Mostly Mild, Never Wild
Except for a few tame digs at one another, the GOP candidates for president spent most of their Los Angeles debate trying to convince voters of their qualifications.
George W. Bush, John McCain, and Alan Keyes behaved like gentlemen in their final encounter before Super Tuesday, except on the impolite topics of money, politics, and religion.
In the debate's opening minutes, McCain faced questions about his love-hate relationship with Christian conservatives, whose leaders he has criticized in the past week. McCain said he didn't think he could win in November without their support.
| California Retains Primary Rules In a move with implications for Sen. John McCain, the California Supreme Court has declined to force election officials to tally only results of California's "blanket" presidential primary that lets voters cross party lines. The high court in San Francisco on Thursday rejected former Democratic lawmaker Barry Keene's petition without comment or dissent, leaving in place a double-count system for Tuesday's primary. Voters can cast ballots for any presidential candidate they choose, regardless of party affiliation. But the Democratic and Republican parties will only count votes cast by members of their respective parties when doling out presidential convention delegates. (AP) |
The senator said his problems were not with the movement's rank-and-file members, but with some of its leaders.
"I believe they have led someto a message of intolerance I want the party of Abe Lincoln and not the party of Bob Jones."
And once more, Bush faced questions about that Bob Jones - as in Bob Jones University, the South Carolina school that just won't fade away from Campaign 2000. As before, Bush said he should have spoken against some of the school's anti-Catholic beliefs. But again, he jabbed at McCain's criticism: "What I regret is someone ascribing to me opinions and views that are not my views."
The two locked horns when McCain insisted he had not called Bush an "anti-Catholic bigot." Bush said if that was true, "You don't know what your campaign's putting out."
McCain repeatedly proclaimed his loyalty to the GOP, knowing that he's still lags behind Bush in most states where only registered Republicans will decide who wins the primaries. The Senator vowed not to bolt his party if he does not prevail next week in the California primary, where he could win the popular vote but lose all the GOP delegates to Bush.
Another clash was on campaign finance reform. Bush opposes contribution limits on individuals and called for "instant disclosure on the Internet" to ensure accountability.
McCain seized the opportunity to mention the recent disclosure that Bush fundraisers had been invited to sleep in the Texas Governor's mansion. Bush was indignant.
"You talk about people staying with me at the Governor's Mansion. These are my friends, John. These are my relatives. You talk about the Iron Triangle (of special interests), and you're ringing it like a dinner bell with all those fundraisers in Washington, D.C."
After laughing at the comment himself, McCain fired back, "You've got both feet in the trough. You've raised five times as much in Washington as me."
The hour-long debate sponsored by The Los Angeles Times and CNN had an unusual format. John McCain spoke via satellite and appeared in a television set at the podium where he would have stood. Only journalists were allowed to ask questions. While that meant to make for a more substantive exchange, sometimes the questions were longer than the answers.
When asked what he's done on education reform in Congress, McCain called for more local control and charter schools, but was hard pressed on specifics.
Governor Bush referred to his support of strong local control in Texas. But when asked why he would support federally mandated tests for schools in exchange for federal money, the Governor either didn't understand the question, or sought to avoid a direct answer.
"One of the reasons our children are doing so well is that we're holding people accountable. A system without accountability doesn't work."
His opponents called his bluff.
"Accountability is wonderful," said Alan Keyes. "But it shouldn't be accountability to the government."
And "accountability" was Bush's answer on gun control. When asked why he didn't support safety trigger locks on guns, the Governor replied, "I don't have a problem with trigger locks. I have a problem with how to enforce whether an adult (uses it)." He resorted to the cliched refrain of "stronger laws, not new laws" are the answer.
Bush borrowed from McCain's vocabulary, saying that he could "energize" the Republican Party. When asked whether McCain was unacceptable to the GOP as a candidate, Bush replied, "I just happen to be a better candidate."
But the most confident candidate in th debate may have been the most contrarian.
Longer-than-long shot Alan Keyes declared himself the "true bedrock Republican." The former UN Diplomat blasted the media for ignoring his campaign, saying he was the victim of a "media blackout". Though Keyes hasn't seen double-digit results since the Iowa caucuses, he refused to bow out or to endorse either Bush or McCain.
And Keyes predicted the GOP would fail in November because it was abandoning its true conservatism - a far cry from Bush and McCain's dueling claims about the need for inclusion.
"These gentlemen (Bush and McCain) won't win in the fall because they don't have the strength of our convictions," he said.