Jan. 24 Republican debate transcript

Williams: Governor, thanks. Time is up. And to the very patient Paul Tash we go, in the front row, from the St. Petersburg Times.

Paul?

Tash: Mayor Giuliani, this question to you comes from Marshall Brannon (ph) of St. Petersburg.

Your immigration plan calls for all immigrants to learn English to gain citizenship. So why is your campaign airing an ad in Spanish?

Giuliani: The reality is I believe that America is a country that is built around the English language. If you want to become a citizen, you should demonstrate your facility with English.

If you know other languages, that is wonderful and that's a wonderful thing and if we have substantial portions of populations that know other languages, I'm very comfortable trying to reach them in both English and in Spanish.

The core of my plan on immigration is to stop illegal immigration at the border, with a border stat system, with technology, with the increased border patrol. I believe we can stop the illegal immigration if we stop it right at the border.

And then we should develop a tamper-proof ID card so that people that want to come into the United States should be allowed to do that. We have to teach new behavior. The new behavior is if you want to come into the United States, you have to identify yourself, which, after all, makes the United States like every other country. Right?

You can't get into most countries without identifying yourself. And then if you've got the tamper-proof ID card, you'd be allowed to work, pay taxes, get online, become a citizen, follow the rules. But at the end of the line, you'd have to be able to read, write and speak English.

If you speak a second language or a third language or a fourth language, I think that's great for America. I think America has to be a country that has facility with more languages given the global economy we live in and I think we can be very comfortable with that.

But the focus has to be on being able to read, write and speak English if you want to be a citizen.

Russert: Mayor Giuliani, I'd like to ask a follow-up. I think many Americans would be surprised by our policy of wet foot-dry foot, that if a Cuban is caught at sea, he or she is sent back. If one foot touches American land, they're allowed to stay here.

Why should a Cuban be allowed to stay here, but not a Mexican, not a Guatemalan, not a Venezuelan fleeing Hugo Chavez, someone fleeing North Korea, someone fleeing Iran? Why a special policy for a Cuban?

Giuliani: Well, of course, this was developed in the 1960s, because the longest dictatorship, I believe, in the modern world is the one of Fidel Castro.

The presumption is that if you're fleeing Fidel Castro, given decades and decades of murder, oppression, including, most recently, the way he cracked down on the Combio (ph) group, Brothers to the Rescue, all of these things, there's a presumption in the immigration law that if you're fleeing Fidel Castro, you're fleeing political persecution.

In every other situation, you have to prove it. If you can prove that you're fleeing political persecution, you'll be accepted. We've had this exception now for -- what is it -- 40 years. And I think it's fair one, given the history of Castro, which is a pretty unusual one. And he is the longest-standing dictator, certainly in this hemisphere, I believe in the world.

Williams: We have another question from Paul Tash in the audience.

Tash: Governor Huckabee, this questions comes from David Haney (ph) in Spring Hill, Florida.

Chuck Norris, one of your most vocal supporters, recently said that at 72 Senator McCain would be too old to withstand the rigors of the presidency. Do you agree or disagree?

McCain: Did you get my response?

Huckabee: I did hear what Chuck said. I was standing with him. And I didn't disagree with him at the time, because I was standing next to him. It's as simple as that. This is a guy who can put this foot on that side of my face, and there's nothing I can do about it.

Now, I have said publicly -- in fact, I think it was the debate we had, gosh, back in New Hampshire. And I publicly said -- and I have said it many times -- I don't think that Senator McCain lacks the rigor and the capacity to be president.

And I said, if you look at his mother and see her strength at 95, of all the things we can pick on Senator McCain for, that ain't one of them. There may be some other things I can pick on Senator McCain about, but not that.

And, frankly, I think he's demonstrated in the campaign that he's got the capacity to run. He and I would have different approaches to be president, but I promise you that is not an issue for me. It might be from Chuck, but I'm far enough away from him that I feel comfortable in saying that now.