ES MOINES - Defying an Iowa totem - the corn product ethanol - before an Iowa audience in a Republican presidential debate leading up to the state's critical caucus next month, Senator John McCain said last night the synthetic fuel was not worthy of a federal subsidy and should be phased out.
McCain, who is not actively competing in the caucus, said that the subsidy amounted to a typical pork-barrel project ''sneaked'' into legislation by powerful members of Congress and that it should have been exposed to competition for funds.
''I'm not going to tell you things you want to hear,'' the Arizona senator said, causing a stir at the outset of a discussion between the six candidates for the Republican presidential nomination.
His principal adversary, Texas Governor George W. Bush, in one of several clashes with McCain, quickly followed by declaring his support for ethanol ''whether I'm in Iowa or not.'' His remark elicited applause from 2,000 Republicans watching the event in a Des Moines civic center. ''It's good for our air,'' Bush said. ''It's reducing our dependency on foreign oil. If I'm president, I'll spend money on research and development for agricultural research.''
A third member of the panel, Steve Forbes, said ethanol should continue to be funded through its current deadline in the year 2007 ''and if it doesn't work out ... then it ought to go.''
The other three candidates, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, Gary Bauer, and Alan Keyes, did not join the ethanol discussion, but staked out conservative positions on such issues as abortion, gun control, and trade.
Throughout the 90-minute debate, Bush seemed more animated and aggressive than in the earlier debates, especially in his exchanges with McCain.
McCain, who has committed most of his resources to New Hampshire and South Carolina and is not campaigning actively in Iowa, seemed to distance himself further from the audience by challenging Bush to support the McCain initiative to eliminate ''soft money'' from politics.
''I'll be glad to talk about it,'' Bush said, then seemed to put an end to the discussion by saying nothing more. When one of the moderators, Tom Brokaw, suggested that there was time for him to discuss the idea further, Bush attacked the McCain measure.
''It's going to hurt the Republican Party,'' Bush said. Any assault on unregulated contributions should be coupled with legislation that would provide ''paycheck protection'' for union members whose dues are channeled to Democratic candidates, he said. Embracing the McCain bill, Bush said, amounted to ''unilateral disarmament,'' a remark that provoked more cheers from the crowd.
The conservative group of candidates was challenged by an opening question dealing with the role that guns, videotapes, and movies played in the massacre by two students earlier this year at a Colorado school and whether the entertainment and weapons industries should be watched more closely.
''Absolutely,'' McCain said.
Rather than scolding the industries, Bush said, he would initiate ''programs of faith and good will, mentoring programs, and after-school programs.''
Keyes said the nation needed to return to ''basic moral principles'' and return ''faith and prayer'' to schools.
Hatch turned the question to the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which legalized abortions, and suggested that this had contributed to the ''insanctity of life,'' perhaps more than guns and movies.
Forbes blamed the Clinton-Gore administration for creating a climate where it was difficult to make distinctions between right and wrong. ''Prosecutions for federal firearm violations are way down,'' he said.
Although told by a local moderator, TV newsman John Bachman, that three of the largest denominations in Iowa called for handgun controls, Bauer, a leader of the religious right, said, ''I think the churches should leave to politicians the regulation of various industries.'' He, too, intimated that laws enabling abortion undermined the sanctity of life.
One questioner asked the candidates to name the philosopher or thinker who had the most influence on their lives. Forbes mentioned John Locke and Thomas Jefferson;Keyes named the Founding Fathers; Bush picked Jesus Christ; Hatch chose Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, and Jesus Christ; McCain named the Founding Fathers and Theodore Roosevelt; and Bauer mentioned Jesus Christ.
Bush said he chose Christ because he had changed his heart. ''When you turn your heart and your life over to Christ, when you accept Christ as the savior, it changes your heart. It changes your life. And that's what happened to me,'' he said.
The candidates also clashed over trade. When Bauer criticized Bush for favoring ''most favored nation'' trade policies for China, the Texas governor said, ''Opening Chinese markets is good for Iowa farmers.''
Bauer said the Chinese failed to keep their agreements.
''That's why we let them in WTO,'' Bush said, referring to the World Trade Organization. Turning to Bauer, he said, ''You want to isolate the farmers.''
Bush also refused to accept Bauer's prodding that he pledge to name a running mate dedicated to ''prolife'' positions.
''I think it's incredibly presumptive'' to discuss vice presidential choices, Bush said, adding that his main criterion for a running mate would be an ability to step in and serve as president.
During the portion of the program in which the candidates questioned one another, Forbes asked Bauer whether the International Monetary Fund should ''go to the political equivalent of Jurassic Park.''
Bauer used the opening to criticize the IMF and WTO ''and a lot of things the United Nations has been involved in,'' noting that the programs had sapped US sovereignty and ''should be reviewed.''
Though there was no way to judge statewide reaction to the debate, Bush appeared to be the audience's favorite. Though the spectators had been cautioned not to applaud, they punctuated several of Bush's remarks during the evening with clapping.
According to recent polls conducted in Iowa, Bush holds a comfortable lead over Forbes, with Bauer and McCain competing for third place and Keyes and Hatch trailing.
The final GOP debate leading up to the Jan. 24 Iowa caucus is scheduled for Jan. 8.
