Giuliani, Romney defend their conservative credentials

ORLANDO, Fla. — Republican front-runners Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney defended their conservative credentials in the face of pointed attacks from campaign rivals Sunday night in the most aggressive debate to date of the race for the White House.

"You've just spent the last year trying to fool people about your record. I don't want you to start fooling them about mine," Arizona Sen. John McCain told Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson made Giuliani his target, saying the former New York mayor supported federal funding for abortion, gun control and havens for illegal immigrants.

"He sides with Hillary Clinton on each of those issues," added Thompson, referring to the New York Democrat who leads in the polls.

The clashes early in the 90-minute debate prompted former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to say he wanted no part of a "demolition derby" with others of his own party.

Whatever their disagreements among one another, the eight rivals agreed on their criticism of Clinton.

Asked whether she was fit to be commander in chief, Romney replied, "I'd vote no."

Romney questioned the former first lady's experience and said she was not qualified to be in charge of the U.S. military. "She hasn't run a corner store. She hasn't run a state. She hasn't run a city," he said.

McCain said Clinton had recently tried to spend $1 million on a Woodstock Museum, commemorating perhaps the most famous counterculture event of the 1960s.

"Now my friends I wasn't there. ... I was tied up at the time," he deadpanned, and the audience rose to applaud the reference to the 5-½ years McCain spent as a prisoner of war during Vietnam.

There were no devastating put-downs or campaign-killing gaffes in the forum, nationally televised by Fox News. Candidates repeated oft-stated positions on health care, gay marriage, Social Security and national defense — politely jockeying to appear more conservative and invoking memories of President Reagan's diplomatic and economic policies.

Huckabee scored the biggest laugh when talking about the Clinton health-care plan.

"When all the old hippies find out that they get free drugs, just wait ... ," he said, his comments lost in laughter and applause.

Information from Reuters

and Gannett News Service

is included in this report.