Jan 30, 2008 4:31 am US/Pacific
McCain, Romney Ready To Fight For Calif.
Final Pre-California Primary Republican Debate Set For Wednesday
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (CBS) ―
-
-
Mitt Romney and John McCain are prepping for the last big battle before next week's crucial California primary.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The last GOP presidential debate before "Tsunami Tuesday" will be held Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, with front-runner John McCain expected to face sharp attacks from a politically wounded Mitt Romney.
McCain has set 3 p.m. news conference to announce a "major" endorsement. That is expected to come from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Republican sources have said Giuliani will officially announce his withdrawal from the race, then endorse McCain. Giuliani ran a distant third in Tuesday's primary in Florida, a state on which he had staked his presidential bid.
The debate will be the Republicans' second in seven days. However, with the field of credible contenders reduced to two, the debate will be different than Thursday's in Boca Raton, Fla., according to Patrick James, the director of USC's Center for International Studies.
"What we're going to see ... is a much more sharp and I think confrontational debate between McCain and Romney," James said. "Those two are going to be addressing each much more directly."
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Texas Rep. Ron Paul are also scheduled to debate. Additionally, Huckabee is scheduled to attend a late-morning fundraising reception in Newport Beach, an Americans of Faith event in Westlake Village Wednesday afternoon, and a post-debate fundraiser in Thousand Oaks Wednesday evening.
John J. Pitney, a Claremont McKenna College government professor, said he expects Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, to challenge McCain on illegal immigration.
"That would be a significant issue among California Republicans," Pitney said.
McCain, an Arizona senator, drew scorn from many fellow Republicans last year and sank in the polls for his support of legislation that would have liberalized immigration laws. The bill's failure has helped McCain, Pitney said, because had it passed, McCain's support of it would be far more conspicuous.
James said he expects the debate to "harden and intensify views that people already hold."
"The number of people who will change their mind is declining," James said, adding that McCain will use the debate to tout his electability.
"For some time now, he's the only Republican who beats Clinton in a head-to-head matchup, because he picks up independents and he picks up moderate Democrats and Reagan Democrats," James said.
"He may try to play the pragmatic card -- although he won't come out and say it as dramatically as I'm saying it now -- 'I know some of you conservatives out there don't like me very much, but you'd better support me or you're getting Hillary.'"
According to James, "Romney is in a lot of trouble."
"There are a couple of things that really hurt him here," James said. "He's a throwback to the old Rockefeller liberal wing of the Republican Party. He is very distasteful to the conservatives, as is McCain, but he can't really play the pragmatic card that McCain can play because he doesn't poll as well."
The Democratic candidates will debate Thursday at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
