Romney, McCain go to war over war

Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney went head to head Wednesday in one of their most contentious debates yet, sparring furiously over who has the longer history of supporting the Iraq war.

Following the Florida primary, which McCain won in a decidedly negative race, the two GOP candidates continued to spar over McCain’s last-minute assertion that Romney at one time supported a specific timetable for withdrawal in Iraq.

{mosads} Romney and most news accounts dispute that assertion. McCain insisted Wednesday night, however, that Romney should not have even entertained the idea, but instead his “answer should have been known.”

Romney responded by invoking the name of the GOP icon in condemning McCain’s tactics in recent days.

“I have never supported a specific date for withdrawal, and it’s offensive to me that someone would suggest that I have,” Romney said. He added that McCain’s charge in the closing days of the Florida primary represents the kind of “dirty tricks that I think Ronald Reagan would’ve found to be reprehensible.”

McCain, a long-time supporter of the troop surge, did not back down from his statement, saying again that Romney “of course he said he supported the timetables.”

The two men engaged in fierce clashes over the subject as Romney seemed exasperated, if not authentically angry, that McCain continued to charge that the former governor would suggest he supported a specific timetable.

The first half of the debate, held at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., saw McCain, Romney, Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee largely playing nice as the debate centered around economic concerns.

When the topic turned to Iraq, however, McCain and Romney took their gloves off, and Paul and Huckabee were mostly sidelined.

Romney began to interrupt McCain, indignant the senator was misrepresenting his position and accusing him of an “attempt to do the Washington-style, old politics.”

McCain chuckled at this, saying Romney had spent millions of dollars on attack ads against Huckabee in Iowa and McCain in the subsequent states.

“A lot of it’s your own [money], you’re free to do what you want to,” McCain said. “You can spend it all.”

Romney spent much of the debate hitting McCain for his past positions that have cost him the trust of conservative Republicans, like campaign finance reform, global warming and immigration.

Romney again mentioned those issues as the reason Reagan would endorse his candidacy if he were alive. That led McCain to respond: “Ronald Reagan would not approve of someone who changes their positions depending on what the year is.”

In the less than 24 hours since McCain bested Romney in Florida, the media narrative has been written that the GOP contest has turned into a two-man race between Romney and McCain.

The moderators Wednesday night seemed to adhere to that narrative as Huckabee and Paul were largely afterthoughts through much of the debate.

 Looking on in the crowd were former First Lady Nancy Reagan and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Just before the debate — but after former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani endorsed McCain — the Associated Press reported that the California governor will do the same on Thursday.

Schwarzenegger's endorsement could prove a huge boon to McCain just days out from the California primary, much like those of Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist did in the closing days of the Sunshine State's primary.