The 08′ Republican Debate in New Hampshire – Post No. 010608-2
Saturday night’s Republican candidate debate – in which Mitt Romney appeared the focal figure among the six GOP candidates on stage – underscored how much is at stake for the former Massachusetts governor in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary following his defeat Thursday at the hands of Mike Huckabee in the Iowa caucuses Thursday.
At times Romney was the aggressor, as when he challenged McCain’s positions on illegal immigration as too weak. But more often, Romney was the target of other candidates’ criticism, much of it focused on accusations that he has changed his views on several key issues.
The contentiousness of the debate was intensified by an unusually free-wheeling format employed by ABC News anchorman Charles Gibson, who moderated the debate with contributions from Scott Spradling of New Hampshire television station WMUR. In the first half of the 90-minute debate – cosponsored by ABC, WMUR and the Facebook Web site – Gibson laid out topics for the candidates to discuss, and often argue about, among themselves.
Romney was joined in the debate by Arizona Sen. John McCain , whose recent surge in state and national polls have made him a serious threat to overtake Romney in New Hampshire; his Iowa nemesis Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas; and three other candidates fighting for “top tier” status in the Republican field, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson , former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Texas Rep. Ron Paul .
California Rep. Duncan Hunter , who has been drawing tiny levels of support in state and national polls throughout the campaign, was excluded from the debate. Similarly, two longshot presidential hopefuls – Ohio Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel – were excluded from the subsequent Democratic debate, the second half of the unusual back-to-back debate doubleheader.
Paul, who was invited by ABC for Saturday’s debate, has been excluded, along with Hunter, from a Republican candidate forum scheduled for Sunday and sponsored by Fox News – even though Paul received 10 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucuses Thursday and has generally been polling in the high single digits in New Hampshire. Sunday’s event originally was co-hosted by the New Hampshire Republican Party, but news reports indicate that the state GOP backed out after a controversy erupted over Paul’s exclusion.
Gibson on Saturday defended the criteria ABC News used to determine who would take part in its debates, describing them as “highly inclusive.” He said participation was predicated on placing within the top four in the Iowa caucus or garnering at least 5 percent support in the four most recent national or New Hampshire surveys as of 9 a.m. Friday morning. Hunter, Kucinich and Gravel reportedly did not meet that criteria.
