DURHAM, N.H., Sept. 5 — The Republican presidential candidates clashed Wednesday night in their most contentious debate of the campaign, in pointed exchanges over immigration, the war in Iraq and who among them is the best prepared to be commander in chief.
It was a far cry from the previous debates, when the Republicans saved most of their fire for Democrats. Mitt Romney directly criticized Rudolph W. Giuliani, who has consistently led in national polls, for the first time at a debate. And most candidates got in digs at Fred D. Thompson, the former senator and actor who skipped the debate to announce his candidacy on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
The toughest sparring was over illegal immigration, an issue that has roiled Republican voters this year. Mr. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, accused Mr. Giuliani of attracting illegal immigrants to America when he was the mayor of New York City.
“I think saying, as he did — if you happen to be an undocumented alien, we want you in New York, we’ll protect you in New York — I think that contributed to 3 million illegals in this country becoming 12 million illegals coming into this country,” Mr. Romney said.
Mr. Giuliani answered that as mayor, he had to deal with a large population of illegal immigrants and a federal government that was not deporting them, so he enforced policies that would allow immigrants to report crimes and to take care of their children.
“I didn’t have the luxury of, you know, political rhetoric; I had the safety and security of the people of New York City on my shoulders,” Mr. Giuliani said. “The reality is, my programs and policies led to a city that was the safest large city in the country, so they must have been sensible policies.”
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It was a far cry from the previous debates, when the Republicans saved most of their fire for Democrats. Mitt Romney directly criticized Rudolph W. Giuliani, who has consistently led in national polls, for the first time at a debate. And most candidates got in digs at Fred D. Thompson, the former senator and actor who skipped the debate to announce his candidacy on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
The toughest sparring was over illegal immigration, an issue that has roiled Republican voters this year. Mr. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, accused Mr. Giuliani of attracting illegal immigrants to America when he was the mayor of New York City.
“I think saying, as he did — if you happen to be an undocumented alien, we want you in New York, we’ll protect you in New York — I think that contributed to 3 million illegals in this country becoming 12 million illegals coming into this country,” Mr. Romney said.
Mr. Giuliani answered that as mayor, he had to deal with a large population of illegal immigrants and a federal government that was not deporting them, so he enforced policies that would allow immigrants to report crimes and to take care of their children.
“I didn’t have the luxury of, you know, political rhetoric; I had the safety and security of the people of New York City on my shoulders,” Mr. Giuliani said. “The reality is, my programs and policies led to a city that was the safest large city in the country, so they must have been sensible policies.”
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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