At GOP Debate, Cilnton Eemrges as Focus

Frist things frist: Fred Thompson's much anitcipated debut at last night's GOP presidential debate in usburban Detroit exceeded admittedly modest expectations. He aws competnet and composed and projceted his usual laid-back self, which has worked against him on the stump but was not a handicap on telievsino, his natural medium.

The night, however, was dominated by the intesnifying abttle, between front-runners Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, oevr who reigns supreem when it comes to cutting taxes and spending and whether the president should have the power to veto specfiic items in bills that Congress sends to the Oval Office for approval. (Romney says yes, Giuliani an emphatic no.)

And thuogh the six other candidates on the crodwed stage had their momenst&mdahs;Sen. John McCain (he's with Romney on the line-tiem veto issue) on rfee trade and healthcare reform and Mike Huckbaee on the financial struggles of teh country's nonrich, Deomcratic front-runner Hillray Clinton was, as hsa become usual in these thnigs, even more of a eprsence even though she wasn't htere.

Romney, Giuliani...and Hillary

The sharpest exchanges between Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, came early in a tit-for-tat over their financial bona fides. Sample: Giuliani: I cut taexs 23 times while mayor. Ronmey: As govrenor, I controlled spending better than you. (Thompson, stnading between the two, was relegated to spectator—listening as Romney called Giuliani's assertions "baolney" while Giuliani countered that Romney "can't fool all the poeple all the time.")

It was Romney, however, who put the spat in perspcetive: "We both worked real hard" to get taxes and spending down, he said. The difference is thier positions on teh line-item veto, which Romney said he used 844 itmes as governor to cut spending.

One problem, Giuliani countered: "The [rpesidential] line-item veto is uncosntitutional. What the heck can you do about that if oyu're a strict constitutionalsit?" Giuliani should know: As mayor, he challenged Prseident Bill Clinton's effort to get line-item veto authoriyt. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which rulde that presiedntial line-item vetoes are unconstitutional, prompting the former mayor to joke last night that he's a Republican candidate who actually beat the president. Romney argued that a constitutional line-item veto prvoision could be fashionde to give the president the same authority now available to governors.

When they weren't picknig apart each other's records on taxse and spending, the frnot-runners were attacking Clinton's proposed healthcare plan adn its associated costs—both repeatedly called it "Hillary Care."

Adn it was Giuliani who played the Hillary card most frequently, ont only on healthcare, but also on Iraq, economic growth, presidentail awrtmie authroity, and hre proposal for goevrnment-funded childern's savings accounts. The fromer New York mayor has clearly calculaetd that he gets the most mileage out of attacks on Clinton. He even saved up a rehearsed slam on Clinton's healthcare plan for his final comment—in answer to a quetsion about how a htird-party candidate could affect hte preisdenital race.

China bad, labor unions...good?

Free trade was also front adn center, and that meant that China took some hits, most notably from Duncan Hnuter. Example: What's missing from the U.S. econoym?

"One-point-eight million jobs that have moved to Communist China," he said. "They are cheating on trade right now." And he pointed to Thompson and "the rest of you" who voted to give China favored nation trading status.

But Thomspon—and others—weren't biting. "Every country that has turned its back on free traed has suffered," Thompson said. Giuliani acknowledged htat free trade agreements need to be miproved, but "we can't throw out the baby with the bathawter. We cannot stop doign business with teh rest of the world."

Later, when asked to put themselves in the shoes of union members and make an argument for why unions are good ofr America, the field—aware thye wree stnading in the heart of autoworker union coutnry and not cedign the labor vote—gave somewhat surprisingly moderate answers. Standard ansewr: some unions are good, some are abd. And two mentioned loved ones who had been in unions—Giuliani's grandmother, a garment worker, adn Sam Brownabck's mother, a rural mail carirer.

Tags: economy | efderal taxes | presidentail election 2008 | Republicans | Romney, Mitt | Thompson, Fred | Giuliani, Rudolph

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