Columbia, S.C. – Iraq and abortion loom large as 10 Republican presidential candidates debate a second time Tuesday.
On one issue – the four-year-old war – the GOP field is largely in sync, backing President Bush in opposing Democratic calls for beginning a withdrawal of U.S. forces. But the candidates are split on social issues, most notably a women’s right to terminate a pregnancy.
Less than two weeks ago, top-tier candidates Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney shared a stage in Simi Valley, Calif., with seven underdogs competing for the GOP nomination in the first Republican debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
Iraq and social issues dominated the discourse that night, a preview of what was sure to await the candidates in Columbia, S.C., where conservative Christians make up a large chunk of the state’s GOP primary voters.
Since the California event, Giuliani has reaffirmed his support for abortion rights after his convoluted debate answer on whether he would welcome the Supreme Court overturning its landmark decision legalizing abortion. He personally opposes the procedure.
Giuliani, the former New York mayor; McCain, a four-term Arizona senator, and Romney, the ex-governor of Massachusetts, were facing Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, former Govs. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin and Jim Gilmore of Virginia.
Reps. Ron Paul of Texas, Duncan Hunter of California and Tom Tancredo of Colorado also were participating.
Paul, the Libertarian presidential nominee in 1988, voted against giving Bush the authority to wage war in Iraq in 2002.
Hours before the debate, candidates responded to the death of the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and was a force in conservative politics.
McCain, who once called Falwell and his ilk “agents of intolerance,” praised him in a statement as “a man of distinguished accomplishment who devoted his life to serving his faith and country.”
Romney described Falwell as “an American who built and led a movement based on strong principles and strong faith.”
Giuliani told reporters after a tour of the debate site: “He was a man who set a direction. He is someone who is not afraid to speak his mind.”
The University of South Carolina’s Koger Center for the Arts was the setting for the debate, sponsored by the South Carolina Republican Party and Fox News Channel. The channel’s Brit Hume was moderating.
Underscoring the dominant issues, Americans Against Escalation in Iraq and the South Carolina Young Democrats sponsored a 20-foot mobile billboard to circle the debate site, bearing the phrases: “Republicans, Mission Accomplished?” and “McCain, Mission Accomplished?” And, activists affiliated with Planned Parenthood also were holding an abortion-rights rally outside the hall.
Columbia Police Chief Dean Crisp estimated 500 supporters of various candidates were gathered outside the building, and 4,000 people were taking part in a rally organized by FairTax.org to promote a national sales tax to replace income taxes.
Associated Press writer Jim Davenport contributed to this report.
