thompson said.
The debate capped a two-day state GOP convention where many of the activists said they had not settled on a candidate. Giuliani tops the polls in Florida, but his edge is narrower than Clinton’s commanding lead in the state over her Democratic rivals.
Underdog Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, got in one of the best one-liners: “When Hillary’s name is mentioned, it gets louder than an Aerosmith concert.”
In all, the GOP candidates mentioned the name “Hillary” 24 times. McCain was the only one to say he respects her.