The sixth U.S. Republican presidential debate kicked off Tuesday in Dearborn, Mich., with nine GOP presidential hopefuls taking the stage.
Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani clashed over tax and spending cuts, each saying he was more committed than the other as they vied for conservative support in a debate in the nation's manufacturing heartland.
The government "is spending money of future generations and those yet to be born," added Fred Thompson, making his debate debut after a late entry into the race.
"We are spending money we don't have," he said, although he advocated no specific changes to shift course.
Giuliani and Romney got down to specifics, and sharply, when asked to discuss their differences over economic issues.
"I cut taxes 23 times. I believe in tax cuts," said Giuliani, former Mayor of New York.
Romney said they were in agreement about tax cuts, then criticized Giuliani for having filed a court challenge to a law that gave then President Bill 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 being governor of Massachusetts.
Romney also said that while being mayor, Giuliani "fought to keep the commuter tax, which is a very substantial tax ... on consumers coming into New York."
Giuliani responded that spending fell in New York while he was mayor, and rose in Massachusetts while Romney was governor.
The clash was among the most heated of the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, reflecting a quickening pace as the primaries draw closer.
It also left Thompson and the other contenders as something of bystanders for the several moments that Romney and Giuliani went at one another.
By coincidence or design, Thompson, a former Tennessee senator and actor, drew the first question of a two-hour debate, hosted by CNBC's Maria Bartiromo and MSNBC's Chris Matthews.
A late entry into the race, Thompson has struggled to answer questions on some topics and, by many accounts, has turned in an underwhelming campaign trail performance.
But he has maintained a competitive position in national polls and has raised a respectable 12 million U.S. dollars over four months from 80,000 donors.
Source: Xinhua
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