The Guardian
Romney and Santorum trade barbs in Arizona debate
Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum both tried but failed to land a winning blow ahead of the Michigan and Arizona primaries
By Ewen MacKaskill
Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum traded accusations over federal spending, contraception, the bailout of the car industry and healthcare reform on Wednesday night in what may have been the last in a series of televised debates stretching back to May last year.
Romney and Santorum are about the last two standing from a bruising and protracted campaign to choose a Republican nominee to take on Barack Obama in November. Both sought to deliver a telling blow ahead of Tuesday's Michigan and Arizona primaries but neither could manage it.
Failure to win Michigan would be a major humiliation for Romney as it is his home state and would seriously damage his chances of winning the nomination. Santorum badly needs a win to build on the momentum he created earlier this month with victories in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri and his supporters will view the debate as a missed opportunity.
The debate in Meza, Arizona, was the twentieth and possibly the last. Although a debate is scheduled for Portland, Oregon, in March, there are doubts about whether it will go ahead.
The early debates were marred by having too many candidates, with time only for soundbites, but Arizona suffered from having two candidates who have been battling too long and who were too familiar with each other's policies, squabbling over minor details, frequently nitpicking and fabricating points.
Although former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas congressman Ron Paul were also on stage, they were left largely on the sidelines.
Gingrich, who has been fading since his victory in South Carolina in January, needed to dominate as he had done with earlier debates but could not impose himself.
Santorum came off marginally the worse in his sparring with Romney. He became bogged down in a long, rambling defence of his votes for 'earmark' spending while a senator, an answer that could lose him conservative support, incensed by what they see as wasteful spending on projects such as Alaska's infamous "Bridge to Nowhere".
Romney, asked to respond, replied contemptously: "I didn't follow all that."
Romney, who highlights on his CV his intervention on behalf of the Olympics in Salt Lake City, produced the soundbite of the night, telling Santorum: "When I was fighting to save the Olympics, you were fighting to save the Bridge to Nowhere."
Santorum, frustrated at the direction the debate was going, petutantly said to Romney: "You don't know what you're talking about."
Santorum was shouted down at frequent points during the debate by an audience dominated by Romney supporters.
Santorum came close to acknowledging he had not had a good night when he said afterwards: "This is Romney's town and a Romney crowd."
Andy Tobin, the Arizona House speaker and a spokesman for the Romney campaign, said: "Santorum said earmarks are OK. It is not OK. I think he missed a great opportunity tonight."
But it was not a good night for Romney either. Like Santorum on earmarks, he waffled over his opposition to federal bailouts for the car industry and that could hurt him in Michigan, headquarters of the country's biggest auto manufacturers.
He also shifted to the right at several points with policies aimed at winning over conservatives in Arizona. He said the Arizona model for dealing with illegal immigration, regarded by the Obama administration as draconian, should be adopted by the whole country. That could help Romney in the Arizona primary but damage him in a general election, particularly with Latino voters.
One moment of light relief in an otherwise plodding debate came when each candidate was asked to sum themselves up in one word. Paul went for "consistent", Santorum "courage", Romney "resolute" and Gingrich "cheerful".
On foreign policy, Romney, Santorum and Gingrich were adamant Iran would not be allowed to become a nuclear power, while Paul dissented, saying there was no evidence it was seeking a nuclear weapon capability.
On social issues, Romney challenged Santorum's credentials as anti-abortionist, saying he had backed former senator Arlen Specter, a supporter of abortion rights. Romney went further, saying that Santorum, through his support of Specter, had helped bring about healthcare reform, a contentious and obscure point.
Video:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/23/mitt-romney-rick-santorum-arizona-debate
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