Politics

GOP Hopefuls Debate Politely

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

October 26, 1999 / 1:32 PM EDT / CBS

Republican presidential hopefuls discussed abortion, health care and taxes Thursday night in a generally polite campaign debate spiced by jabs directed by Steve Forbes and Gary Bauer at the absent front-runner, George W. Bush.

"Perhaps in the future at a forum like this if we call it a fund-raiser he might show up," Forbes said of the Texas governor, whom he accused of skipping campaign events to raise funds for his candidacy.

Forbes was on the receiving end on another issue, when conservative activist Bauer said his flat tax proposal would let some corporations escape taxes "while you are paying 25 percent between the income tax and the payroll tax," he said.

"Gary you're wrong," Forbes rebutted, and noted proudly that while he was alone among GOP hopefuls in supporting a flat tax four years ago, others have now joined the cause.

But for the most part, the five men on stage stuck to the issues, refraining from attacking one another.

Stressing his opposition to abortion, Sen. John McCain said the Republican Party must nevertheless reach out to voters who differ and "have respectful disagreements." Not a single one of his four rivals on the Dartmouth College stage offered any immediate challenge.

Forbes, a wealthy magazine publisher, Sen. Orrin Hatch, Bauer and radio commentator Alan Keyes all said the nation's health care system needs reforming. Each offered slightly different prescriptions, and none made any immediate attempt to draw distinctions with his rivals.

Together, the five men shared the stage for a debate sponsored by CNN and WMUR-TV. It was the second such event in two nights; Vice President Al Gore and Democratic rival Bill Bradley patrolled the same stage on Wednesday night.

The GOP event was interrupted briefly when an unidentified woman rose to demand a cut in military spending to benefit health care and education. Moderators swiftly regained control of the proceedings.
There were moments of self-deprecating humor: McCain, asked a question about legalizing marijuana, said: "Thank you, that is an excellent question, which I would prefer to duck." He didn't, explaining his opposition to legalization of the drug.

Onstage before the television cameras began rolling, the candidates fielded questions from the audience on gay rights and China. Bauer, a conservative activist, used the pre-debate to get the first jab at Bush, calling him "the absent governor from Texas."

He returned to the subject midway through the debate when he referred again to the governor's decision to stay away.

McCain, who emphasized his signature issue of campaign finance during the evening, has emerged as Bush's closest rival in the polls, particularly in the wake of Elizabeth Dole's recent withdrawal from the race. Curiously, though, Forbes and Bauer ignored him in favor of jabbing at the absent Bush.

Bush, the GOP front-runner by far, decided in advance not to attend. But he made hi presence felt, granting an interview to the Manchester television station two hours before the camera was switched on for the debate.

Appearing with his wife, Laura, Bush said he knows the forum is important, but that his family comes first and it is more important to him to be at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where she was being honored.

Gore and Bradley agreed as much as they disagreed during their first face-to-face forum Wednesday night.

Presidential historian and American University professor Alan Lichtman said Gore and Bradley could not have seemed more different in their styles during their first campaign encounter, but in substance, there was scarcely a difference between them.

"The big difference is between these two guys and all of the Republicans," Lichtman said.

The first ballots of the 2000 presidential primary will be cast in New Hampshire on February 1. The polls show Bradley in the lead, having overcome Gore's enormous early advantage.

Lichtman said there was no winner in the debate, which he described as a "chess match in which each candidate was positioning himself for a very long campaign."