Fred Thompson drew withering criticism from fellow Republicans after the actor-politician dodged last night’s debate in favor of Hollywood, where he sat on Jay Leno’s couch to formally announce his presidential bid.
“Maybe we’re up past his bedtime,” Sen. John McCain quipped in the opening moments of the New Hampshire debate.
And former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney added to the ridicule, saying “the only question I have for Senator Thompson is: Why the hurry? Why not take some more time off? Maybe January, February might be a better time to make a final decision about getting in this race.”
Last night’s New Hampshire face-off, sponsored by Fox News Channel, also prompted feisty exchanges over the Iraq war.
Vietnam veteran John McCain insisted the U.S. military has turned a corner in Iraq.
“The surge is working, the surge is working,” he said, upbraiding rival Mitt Romney for saying the surge was “apparently” working.
McCain, turning in a strong performance, stressed that his military credentials make him most qualified to be commander-in-chief.
“I know war. I have seen war,” he said.
Front-runner Rudy Giuliani spent much of the evening on the defensive, parrying questions about his stormy personal life and liberal social positions by pointing to his executive record as mayor.
“The reality is that I’m not running on what I did on Sept. 11,” Giuliani said, pointing to his record of cuts in crime, taxes and welfare. “I’m running on the fact that I was mayor of the largest city in the country.”
A focus group of Republican voters assembled by pollster Frank Luntz at the Merrimack Restaurant in Manchester, N.H., found that McCain was the runaway winner and Giuliani the big loser.
The biggest problem for “America’s mayor” was that “he talked too much about his record in the Big Apple. It’s not New York that he’s going to be running,” said a displeased Republican named Mike.
Before the debate, New Hampshire GOP chairman Fergus Cullen said interest in Thompson was wearing thin after months of speculation about him entering the race.
“For him to then go on Jay Leno the same night and be trading jokes while other candidates are having a substantive discussion on issues is not going to be missed by New Hampshire voters,” Cullen said.
During the Leno appearance, Thompson smacked back at such criticism.
“It’s a lot more difficult to get on the ‘Tonight Show’ than it is to get into a presidential debate,” Thompson said.
“I don’t think people are going to say, ‘You know, that guy would make a very good president but he just didn’t get in soon enough,’ ” he added as the studio audience laughed.
Additional reporting
by Geoff Earle
in Manchester, N.H.
churt@nypost.com