GOP hopefuls become Bush bashers in debate
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
By Seattle Times news services
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003736059_debate06.htmlMANCHESTER, N.H. — Using rhetoric more in keeping with what could be expected from Democrats, Republican White House hopefuls criticized President Bush on Tuesday night on his handling of the Iraq war, his diplomatic style and his approach to immigration.
"I would certainly not send him to the United Nations" to represent the United States, said Tommy Thompson, the former Wisconsin governor and one-time member of Bush's Cabinet, midway through a spirited campaign debate.
Arizona Sen. John McCain criticized the administration for its handling of the Iraq war, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said, "I think we were underprepared and underplanned for what came after we knocked down Saddam Hussein."
Rep. Duncan Hunter of California said the current administration "has the slows" when it comes to building a security fence along the border with Mexico.
Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado recalled that White House aide Karl Rove had once told him to "never darken the door of the White House." The congressman said he would tell George W. Bush the same thing.
The rupture between Bush and the GOP candidates was a reflection of his poor poll ratings and underscored the foul political climate facing Republicans as they try to retain the White House in 2008.
The criticism of Bush was sprinkled throughout a two-hour debate at Saint Anselm College that ranged over topics from war to immigration legislation pending in Congress to religion. The debate, moderated by Wolf Blitzer of CNN, was the third of the accelerated primary campaign.