(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-31 16:54

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. -- Republican Mitt Romney accused John McCain of using dirty tricks by suggesting the former Massachusetts governor wanted a deadline for withdrawing US troops from Iraq, in a spirited debate Wednesday night that underscored the intensity of their presidential rivalry.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, answers a question as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney reacts during a Republican presidential debate in Simi Valley, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008. [Agencies]

Coming 24 hours after McCain defeated him in Florida, Romney vented his frustrations over the Arizona senator's claims from last weekend.

"I have never, ever supported a specific timetable" for withdrawing troops, Romney said. McCain's accusation on the eve of Tuesday's primary, he said, "sort of falls into the dirty tricks that I think Ronald Reagan would have found reprehensible."

The debate was held in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., six days before more than 20 states hold primaries or caucuses that could determine who succeeds President Bush as the party's standard-bearer.

McCain stuck to his guns, saying, "of course he said he wanted a timetable" for a withdrawal. McCain had made the allegation in Florida as he tried to shift the debate from the ailing economy, a stronger issue for Romney, a former venture capitalist and businessman.

Last April, Romney said US and Iraqi leaders "have to have a series of timetables and milestones that they speak about" in private.

In Wednesday's debate, Romney said he was not calling for a specific withdrawal date. "It's simply wrong, and the senator knows it," he said. "I will not pull our troops out until we have brought success in Iraq."

For 90 minutes, Romney and McCain sharply challenged each other's conservative credentials and ability to lead the country. But they generally remained civil, and each called the other "a fine man."

Romney tried to portray McCain, who performs well among political independents, as out of the conservative mainstream as the contest moves toward a cluster of states where only registered Republicans can vote. He said the Arizona senator twice voted against President Bush's tax cuts and pushed campaign finance reforms that restricted fundraising and spending. The Republican establishment embraced the tax cuts and opposed the new campaign law, which many saw as helpful to Democrats.

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