YOUTUBE may be cutting-edge tech nology, but for much of last night it was the occasion for a debate about the past.
The top Republican candidates – especially Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani – aren’t just battling each other, but all those liberal or moderate aspects of their records that they want to stuff down the memory hole while trying to win a conservative party’s presidential nomination.
So Romney and Giuliani opened the CNN/YouTube debate with a fight over who used to be more pro-“sanctuary city” for illegal aliens, even as they both promise a crackdown on illegal immigration now. Giuliani had to square his support for gun control as mayor with his new-found respect for the Second Amendment.
Even Mike Huckabee, in some eyes the conservative purist in the race, had to explain away his past support in Arkansas for tuition breaks for the children of illegal immigrants.
GOP voters’ nagging doubts about the past heterdoxies of the top candidates has helped make this an extraordinarily fluid race. Man for man, this Republican field is one of the most impressive in recent memory. But each of the top contenders also has obvious weaknesses. All that makes for a race that is totally unpredictable and fascinating – even in a forum where they are asked silly questions by odd people in 30-second videos.
Romney is fluid and unflappable, and showed early on tonight in immigration exchanges with Giuliani and Huckabee something that he has seemed to lack in this campaign – toughness. On issues he’s gotten used to talking about – e.g., his change of mind on abortion from pro-choice in Massachusetts to pro-life now – he gives pitch-perfect answers. He has turned his change into a matter of principle: I won’t apologize for realizing I was wrong, he says.
And yet . . . Romney can seem just too calculating. On a question on whether he believes the Bible, you could see the wheels spinning about whether he should just say he believes it’s the word of God and leave it that, or explain more. He hesitated and stalled, then left it at the word of God. But his worst moments were on national security, where he sometimes sounded tinny and uncertain.
Giuliani is very smart, fast on his feet – and strong on the War on Terror that is so important to Republican voters. When the questions turned to terrorism last night, he noticeably shifted into a higher gear. He’s never so comfortable as when defending being “on offense.”
And yet . . . there’s the New York baggage. Not just the past positions, but the personal stuff. Last night, Rudy let his temper show for the first time, hitting Romney for (unknowingly) using a firm that employed illegal aliens as governor: Romney ran a “sanctuary mansion,” Giuliani said. A funny line, but a cheap shot that Rudy couldn’t help repeating several times.
He was briefly asked about a report in The Politico that obscure city agencies were billed for his security expenses during his visits as mayor to Judith Nathan in the Hamptons. We’ll hear more about that.
John McCain is sober and brings a battered authority to nearly all his answers, especially the war. And yet . . . he seems off-puttingly irrascible and many Republican just don’t like him. Fred Thompson has the most consistently conservative record and admirably substantive proposals . . . and yet seems to fade compared to the energy and polish of the other candidates.
The press attention will focus on the Romney and Giuliani exchanges. But for now, they’re a sideshow. Romney will probably only have the opportunity to compete with Giuliani for the nomination if he beats Mike Huckabee in Iowa. Last night, Huckabee showed why he’s such a formidable threat. Eloquent and likable, he’s an applause-generating machine. And he has the rarest of weapons for a politician – a genuine and self-deprecating sense of humor.
He had some of the best lines of the night. Asked whether Jesus Christ would approve of the death penalty, Huckabee declined to answer – “Jesus Christ was too smart ever to run for public office.” People loved it. Later, when he was asked about whether he would support a mission to Mars, he suggested sending Hillary Clinton on the first mission to the red planet.
Huckabee jokingly offered to help Giuliani out when the former mayor paused in thought before attempting to take on the Bible question. The help Giuliani could most use from Huckabee is the former Arkansas governor winning Iowa. That damages Romney – who, right now, appears to be Giuliani’s foremost obstacle to the nomination. Last night, Huckabee certainly helped his own cause, and that of Giuliani.