I recommend the full text or audio of this report on the Republican presidential candidates. mjh

NPR : GOP Presidential Hopefuls Debate, Thompson Runs, by Mara Liasson

The biggest fireworks of the night came in this exchange between Congressman Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee. Paul is the lone anti-war candidate in the Republican field and wants U.S. troops out of Iraq now.

“We’ve dug a hole for ourselves and we’ve dug a hole for our party,” Paul said. “We’re losing elections and we’re going down next year if we don’t change it, and it has all to do with foreign policy and we have to wake up to this fact.”

Huckabee responded sharply: “Even if we lose elections, we should not lose our honor, and that is more important [to] … the Republican party.”

“We have lost over 5,000 Americans killed in – we’ve lost over 5,000 Americans over there in Afghanistan, in Iraq and plus the civilians killed,” Paul retorted. “How many more you want to lose? How long are you going to be there? How long – what do we have to pay to save face? That’s all we’re doing, is saving face. It’s time we came home.”

A mixture of boos and applause that followed indicates just how divided even a Republican audience in New Hampshire is over the issue of Iraq.

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