In a Nod to Competition, Bush Jumps Into Fray

More than any previous event, Monday night’s Republican presidential debate here suggested that George W. Bush believes he’s in a real race for the nomination.

In sharp, vivid exchanges, the animated session traced the rapidly changing geometry of the GOP contest.

Aggressor and target both, Sen. John McCain of Arizona--the new leader in polls in the critical first primary state of New Hampshire--was as much a focus as the front-runner. Bush, meanwhile, dropped his above-the-fray pose for the first time, targeting McCain with ideological jabs on two distinct fronts.

With Bush almost serenely ignoring the other candidates until now, the Republican race has had almost none of the daily back and forth that has defined the Democratic contest between Vice President Al Gore and Bill Bradley for weeks. But that changed Monday as Bush challenged McCain’s tax cut plan (which he suggested was too small), and the senator’s support of sweeping campaign finance reform (which Bush suggested could hurt the Republican Party).

Both of those critiques signaled that the Texas governor is likely to try to run to McCain’s right as the race speeds toward the first votes in Iowa and New Hampshire early next year. “He is going to out-independent us,” said one Bush advisor, referring to McCain’s attraction for independent and moderate voters, especially in New Hampshire, “so we have to out-Republican him.”

On an evening when all six GOP contenders were performing at the top of their game--delivering crisp answers and engaging in several heated exchanges--the tenor of the debate was notably more conservative than the first encounters.

McCain never offered an effective response to Bush’s remarks about his tax plan, which is less than half the size of Bush’s. But the senator didn’t back down in his support for campaign finance reform, challenging Bush to join him in renouncing unregulated “soft money” for the general election if he wins the nomination. There is no limit to soft money donations, which go to political parties, not to candidates.

Indeed, though he decided months ago not to compete in the Iowa caucuses, McCain was the most forceful figure for much of the debate. Unlike his frequent, sometimes forced, attempts at humor during the first two contests, he was firm and resolute Monday. In a final answer, McCain cited Theodore Roosevelt as his role model, but for much of the evening he seemed to be modeling himself on Harry Truman, offering answers ranging from blunt to brusque.

He began his answers to each of the first two questions with unequivocal one-word responses: “absolutely” and “sure.” He told a questioner: “I don’t think you quite get it.” And, using the local audience as a foil to woo voters elsewhere, he went out of his way to demonstrate his independence by denouncing the federal subsidies for ethanol--a totem of Iowa politics that all of his rivals support.

Bush, who was battered with criticism for lackluster performances in the first two GOP contests, was much more engaged and confident Monday night. “Bush did more than hold his own tonight,” said GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio, who had been sharply critical of Bush’s performance in the first two debates. “He was a lot more relaxed, a lot more in control, a lot more sure of himself.”

Compared to the first two debates, Bush did a better job of highlighting the most distinctive components of his “compassionate conservative” agenda. He talked about the need to enlist charities to work with troubled young people and highlighted the pieces of his tax plan aimed at the working poor.

Even his body language was notably different. In the first two debates, Bush seemed tense and anxious--”almost as if he was in a spelling bee,” as one of his advisors put it. But Monday night he leaned toward questioners, made a few jokes and pushed back firmly when Gary Bauer forcefully challenged him to commit to naming a running mate who opposed legalized abortion. “I will name somebody who can be the president,” insisted Bush, who had previously indicated he would not apply such an anti-abortion litmus test to his selection.

But Bush still had his rough moments. In some answers, he once again appeared to be reciting snippets of his stump speech. His first response, to a question about school violence, was so heavy on thematics and light on specifics that moderator Tom Brokaw of NBC News asked the next candidate whether he had anything to add “other than . . . invoking those kinds of mottoes.”

John Zogby, an independent pollster, said that although Bush did better overall and “showed more dexterity in his answers” on some questions, “there is still a lightweight aspect to his responses, especially on foreign policy.”

But Bush showed much more strength and aggressiveness than he did in the first debates. “He was more willing to let what is underneath, the real George Bush, shine through: that . . . I’m a nice guy, but don’t step on my cowboy boots,” said Fabrizio, the chief strategist for GOP nominee Bob Dole in 1996.

Bush’s stiffened spine was evident in sharp exchanges with Bauer over the abortion test for a running mate, and the admission of China to the World Trade Organization (which Bush supports and Bauer opposes). But it was most apparent when Bush rejected McCain’s call for him to renounce the collection of soft money in the general election if he wins the nomination. Bush argued that such a pledge would leave the GOP vulnerable to spending by labor unions allied with Democrats.

“Here’s my worry with your plan,” Bush said. “It’s going to hurt the Republican Party, John.”

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah quickly jumped on the pile, denouncing the overall campaign finance legislation McCain supports as a threat to the GOP: “Have any of you ever wondered why basically all the Democrats support it and hardly any of the Republicans?” Hatch asked.

In one sense these attacks were a sign of McCain’s strength: They might not have been necessary if he had not surged to the head of the field in New Hampshire.

But it also highlighted what may be McCain’s greatest vulnerability in the race: the risk that the very iconoclastic views on campaign finance reform, taxes and other issues that make him so attractive to independents could be turned against him with the conservatives at the core of the GOP nominating process. As McCain prepares for a joint appearance with Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley on Thursday to promote campaign finance reform, Monday’s jostlings were a reminder that McCain still must win the nomination.