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Bush, McCain lock horns in GOP debate
January 6, 2000
DURHAM, New Hampshire (CNN) -- Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Arizona Sen. John McCain met one another head-on during Thursday night's GOP presidential debate in New Hampshire. Joined onstage by the other four Republican candidates at the University of New Hampshire's Johnson Theater in Durham, the two men dominated the debate, locking horns on tax cuts and Social Security. With the Granite State's primary only a few weeks away and McCain running even with Bush in New Hampshire polls, both men jockeyed for position while candidates Steve Forbes, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, Alan Keyes and Gary Bauer appeared to fade in the background, emerging only to break the tension with bits of humor.
The prime-time debate, the second in a series between now and New Hampshire's February 1 primary, followed on the heels of Wednesday night's contentious debate between Democrats Al Gore and Bill Bradley. Sponsored by MSNBC, the debate was moderated by NBC's Tim Russert. Bush came across as a stronger candidate than in previous matchups, making a pledge not only not to raise taxes but to cut them even in the face of a recession. "I have laid out a plan that not only encourages economic growth, I have laid out a plan that is more fair than the current code because it knocks down the toll both to the middle class," he said. "Is this 'no new taxes, so help me God?' " asked John Mephisto of the Manchester Union leader, referring to former President George Bush's pledge not to impose new taxes if he won re-election. "This is not only 'no new taxes,' this is 'a tax cut, so help me God,' " Bush replied. McCain said his tax plan seeks to "take the surplus and put it into Social Security and pay down the debt. We ought to pay down the debt, and we also ought to make Social Security solvent." In a heated response, Bush said, "Here's my problem with the kind of Washington mindset with this. It is a huge leap of faith to assume that Congress will not spend the money. I think Congress will spend the money and so therefore to make sure they don't, let's pass it back to the taxpayers." "No one is suggesting we pass the entire surplus back to the taxpayers," Bush said. The Texas governor said his plan doesn't call for that. "Yes, it does," McCain retorted. "No, it doesn't," Bush insisted. "We've gotten a lot more nasty," Hatch chimed in to audience laughter. "We haven't gotten nasty at all," Keyes said. Forbes, in one of his only pointed statements of the evening, took a shot at both Bush's and McCain's tax proposals. "You cannot be a moderate on the tax issue," Forbes said. He emphasized that he was the only true Reagan Republican: "I'm the one Republican that talks like Reagan on the tax issue. ... That's why I think I'm going to win at the end of the day." McCain, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, came under some fire for the December 10 letter the senator wrote to the FCC on behalf of Paxson Communications, a company that owns 73 TV stations. The company has provided McCain with the use of a private jet -- a legal practice under FEC rules -- but also may have coordinated up to $20,000 in campaign contributions for the senator. When asked whether his actions seemed hypocritical, given that he is such an ardent proponent of campaign finance reform, McCain said, "All this money washing around Washington and all of these contributions taint all of us." Emphasizing that it is his job as Senate Commerce Committee chairman to "make the bureaucrats work for the people," McCain added: "We are all under a cloud of suspicion." He vowed to continue working for true campaign finance reform. Bush appeared to give McCain a pass on the FCC issue but nailed him on campaign finance reform. "Is he walking the walk? Yes, I think he is," Bush said. "My objection is that he's supporting campaign finance reform that's going to unilaterally disarm the Republican Party." "I trust your judgment," Bush said to McCain, "but I don't trust the plan you are outlining. It is bad for campaigns, and it is bad for the conservative cause." As for social issues, the candidates discussed the separation of church and state, gays in the military and abortion. Thursday night, all the GOP hopefuls vowed to either keep the current policy on gays in the military in place, or to outright ban their participation. "I'm a don't ask, don't tell man," Bush said. And McCain asserted that he would "not change a policy that is working." As promised, Bauer continuously attacked Bush on his no-litmus test pledge for judicial appointees and stuck to his anti-abortion, social conservative agenda. The Associated Press contributed to this report, which was written by Amy Paulson. |
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MORE STORIES:Thursday, January 6, 2000
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CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley provides highlights of the debate. (January 6)
