NATION

DEARBORN, Mich. – Republican
presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and
Rudy Giuliani quarreled over tax and
spending cuts Tuesday, each claiming
greater commitment than the other
in a debate in the nation’s struggling
manufacturing heartland.

The government “is spending
money of future generations and those
yet to be born,” added Fred Thompson,
making his debut on a debate stage
after a late entry into the race. He said
future retirees should receive smaller
Social Security benefits than they have
been promised.

After months of polite debate sparring,
Giuliani and Romney squared
off without hesitation, a reflection
of their struggle for primacy in the
race for their party’s presidential
nomination.

“I cut taxes 23 times. I believe in
tax cuts,” said Giuliani, former mayor
of New York and leader in national
Republican polls.

Romney initially conceded that, but
quickly criticized his rival for once
filing a court challenge to a law that
gave President Clinton the right to
veto spending items line by line. “I’m
in favor of the line-item veto,” he said,
adding he exercised it 844 times while
governor of Massachusetts.

The former governor leads his rivals
in the polls in Iowa, where caucuses
will be the first contest of the campaign,
and he and Giuliani are in a close race
in surveys in New Hampshire, the
leadoff primary state.

Giuliani responded that spending
fell in New York while he was mayor
and rose in Massachusetts while Romney
was governor.

“The point is that you’ve got to
control taxes. I did it, he didn’t. … I
led, he lagged.”

“It’s baloney,” retorted Romney. “I
did not increase taxes in Massachusetts.
I lowered taxes.”

The exchange was among the
most heated of the campaign for the
Republican presidential nomination,
reflecting a quickening pace as the 2008
caucuses and primaries draw close.