REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL candidates were unified in calling for tax cuts as the answer to US economic woes during a debate in Iowa, a stance that will appeal to their political base but may be a tough sell to crucial independent voters in a general election.
The debate between eight candidates came ahead of the Ames straw poll today, traditionally seen as the first critical contest of the 2012 election primary season.
It featured a tough exchange between Michele Bachmann, the firebrand Minnesota congresswoman, and Tim Pawlenty, a former Minnesota governor.
Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor who served as President Barack Obama’s ambassador to China, stood out among the eight Republican contenders when he delivered a staunch defence of the debt-ceiling deal in the US Congress that prevented a default. Mitt Romney, the front-runner and former Massachusetts governor, said Mr Obama was “out of his depth” and did not live in the “real economy”.
The debate came after a harrowing week for Mr Obama in which the US suffered a devastating loss of troops in Afghanistan, increasing pressure to abandon the war effort, and a downgrade of the country’s credit rating by S&P. His attempt to calm a schizophrenic market in midweek seemed to underscore a growing view that he has been weakened.
Split screens of his remarks showed stocks ticking down as he meekly exclaimed that the US would always be an AAA nation.
But the debate between an unsettled group of Republican challengers revealed his rivals face a path to victory that is as rocky as his own.
When Fox News asked the hopefuls whether they would reject a budget deal that called for $10 in spending cuts for $1 in tax increases, and each raised their hand, it showed that the party is in danger of turning off the crucial block of moderate voters that will determine the 2012 election.
“While Democrats are having to deal with enthusiasm and intensity problems in their own base, Republicans have been exacerbating their own problems with independent voters, people who see the world very differently than the GOP base does,” says Charlie Cook, a non-partisan political analyst.
“Obama is positioning himself for a general election, though neglecting his base a bit. Republicans are exclusively focusing on their base.”
Mr Romney had difficulty before the debate. Democrats in Washington seized on an exchange between the former governor and hecklers at Iowa state fair. When they called for tax rises on corporations, he retorted: “Corporations are people, my friend”. He later added: “Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people. Where do you think it goes?” When asked about two prominent Republicans not officially in the race – Texas governor Rick Perry and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin – each of the candidates welcomed their potential late entry.
Ms Bachmann, a devout Christian, appeared uncomfortable when asked about comments she once made about the Bible calling on wives to be submissive to husbands.
Asked if she would submit to her husband as president, Ms Bachmann smiled and remained silent for seconds. Then she said that, for her and her husband Marcus, “submission means respect”. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011)