politics

Sen. John McCain tried Sunday night to make the case that he is best positioned to defeat Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in a general election, outlining a series of contrasts with her on the issues and focusing on his experience.

In a speech in Rindge, N.H., that his campaign described as the kind of pointed but respectful approach he will take for the rest of the campaign, McCain, R-Ariz., sought to tap into anti-Clinton sentiment driving many Republican primary voters, particularly in New Hampshire.

At the same time, he tried to do it in a markedly different way from his two main rivals, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, who have both harshly attacked Clinton.

"If I'm your nominee and Sen. Clinton is the nominee of the other party, the country will face as clear a choice as any in recent memory," he told an overflow crowd at Franklin Pierce University. "She will be a formidable candidate. And while our differences are many and profound, I intend this to be a respectful debate. She and I disagree over America's direction, and it is a serious disagreement. But I don't doubt her ability to lead this country where she thinks it should go."

For months, McCain has been rebuffing pressure from some of his supporters and aides to step up his criticism of Clinton. But unlike his rivals, McCain has worked closely with Clinton in the Senate and has said repeatedly that he personally likes her.

In his speech Sunday night, McCain tried to direct attention to the question of experience.

"There comes a time when a president can no longer rely on briefing books and PowerPoints, when the experts and advisers have all weighed in, when the sum total of one's life becomes the foundation from which he or she makes the decisions that determine the course of history," he said. "No other candidate has my experience or the judgment it informs."

Huckabee on abortion

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said he rejects letting states decide whether to allow abortions, claiming the right to life is a moral issue not subject to multiple interpretations.

"If morality is the point here, and if it's right or wrong, not just a political question, then you can't have 50 different versions of what's right and what's wrong," Huckabee said on "Fox News Sunday."

The former Arkansas governor said he was taken aback by the National Right to Life Committee's recent endorsement of Fred Thompson, the ex-Tennessee senator.

"But my surprise was nothing compared to the surprise of people across America who had been faithful supporters of right to life," said Huckabee, who is challenging Thompson's claim that he is the most reliable conservative in the GOP field. In a separate interview aired Sunday, Thompson said Roe vs. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision allowing legal abortion, should be overturned, with states allowed to decide whether to permit abortions.

NASCAR FAN GIULIANI

Rudy Giuliani attended NASCAR's Ford 400 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, stressing the need for America to break its dependence on foreign oil.

"This is our third one this year, so now I feel like I really am a fan," Giuliani, accompanied by his wife, Judith, told a tent full of drivers and crews.

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