Hopefuls attack federal spending in S.C. debate

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- In their final televised debate before the nation's first Southern primary, set for Jan. 19, the Republican presidential candidates made contrasting appeals in a state known for conservative GOP voters.

John McCain, seeking to maintain momentum from his New Hampshire win this week, pledged to "stop out-of-control spending" by the federal government. "I'm called the sheriff by my friends in the Senate who are the appropriators," he added.

Mike Huckabee, winner of the Iowa caucuses, said the party needs to focus more on "middle-class, working-class Republicans."

Mitt Romney, who won the Wyoming caucuses, stressed his business background and said more tax cuts would help the nation head off a potential recession.

Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani, who are looking for their first victories in the nominating contests, also promoted tax cuts at the debate Thursday night sponsored by Fox News Channel and the South Carolina Republican Party. Ron Paul also participated.

In the past, the South Carolina GOP primary has been something of a good-luck charm for the winner: Since 1980, each has gone on to claim the party's presidential nomination.

George W. Bush won a bitterly fought primary in 2000 over McCain, whose campaign then had a hard time recovering.

The results could prove different this time. Hours before the debate, two new polls showed McCain leading Huckabee in South Carolina. Romney was in third.

McCain, a former Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war, stumped across the state before the debate and reminded voters of his support for the Iraq war. Thursday was the one-year anniversary of President Bush's announcement that he would temporarily boost U.S. troop levels in Iraq.

McCain reminded audiences he took a lot of heat then for supporting Bush but said today "the surge is working. …We will succeed in Iraq if we don't lose our resolve."

Huckabee, a Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor, is seeking support from the many religious conservatives in South Carolina, a strategy similar to one he employed in Iowa.

James Guth, a political scientist at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., said conservative white Protestants make up 40%-50% of the GOP electorate here. He said the bloc is comparable in size to the evangelical voters in Iowa, though the religious community here is more diverse politically.

For example: Bob Jones III, chancellor of the fundamentalist university that bears his family's name, has endorsed Romney, who is Mormon. "You see a good bit of division, at least initially," Guth said.

A victims' rights group planned to air an ad throughout South Carolina during the debate protesting Huckabee's decision as governor to support the parole of Wayne Dumond, a rapist who killed a woman after his release from prison.

McCain's campaign, meanwhile, has set up a "truth squad" to fight any allegations against him.

In 2000, negative campaigning included comments that suggested McCain's adopted daughter from Bangladesh was illegitimate. This time, his campaign sent out mailers featuring a picture of his wife, Cindy, and the daughter, Bridget, whom the McCains adopted from Mother Teresa's orphanage.

The Romney campaign cut back on advertising in South Carolina and Florida, focusing instead on Tuesday's primary in Michigan, where Romney was born and raised. Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said the campaign decided not to extend its ads into some states because "Michigan is the most immediate playing field."

Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, said he has been waiting for the South Carolina contest and that Sun Belt states are "friendly territory for me."

Giuliani is concentrating on Florida, whose primary is Jan. 29.