Romney, Republicans Attack Obama's Foreign Policy in Debate

[Ron Burgundy]

Bloomberg - Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Mitt Romney, John McCain and other Republican presidential candidates took aim at foreign-policy comments made by Democratic hopeful Barack Obama, saying anyone running for the White House should steer clear of discussing specific military plans.

``He's gone from Jane Fonda to Dr. Strangelove in one week,'' Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, said today during the Republican debate in Des Moines, Iowa. McCain, an Arizona senator, called remarks such as those Obama made in a July 23 Democratic debate and an Aug. 1 speech ``naive.''

Obama, a senator from Illinois, said during the Democratic debate he would be willing to meet with dictators and foes of the U.S. without preconditions. In the later speech, he said he would use military force against terrorist training camps in Pakistan if the country's president, Pervez Musharraf, failed to do so.

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton responded that the U.S. needs a change from policies that have ``turned a blind eye'' to threats in countries such as Pakistan while undertaking a war in Iraq. ``Before he makes more false accusations, Mitt Romney should tell us why he believes we should keep 160,000 American troops in the middle of someone else's civil war but not take out Osama bin Laden if we had him in our sights,'' Burton said.

Agreement on Iraq

As in past debates, the Republican candidates, except for Texas Representative Ron Paul, generally agreed on national security issues. Romney said at the forum sponsored by ABC News that he, McCain and national frontrunner Rudy Giuliani are ``pretty much in the same place'' on Iraq, saying it's essential to stay and win the war as Democrats call for withdrawal.

``This is a seminal moment in American history,'' said McCain, 70. ``We must succeed.''

The question about Obama's comments opened a discussion about Pakistan's cooperation with the U.S. in battling al-Qaeda. Giuliani said that while Obama ``didn't express it the right way,'' he said he wouldn't disavow the option of taking action against terrorist targets in Pakistan.

Romney said it is ``wrong for a person running for the president of the United States to get on TV and say, `We're going to go into your country unilaterally.'''

The nine candidates were debating for the fourth time ahead of the 2008 election, this time during a forum at Drake University. They are trying to distinguish themselves as another entrant to the race looms: former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, 64, who last week reported raising $3.5 million in June as he tested the waters for a possible campaign. Thompson has placed as high as second in recent national polls.

Social Issues

Romney, 60, is the leading Republican candidate in Iowa, which traditionally holds the first nominating contest, precinct caucuses scheduled for Jan. 14. He defended himself today against accusations that he has changed positions on social issues, such as abortion, to appeal to conservative Republicans.

``I get tired of people that are holier than thou because they've been pro-life longer than I have,'' Romney said in response to criticism from Kansas Senator Sam Brownback.

While running for the Senate in Massachusetts in 1994 and in his successful campaign for the governorship in 2002, Romney supported a woman's right to an abortion. He said he changed his mind and is now against abortion rights.

Differences on Abortion

Giuliani, 63, the former mayor of New York, said the candidates should be focused on ways to reduce abortions yet repeated that he believes the government shouldn't make that choice for women. Other candidates including former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson said Giuliani's stance puts him in conflict with the Republican Party, and McCain said the issue affects the standing of the U.S. in the world.

``It has a lot to do with national security,'' McCain said. ``It says very much what kind of a country we are and our respect for human life.''

Aside from the issue of abortion, there was more agreement than disagreement on the stage. The candidates criticized recently passed Senate legislation to expand children's health insurance and agreed that new taxes shouldn't be necessary.

``The way to do it sometimes is reduce taxes and raise more money,'' Giuliani said. Still, he and other top contenders weren't willing to agree to backing a flat tax or a proposal to eliminate taxes such as those on income and payrolls while raising the sales tax to 23 percent.

Giuliani also featured in one of the lightest moments of the debate, when the candidates were all asked to describing a defining mistake of their lives. ``To have a description of my mistakes in 30 seconds?'' Giuliani said to laughter. He offered instead to explain his answer to a priest.

Vice Presidency

A question about Vice President Dick Cheney offered some insight into how the candidates would run the White House if elected. McCain joked that one of the main jobs of the vice president is to ``inquire daily as to the health of the president,'' yet he also suggested he wouldn't give a vice president as much power as Cheney has.

``I would be very careful that everybody understood that there's only one president,'' McCain said.

Romney defended President George W. Bush's treatment of the job. ``It's been very popular lately for people across the country to be critical of the president and vice president,'' Romney said. ``But they have kept us safe these last six years. Let's not forget that.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Kristin Jensen in Washington at kjensen@bloomberg.net

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20070805/pl_bloomberg/ajg5g18xdjwy [link]