On the Campaign Trail with Ed Tibbetts

Rudy Giuliani is asked head-on about abortion.

His answer: “I hate abortoin.” Says he would discourage it. Says adoptions went up and abortions down during his tenure. But he adds, “I would respect a woman’s right to make a different choice.”

How will that play in Iowa? It’s been a question; it’s still a question.

Tommy Thompson got a chance to riff for nearly a minute, and he accentuated his record as governor of Wisconsin. Says he: I’m a true conservative, 1,900 vetoes. “I’m the one who started welfare reform.”

Thompson says Republicans went to Washington and “Washington changed us.”
He didn’t mention he was the secretary of health and human services. Instead, he emphasizes his time as a governor, noting it’s a blue state where he won four times.

We’re about halfway through the GOP debate, and like the Democrats last week in South Carolina, the Republicans are steering clearly of criticizing one another.

About the closest we got: John McCain saying he wouldn’t appoint Tom Tancredo the head of the immigration and naturalization service.

Ronald Reagan would be smiling. Nobody’s violated the 11th Amendment. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of bashing of Democrat. McCain laid into Harry Reid early on, but that’s about all.

One of the folks I’m watching the debate with says: “Brian Williams was much nicer.” Matthews is earning his reputation as a rat-a-tat-questioner.

Chris Matthews, the moderator, presses Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani on abortion.

Romney says he has always been personally pro-life, but upheld a law while governor of Massachussetts, whicch was essentially pro-choice. But he says he changed his mind.

Giuliani says he supports the Hyde Amendment that prevents public funds to be used to pay for abortion. But when asked about New York allowing it, he says that’s a decision the state made, and that others can make.

Both have been attacked for being on the wrong side of the abortion issue in a conservative party. What do you think of their responses?

Most of the GOP candidates say they wouldn’t change the Constitution to allow a foreign-born person to be president. And with Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sitting in the front row!

Mitt Romney, Tommy Thompson, others say no. Rudy Giuliani says he’d change it.

Best line of the exchange:

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee: “After serving eight years in the White House, I’d be glad to change the Constitution.”

2nd place, John McCain: “Depends on whether he endorses me.”

Not much appetite for backing off President Bush’s strategy in Iraq among the leading GOP candidates.

Rudy Giuliani: “Never retreat in the face of terrorism.”

John McCain: “We must win in Iraq.”

Mitt Romney: If we undergo a precipitous withdrawal, we may have to go back.

Interesting. Mike Huckabee says we went in with too few troops and didn’t listened to the generals but to civilians in “silk ties.”

There’s less than an hour to go before 10 Republican presidential candidate debate in at the Ronald Reagan presidentila library in Simi Valley, Calif.

Lots of speculation today. Will John McCain distance himself from President Bush. Who will invoke Reagan’s name first?

How will Rudy Giuliani perform?

Which of the so-called second tier candidates break through? And how will they do it?

I hope you’ll join me for the 7 p.m. debate. I’ll be blogging throughout, and I welcome your comments. A week ago, the Democrats took their turn in South Carolina in a nationally televised debates.

Now, it’s the Republicans. There are going to be a lot of eyes on this debate. Remember, the first big test is only a few months away, in Ames at the Iowa GOP’s August straw poll.

John McCain’s presidential campaign released a list of Scott County supporters today, and heading it up is Sheriff Dennis Conard.

Conard, the honorary chair, says he likes McCain’s public service record and his view on Iraq.

Also on the list:

Jim Goff, his county chair, Jim Bishop, his county co-chair, as well as members of the Salter family. Mark Salter, McCain’s chief aide and co-author of his books, is a Quad-City native.