California Republican debate transcript

Moderator: Well, we have a razorback ready to talk to you, the razorback from Arkansas.

Should the Clintons come back to the White House, especially big Bill?

Huckabee: No one on this stage probably knows Hillary Clinton better than I do...

(Unknown): Oh, my.

(Laughter)

Huckabee: ... and I will tell you that it's probably not a good idea to put either of them back in the White House.

Moderator: OK.

Congressman, Bill Clinton back home?

Hunter: You know, Bill Clinton cut the U.S. Army by almost 50 percent. In this war against terror, he's the wrong guy to have in there.

And incidentally, on the Schiavo case, you know, Ronald Reagan said, on the question of life, "When there's a question, err on the side of life." I think Congress did the right thing.

Moderator: Governor, should Bill Clinton be back in the White House? Is it good for America? I mean, it is a possibility here.

Thompson: A bad possibility. No national I.D. And the Terri Schiavo case should be left up to the states. And Bill Clinton should not be in the White House.

And we certainly should not elect any Democrat to the White House. One of us here should be the next president.

Moderator: Good clean-up, good clean-up hitting there.

(Laughter)

Senator?

McCain: No, because it obviously would mean that Senator Clinton is the president of the United States, and we don't want that.

Most importantly, it would mean that the appointment of Supreme Court justices and other judges would be -- take a very sharp turn to the left.

One of our greatest problems in America today is justices that legislate from the bench, activist judges.

I'm proud that we have Justice Alito and Roberts on the United States Supreme Court. I'm very proud to have played a very small role in making that happen.

Moderator: OK.

Dr. Paul?

Paul: I am known for sticking to principle and not flip- flopping. I voted to impeach him, so...

(Laughter)

(Crosstalk)

Moderator: Mayor Giuliani?

Giuliani: It would mean that we were back on defense against terrorism, given Senator Clinton's recent positions.

And the reality is, in the 1990s, we were on defense in dealing with Islamic fundamentalist terrorism.

When you had this debate last week and all the Democrats were up here, I never remember the words "Islamic fundamentalist terrorism" being spoken by any of them. And I heard it a lot tonight.

Moderator: Mr. Tancredo, last thought?

Tancredo: I know that he is presently measuring the drapes over in the Oval Office...

(Laughter)

... but, no, it's a lousy idea.

Moderator: You really think he's measuring the drapes, huh?

Let me start with a question. In all seriousness, if you want to pass, please pass it. We don't have much time.

Every president, if you look back to Ike, was elected to fill the problem of the previous president. We are, of course, correcting all the time in this country; it's how democracy works.

How will you be different, in any way, from President George W. Bush?

Romney: I think we're each our own person. We have our own values.

I respect the president's character, his passion, his love for this country. I believe everything he does in this war against terror flows from a desire to protect the American people and to make our future secure.

But I will go to work not only to win the war on terror as it relates to Iraq and Afghanistan, but on a global basis, not only with a strong military -- we need at least 100,000 more troops, more military spending.

But at the same time, we have to strengthen our economy and make sure that somebody who has been in the private sector all his life can protect American jobs.

And finally, strengthen the American family. That's what we've got to do.

Moderator: OK. I've got to go to Senator McCain.

McCain: I would not have mismanaged the war. It was badly mismanaged for four years. Now we have a new strategy that I think and pray every night will succeed.

And I would have vetoed spending bill after spending bill after pork-barrel project after pork-barrel project, in the tradition of President Reagan.

Moderator: Mr. Gilmore?

Gilmore: You know, Chris, this campaign is about the national security of the United States. And there are at least four things that need to be done.

We need to be vigorous on the war on terror, and we need to draw other people across the world to us as we address it.

Homeland security has got to become an entire effort of an entire community of the United States. And we have not yet achieved that.

Moderator: OK.

Mr. Huckabee?

We have to move. I'm sorry.

Gilmore: And we have to energy independence.

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