ASHINGTON - Four days after a spark-filled New Hampshire debate, the six Republican candidates conducted a low-key, mostly friendly meeting last night, agreeing on traditional GOP themes of lower taxes, stronger national security, and disapproval of the Clinton administration.
With US Senator John McCain of Arizona participating via satellite from Massachusetts, the five other Republican presidential candidates met in his home state capital of Phoenix. For the second straight debate, McCain was relatively unscathed while George W. Bush received the most barbs and pointed questions.
In perhaps the most striking line of the night, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah turned to Bush and praised him, but then firmly suggested that the Texas governor lacks experience.
''You've been a great governor,'' said Hatch, standing onstage at the Orpheum Theater and before a CNN audience. ''My only problem with you, Governor, is that you've only had four and going into your fifth year of governorship in a constitutionally weak governorship. And frankly, I really believe that you need more experience before you become president of the United States. That's why I'm thinking of you as a vice presidential candidate.''
Bush smiled in response as the audience laughed.
Bush also faced one of the trickiest questions of the night when CNN anchor Judy Woodruff followed up on his assertion during the New Hampshire debate that he was reading a biography of former Secretary of State Dean Acheson. When Woodruff asked what Bush had learned from the book, Bush gave a generic answer about the need for the United States to be a world leader and didn't cite anything specific about Acheson.
''The United States must not retreat within our borders,'' Bush said.
By contrast, McCain, standing by in a Watertown studio, leaped at the query, recalling how Acheson walked into the office of President Truman and discussed whether the United States should intervene in the Korean conflict. ''Harry Truman didn't take a poll; Harry Truman knew what to do,'' McCain said, implying that the Clinton administration has done just that before engaging in military conflict.
Those least likely to win the nomination benefited the most from the equal standing on the stage. All of those struggling in the single digits in national polls, including Hatch, former Reagan aide Gary Bauer, and talk show host Alan Keyes, used the free-wheeling discussion as an opportunity to showcase their command of their favorites issues.
Bauer, asked what he would do to prevent school shootings, said he would allow religion in the schools, particularly the posting of the Ten Commandments.
''I don't think it's a gun problem,'' he said. ''I think this is a problem of the heart and soul.''
Keyes did not repeat his New Hampshire debate complaints about being the subject of a media ''blackout.'' Instead, he spoke calmly, agreeing with Bauer about the need to allow prayer in the schools.
''Since we took prayer out, we have seen violence in,'' Keyes said.
Forbes, who won the Arizona primary in 1996 and is running advertisements accusing Bush of ''betrayal'' for considering an increase in the Social Security retirement age, seemed to go out of his way to put on a friendly face. He told his familiar jokes about how politicians are attracted to money like bears after honey, and he urged Bush to call him ''Steve.''
In the friendly spirit of the night, Bush asked McCain about his views on the involvement of faith-based institutions using government funds to help provide social services. McCain then joked about whether he should call Bush ''Governor, George, or W., or Bush'' before going on to praise Bush's work on the subject.
''I think you are on the right track,'' McCain told Bush.
As in New Hampshire, Bush did not dominate the debate, and he often did not seem to have the same spontaneous command of the issues displayed by some of his competitors.
But when Bauer compared Bush's stance on China to the policy of the Clinton administration, Bush shot back: ''You know how to insult a guy.''
Bush faced a politically sensitive question about what he would do if rising oil prices caused the price of home heating oil to spike upward in New England.
Bush, a former oil man, responded that he would encourage more oil exploration and the use of natural gas, adding, ''Governments don't control the price of oil, at least not in America.''
McCain took the same question and turned it into a lecture on foreign policy.
''On the issue of this oil and gas, I'd direct your attention back to what's going on in Chechnya right now, because there's vast gas and oil reserves in Azerbaijan and Central Asia. If the Russians control ... that and overthrow those governments, then you're not going to get access to that and the price of oil is going to stay up and the OPEC companies are going to keep it in their grip.
''I'd pay attention to what's happened in Chechnya, and I'd stop the Russians from doing what they're doing. And that way we can bring the price of oil down,'' McCain said.
Even though the format allowed the candidates to question one another, most of the inquiries were friendly. McCain, for example, did not go after his chief rival, Bush. Instead, McCain's first question was actually a compliment to Bauer for supporting his campaign finance overhaul bill. Bauer responded by praising McCain's effort.
''I want to commend you for what you have done in this campaign on campaign finance reform,'' Bauer told McCain, who beamed in return.
After McCain received a number of glowing reviews for his performance in the New Hampshire debate last week, much of the focus last night was expected to be on the long-distance participant. McCain participated by satellite after initially turning down the invitation because of what he called a scheduling conflict.
The debate was held in a state that may have one of the most important primaries. The Arizona Republican primary is slated to be held on Feb. 22.
But for McCain, the contest is filled with pitfalls. If he does well, analysts are bound to say he should succeed in his home state. But if McCain fails, his chances of winning the nomination are likely to diminish.
