RAND RAPIDS, Mich. - At first, the six Republican presidential candidates seemed intent on debating a subject they had been arguing over for days: tax cuts.
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Here are the particulars of tonight's Republican presidential candidates debate.
WHO: Gary Bauer, George W. Bush, Steve Forbes, Orrin Hatch, Alan Keyes, John McCain.
WHEN: Monday, Jan. 10, 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. EST.
WHERE: Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Mich.
SPONSORS: WOOD-TV of Grand Rapids and Kent County (Mich.) Republican Party.
MODERATOR: NBC's Tim Russert.
PANEL: Rick Albin and Suzanne Geha of WOOD-TV.
COVERAGE: Live on MSNBC, C-SPAN, National Public Radio.
 Republicans shift focus to foreign policy, free trade
Candidates ruminate on a time capsule
Truth Squad: Some overreaching rhetoric
Excerpts from debate
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But 15 minutes into last night's debate, several candidates conceded they were broadly in agreement on the topic. And suddenly, what had been expected to be a lengthy, detailed debate over taxation splintered into a lively exchange on foreign policy and free trade - two topics that had been overshadowed by religion, taxes, and morality in the five previous GOP debates.
For the first time since the primary debates began, Governor George W. Bush of Texas took a strong stand on the economic isolation of Cuba. Condemning advocates of trade with Cuba as ''wrong-headed,'' Bush said he did not believe there was any point in encouraging capitalism in Cuba. Such a policy, he said, would only be ''used by the Fidel Castro government to pump itself up.''
Senator John McCain of Arizona flashed his foreign policy background following a question about the December hijacking of an Indian Airlines jetliner. After saying he ''never'' negotiate with hijackers as president of the United States, McCain waded into the intricacies of Indian-Pakistani relations that had made the hijacking so perilous.
All six candidates were asked their opinions of an administration plan to help fight AIDS in Africa with $150 million in assistance. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah said he agreed with the plan, and Bush, McCain, and Steve Forbes said they favored helping, but only with guarantees that the money would actually go to the people in need, not to corrupt governments.
It was the third Republican debate in five days, this time set at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., where the Feb. 22 primary will be the third presidential campaign test in the nation and the first in the Midwest. Michigan - the eighth-largest state and home to a stubbornly independent constituency - could prove critical if McCain thrives in the three previous contests, in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
Unlike New Hampshire, where McCain is running even with or ahead of Bush in the polls, Michigan is considered a Bush stronghold. Governor John Engler, a Republican, has endorsed the Texas governor, as have US Senator Spencer Abraham and five of the state's congressmen.
But Bush considered the state enough of a wild card to consent to participate in last night's debate, which he had initially planned to skip. And Peter Secchia, a Michigan native who served four years in President Bush's administration and is supporting his son, admitted, ''Anybody who expects it to be a runaway race is going to be surprised.''
Last night's 90-minute debate wandered around an array of familiar questions, from on-line pornography to gays in the military to whether states should be allowed to tax the Internet. Alan Keyes repeated his vow to abolish the federal income tax. Gary Bauer earned the debate's first round of applause with a rousing repeat of his campaign platform: restoring conservative values to the GOP, including outlawing abortion and condemning homosexual relationships.
At other times, the candidates faced questions out of the news headlines - their thoughts on Elian Gonzalez, the 6-year-old Cuban boy at the center of an international custody dispute, for example. Bush, former owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team, was at one point asked to address the case of John Rocker, the Atlanta Braves pitcher ordered by Major League Baseball to undergo psychological counseling after he made offensive remarks about minorities and gays. Bush responded by criticizing a culture of athletes ''who aren't responsible for their behavior.'' Minutes later, in a populist nod, Bush challenged a statement by Harvard Law School Professor Paul Weiler that there was no free speech in the private sector. ''Consider the source,'' said Bush, a Harvard Business School graduate.
The debate began, however, with taxes. McCain, who is scheduled to announce a $240 billion tax cut plan today in Concord, N.H., said he is in favor of reductions for middle- and low-income Americans, and using the budget surplus to shore up Social Security and pay down the $5.6 trillion national debt. His plan would encourage savings, and would put more people in a lower tax bracket with a lower tax rate.
''I'm not sure we need to give two-thirds of that tax cut ... to the wealthiest people in America,'' McCain said.
But Bush said he thinks ''everybody should get a tax cut.'' Earlier in the day, Bush, upon hearing McCain's intention to release a new tax plan today, stole a line from the TV quiz show ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' with a sarcastic quip: ''Senator, is this your final tax plan?''
Hatch, asked about whether he supported software to filter pornography from the Internet, said he supported the idea despite concerns of free speech advocates that it could violate the First Amendment. But he quickly changed the subject to the only one that seemed important in the early minutes of the debate.
''There isn't one of us here who is isn't going to try to reduce taxes,'' Hatch snapped.
Gary Bauer, also asked about pornography, said ''You know I have strong feelings about taxes ... I actually think the question you're asking, at the end of the day, may be more important.'' He said the country should ''find its voice on things like this ... or it won't matter how much we cut taxes.''
Forbes came under fire when it came to taxes - for his negative advertisements in New Hampshire accusing Bush of betraying a ''no new taxes'' pledge as Texas governor. McCain, when asked if he would do the same, left the podium to shake Bush's hand and promised not to go negative himself.
Also, earlier in the day, McCain accepted an invitation from Boston's WCVB-TV to participate in a series of debates among only the front-runners leading up to the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 1. None of the other invitees - Bush, Vice President Al Gore, and former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley - immediately agreed to the challenge.
