Ten Republican candidates for president stood on a stage at the Ronald Reagan Library the other night, each trying to look more presidential than the next.
Standing in the shadow of Reagan’s Air Force One jet, the setting fit the tenor of the debate. The 40th president’s legacy loomed large over the candidates as they tried to embrace his optimism and conservative values. His name was invoked at least 20 times as the candidates flirted with GOP primary voters seven months before the first primaries begin.
President Bush’s name was mentioned only seven times, even though they debated the cornerstones of his presidency, including the Iraq war and a possible showdown with Iran.
The candidates roundly detested the early execution of the war, but most endorsed it in principle and vowed to fight on to victory. Only Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who voted against the war and deplores “nation building,” spoke out against it.
Most walked a tightrope, trying to distance themselves from policies that a majority of Americans considered failed yet not wanting to alienate more conservative, pro-war voters.
On abortion, a key issue for many GOP voters, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani found himself in a corner. The only candidate who’s not currently adamantly opposed to abortion, Giuliani offered mixed signals. He said he hated abortion, and said it would be “OK” if Roe vs. Wade was overturned. But he later said women should have a right to choose.
“It would be OK to repeal” Roe, Giuliani said. “Or it would be OK also if a strict constructionist judge viewed it as a precedent, and I think a judge has to make that decision.”
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, once an abortion-rights supporter, explained that a debate over cloning while governor caused him to shift to a firm pro-life stance.
“I’ve always been personally pro- life, but for me there was a great question about whether or not government should intrude in that decision,” he said. “I said, ‘Look, we have gone too far; it’s a brave new world mentality that Roe v. Wade has given us,’ and I changed my mind. And I’m proud of that and I won’t apologize to anybody for becoming pro-life.”
Colorado’s presidential entry, Congressman Tom Tancredo, barely got a word in during the 90-minute debate. He did say if Roe was overturned, it would be the “greatest day in the country’s history.”
The frenetic format of the debate often didn’t give candidates enough time to develop thoughtful answers.
It didn’t help that moderator Chris Matthews seemed to let the “major” candidates – Romney, Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain – ramble past their allotted time, while cutting off the second-tier candidates, who need TV face-time the most.
Tancredo’s quixotic bid for the presidency is based on pushing his signature topic, illegal immigration, to the forefront of the presidential debate. Not only was he forced to frame his issue as part of an answer to an unrelated question, the important topic was largely ignored in the debate.
“No more platitudes,” Tancredo said. “No more obfuscating with using words like, ‘Well, I am not for amnesty but I’m for letting them stay.’ That kind of stuff has got to be taken away from the political debate, as far as I’m concerned, so people can understand exactly who is where on this incredibly important issue.”
On stem-cell research, McCain lived up to his maverick image, saying he would unequivocally support the use of federal funding to expand stem-cell research. Giuliani said he would support it if “we’re not creating life in order to destroy it, as long as we’re not having human cloning, and we limit it to that.”
In this first debate, the big guys didn’t stumble. Much. And the little guys didn’t have much of a chance to catch that much-needed wave. But for the candidates and voters, there are still months to go, with fellows like Newt Gingrich and Fred Thompson lurking off camera.
