February 11, 2009 4:45 PM
- Text
GOP Debate Forecasts Stormy Days Ahead
(CBS)
This analysis was written by Vaughn Ververs, senior political editor for CBSNews.com.
Lightening outside of the New Hampshire hall where ten Republican presidential candidates gathered to debate last night wrought havoc on the audio system inside, but the summer squall was less severe than the potential storm clouds gathering within the party itself.
Divisions on issues ranging from immigration to abortion were on clear display. And after months of treading softly around an unpopular administration and many of its policies, wide cracks emerged between President Bush and the candidates in his own party who are seeking to replace him.
Almost to a man, the Republican field continued to stick with the president when it came to the issue of terrorism and sounded every bit as strong and determined as their party leader in pledging to fight it. But for the first time on a national stage, the candidates began to truly distance themselves from President Bush, sometimes in jarring language.
Two nights ago, the Democratic candidates were asked how they would utilize former president Bill Clinton should they win the 2008 election and they had no qualms about using him as an international ambassador or mid-east peace envoy. Last night, even Bush-appointed HHS secretary Tommy Thompson seemed to have little good to say about the current Oval Office occupant.
"I would certainly not send him to the United Nations," said Thompson, acknowledging the president's international unpopularity. Thompson then allowed that the president would be effective speaking to young people on "a lecture series." Kansas Senator Sam Brownback offered that the president would likely want to stay out of the public spotlight and Representative Tom Tancredo recalled his turbulent relationship with the White House, saying he would tell Mr. Bush to "never darken the door of the White House" again.
Those were some of the more personal comments made. Just as sharp were the policy differences, both with the administration and among the candidates on stage.
As expected, immigration proved to be the biggest flashpoint, with John McCain under attack for his co-sponsorship of the administration-backed bill currently up in the U.S. Senate. The Arizona Senator was well-prepared in his defense of an approach many equate with amnesty, arguing that it represents a national security concern as well as a moral and practical issue. Here again, though, the president was under fire as well. At one point, Congressman Duncan Hunter referred to the legislation as the "Kennedy-McCain-Bush" bill, lumping his fellow Republicans in with the party's traditional bogeyman, Ted Kennedy.
Even on the issue of Iraq, the candidates were quick to criticize the administration even as they continued standing behind it. McCain, who remains one of the war's strongest supporters, said more sacrifices have been made than necessary due to mismanagement in Iraq. "This war was very badly mismanaged for a long time," he said. And former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney said, "we were under prepared and under planned for what came after we knocked down Saddam Hussein."
When asked later to name the biggest mistake President Bush has made, the candidates shied away from direct criticism but had plenty to say about where their party as a whole has gone wrong – overspending, failure to carry through on promises made and drifting away from conservative principles. But those general complaints were also aimed at the White House, which has held an iron-fisted grip on the party and the federal government for the past six years.
Among the candidates themselves, McCain gave one of his steadiest performances to date. Expecting to be on defensive on immigration, the senator stuck mostly to his talking points. But in the second half of the debate, when audience members were allowed to ask questions, McCain rose above the policy and catchphrases to put the issue in human terms. Recalling the contributions made by Hispanic immigrants and others before, he said, "let's, from time to time, remember that these are God's children. They must come into our country legally. But they have enriched our culture and our nation, as every generation of immigrants before them."
Lightening outside of the New Hampshire hall where ten Republican presidential candidates gathered to debate last night wrought havoc on the audio system inside, but the summer squall was less severe than the potential storm clouds gathering within the party itself.
Divisions on issues ranging from immigration to abortion were on clear display. And after months of treading softly around an unpopular administration and many of its policies, wide cracks emerged between President Bush and the candidates in his own party who are seeking to replace him.
Almost to a man, the Republican field continued to stick with the president when it came to the issue of terrorism and sounded every bit as strong and determined as their party leader in pledging to fight it. But for the first time on a national stage, the candidates began to truly distance themselves from President Bush, sometimes in jarring language.
Two nights ago, the Democratic candidates were asked how they would utilize former president Bill Clinton should they win the 2008 election and they had no qualms about using him as an international ambassador or mid-east peace envoy. Last night, even Bush-appointed HHS secretary Tommy Thompson seemed to have little good to say about the current Oval Office occupant.
"I would certainly not send him to the United Nations," said Thompson, acknowledging the president's international unpopularity. Thompson then allowed that the president would be effective speaking to young people on "a lecture series." Kansas Senator Sam Brownback offered that the president would likely want to stay out of the public spotlight and Representative Tom Tancredo recalled his turbulent relationship with the White House, saying he would tell Mr. Bush to "never darken the door of the White House" again.
Those were some of the more personal comments made. Just as sharp were the policy differences, both with the administration and among the candidates on stage.
As expected, immigration proved to be the biggest flashpoint, with John McCain under attack for his co-sponsorship of the administration-backed bill currently up in the U.S. Senate. The Arizona Senator was well-prepared in his defense of an approach many equate with amnesty, arguing that it represents a national security concern as well as a moral and practical issue. Here again, though, the president was under fire as well. At one point, Congressman Duncan Hunter referred to the legislation as the "Kennedy-McCain-Bush" bill, lumping his fellow Republicans in with the party's traditional bogeyman, Ted Kennedy.
Even on the issue of Iraq, the candidates were quick to criticize the administration even as they continued standing behind it. McCain, who remains one of the war's strongest supporters, said more sacrifices have been made than necessary due to mismanagement in Iraq. "This war was very badly mismanaged for a long time," he said. And former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney said, "we were under prepared and under planned for what came after we knocked down Saddam Hussein."
When asked later to name the biggest mistake President Bush has made, the candidates shied away from direct criticism but had plenty to say about where their party as a whole has gone wrong – overspending, failure to carry through on promises made and drifting away from conservative principles. But those general complaints were also aimed at the White House, which has held an iron-fisted grip on the party and the federal government for the past six years.
Among the candidates themselves, McCain gave one of his steadiest performances to date. Expecting to be on defensive on immigration, the senator stuck mostly to his talking points. But in the second half of the debate, when audience members were allowed to ask questions, McCain rose above the policy and catchphrases to put the issue in human terms. Recalling the contributions made by Hispanic immigrants and others before, he said, "let's, from time to time, remember that these are God's children. They must come into our country legally. But they have enriched our culture and our nation, as every generation of immigrants before them."
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