SIMI VALLEY -- Sen. John McCain solidified his
front-runner status for the Republican nomination Wednesday, sparring
with an aggressive Mitt Romney in a feisty debate at the Reagan Library
and securing key bicoastal endorsements from Rudy Giuliani and Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger. In a debate dominated by attacks and counterattacks between
McCain and chief rival Romney, McCain appeared to take the upper hand. The Arizona senator launched an offensive against Romney's
economic record as governor of Massachusetts, while Romney said McCain
was out of the conservative mainstream. McCain used the last debate before next week's Super
Tuesday of primaries to reach out to the Republican Party's core
conservative base, claiming the Reagan political mantle. "I had the great honor of being inspired while I was in the
prison camps of North Vietnam by the news of a governor and his wife
who cared very much about those of us who were in captivity," he said,
referring to President Ronald Reagan, when he was governor of
California, and his wife, Nancy, who was in the audience Wednesday
night. "And when I came home, I was inspired by him, and I voted
for him, and I supported him, and I was proud to be a ... foot soldier
in the Reagan revolution." Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, said McCain twice
voted against President Bush's tax cuts and pushed campaign-finance
reforms that restricted fundraising and spending. The Republican "Those views are outside the view of mainstream
Republican thought," Romney said in the opening moments of the debate
at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The forum came 24 hours
after McCain won the Florida presidential primary despite criticism
that he is too moderate on several issues dear to party loyalists. McCain's campaign got a double-barreled boost in California
with the high-profile endorsements just days before the Golden State
and 21 others cast primary ballots. "He is an American hero, and America could use some heroes
in the White House," Giuliani said of McCain, who was with him when the
former New York mayor withdrew from the race ahead of the debate
Wednesday afternoon. "He is a man of honor and integrity, and you can
underline both." Schwarzenegger's team said the governor would announce his
endorsement today at a news conference with McCain after the pair tour
a Los Angeles-based solar energy company. The debate played out against a backdrop of the sleek blue
and white fuselage of Reagan's Air Force One, which loomed as large as
the legacy of the late president who has become the leading Republican
icon of the past. Other candidates
With Giuliani dropping
out of the race, McCain and Romney seized on the new dynamic to try to
cast the race as a two-man contest, drawing a protest from former
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has struggled since his upset victory
in Iowa. "I want to make sure everybody understands: This isn't a
two-man race," he said. "There's another guy, I would like to say, down
here on the far right of the stage." Rep. Ron Paul also struggled for attention during the 90-minute CNN debate.
In
touching on issues sensitive to conservatives, who have been critical
of his positions on immigration, the environment and campaign-finance
regulation, McCain said he would no longer vote for his original
immigration bill, which would have provided a clear path to citizenship
for illegal immigrants. "We will secure the borders first when I am president of
the United States," McCain said. "I know how to do that. I come from a
border state, where we know about building walls, and vehicle barriers,
and sensors, and all of the things necessary." When Romney sought to portray McCain as being out of step
with Republican conservative philosophy and a liberal because The New
York Times endorsed him, McCain shot back: "Let me note that I was endorsed by your two hometown
newspapers who know you best, including the very conservative Boston
Herald. And I guarantee you the Arizona Republic will be endorsing me,
my friend." Looking confident throughout the debate, McCain even showed
his sense of humor when asked whether he sides with Schwarzenegger on
tougher environmental standards or with the Bush administration. "Well, there's some physical danger," he said, smiling and
looking at Schwarzenegger, which drew laughter from the audience. "I
have to agree with the governor. "And I believe the states should decide to enormous degrees
what happens within those states, including off their coasts. The
people of California have decided they don't want oil drilling off
their coasts ... "I applaud the governor's efforts and that of other states
in this region and other states across America to try to eliminate the
greenhouse-gas emissions that are causing climate change." Negative ads
McCain criticized Romney for
his negative campaign ads against Huckabee and the extensive use of his
personal fortune to support his candidacy. About the only thing the two men could agree on was not blaming Bush for the country's economic conditions.
Skirting
that issue, Romney instead chose to focus on what he did for the
economy while governor of Massachusetts, leading debate co-host
Anderson Cooper of CNN to ask: "Are you running for governor or are you running for president?"
For
McCain, the 71-year-old former Vietnam prisoner of war, his emergence
as clear front-runner marks an extraordinary resurrection of his
political fortunes from left-for-dead last May when the Republican
campaign kicked off with the first debate at this very same location. Veteran political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, senior
scholar at the School of Policy, Planning and Development at the
University of Southern California, said Giuliani's political collapse
and McCain's quantum leap have dramatically changed the dynamics of the
Republican race. "Is this a hoot! About a month ago I thought there could be
a brokered convention and, if there were a brokered convention, it
would be on the Republican side," she said. "But now it is possible
that if there were a brokered convention, it would be on the Democratic
side."
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