Bush Whacking Persists In N.H.
Texas Gov. George W. Bush took some heat in the first debate featuring all six Republican presidential hopefuls Thursday night. The GOP front-runner was hammered on Social Security, taxes, abortion and other issues.
On Friday afternoon in New Hampshire, Bush defended himself anew, this time against an editorial in a statewide newspaper.
The Manchester Union Leader, in endorsing the candidacy of Bush's rival, publisher Steve Forbes, called Bush "a nice guy but an empty suit with no philosophical underpinning."
"This is a Presidential campaign, not an episode of the Teletubbies," the paper opined.
"Well, send 'em to Texas," Bush said in response. "People in Texas know that I know how to lead, know how to set an agenda. There's never been a governor elected to back-to-back, four-year terms in my state's history."
Political columnist Thomas Oliphant told the CBS Early Show that Bush refused to be baited by his party rivals Thursday night. The same seemed to be true Friday.
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"It was a very important night for Gov. Bush," the Boston Globe columnist said. "When you don't screw up on your first big night, and you're the front-runner, then the landscape stays the same."
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| Steve Forbes brandishes the tepid endorsement of the Manchester Union Leader. But Bush scored points on Forbes during the fray. |
Of course, Oliphant was quick to point out that this kind f debate is heavily scripted, reducing the chances for major gaffes.
The debate's most contentious moment came over social security.
"Gov. Bush the other day on Meet the Press said he would consider raising the retirement age," charged Steve Forbes. "It's already been raised from 65 to 67. That's a betrayal."
But Bush had a sharp reply in store: "I want to read something real quick. 'Alas, the unaffordable promises have to be scaled back. And the best way to do that is to gradually raise the age at which one may collect his full benefits. Those now in their 20s would not be eligible until they're 67 or 68.'"
"The author of that?," Bush asked, "Mr. Steve Forbes."
Forbes countered that he had written those words twenty years ago, but the charge appeared to rattle the wealthy maverick conservative.
Bush took heat from others, as well. Christian conservative Gary Bauer challenged him on abortion and Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch raised the campaign finance issue.
Strikingly, Bush and his closest challenger, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, treated one another gently -- even favorably.
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| George Bush and John McCain played nice. Here, they embrace before the debate. |
"A comment like that really makes me mad."
Breaking into a grin, McCain then allowed that he feels passionately about issues, and conceded that sometimes "I get angry."
New Hampshire will cast the first ballots of the presidential primary campaign on Feb. 1. Two other debates are set for the next several days, one in Iowa and the other in Arizona.
Bush skipped earlier debates among the contenders, and had hoped to avoid sharing a stage with his rivals until next year. His campaign reversed course, though, after McCain began chewing into his lead in the polls in New Hampshire. Currently, the pair are in a statistical dead-heat in the small but important state.
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