(Updates with more quotes, recasts) By Steve Holland MYRTLE BEACH, S.C., Jan 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidates said on Thursday the U.S. economy was going through a difficult slowdown but an election-year recession could be avoided with the right mix of policies. At a high-stakes debate before the Michigan primary vote, the men vying to be the Republican candidate for the November presidential election squabbled over changing politics in Washington, the Iraq war and the threat from Iran. All agreed the U.S. economy is in the doldrums, blaming high gasoline prices and a housing market crisis. "Could we be headed for a recession? Absolutely. Do we have to be headed for a recession? Absolutely not," said former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 60. The Republicans said making the Bush administration's tax cuts permanent and reducing government spending would stimulate the economy. They would not commit to a government stimulus plan that some Democrats have backed and even President George W. Bush has said he is considering. "I think that has to be considered somewhere along the line if the economy calls for it, not today, but perhaps a little later on," former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, 65, said. The debate took place against a backdrop of rising support for Arizona Sen. John McCain, 71, who got a boost in his bid for the nomination from his victory in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. McCain hopes momentum from that win will propel him to victory in Michigan on Tuesday and South Carolina on Jan. 19. Polls show him leading among Republicans in both states. Many political experts believe Romney needs to win in Michigan, where he was born, to remain viable as a candidate. He pulled his television advertising out of South Carolina to focus on Michigan, aides said. Romney went quickly on the attack on Thursday, accusing McCain of giving up on people who have lost jobs. "I know that there are some people who think, as Sen. McCain did, he said, you know, some jobs are leaving Michigan and they're not coming back. I disagree. I'm going to fight for every single job, Michigan, South Carolina, every state in this country," said Romney, whose father was governor of Michigan in the 1960s. McCain hopes to score a knock-out punch against Romney in the state, the home of the major American automakers, and refused to back down at the Fox News Channel debate. "There are some jobs that aren't coming back to Michigan," McCain said. "There are some jobs that won't come back to South Carolina, but we're going to take care of them," he added, referring to the people who lost their jobs. "That's our job, that's our obligation." THOMPSON VERSUS HUCKABEE Thompson, typically a passive participant in the debates, came out roaring against Huckabee, 52, the winner of the Iowa contest last week. He said Huckabee's positions on the issues are too similar to those of the Democratic Party. South Carolina could be Thompson's last stand, and he is competing with Huckabee for socially conservative voters in the southern state.Thompson accused Huckabee of supporting a ban on smoking nationwide and backing taxpayer-funded spending for illegal immigrants. "That's not the model of the Reagan coalition, that's the model of the Democratic party," Thompson said. An indignant Huckabee fired back, responding with the U.S. Air Force saying: "If you're not catching flak, you're not over the target." "I'm catching the flak, I must be over the target," he said. The debate was the latest in a series aimed at helping Republicans decide who will be their candidate to face the Democratic choice in the November election of a successor to the Republican Bush. The party has not seen such an open race for decades and most experts believe it is still wide open. Iran was the subject of some red-meat rhetoric, days after a confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz between U.S. ships and Iranian gunboats. Huckabee warned the Iranians were in danger of seeing "the gates of Hell" if they again threaten U.S. ships. (Additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, Andy Sullivan and Jason Szep in South Carolina; Editing by David Alexander and Patricia Zengerle)(For more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates (R) hosts an honor cordon to welcome Iraq's Defense Minister Abdel Qader Jassim to the Pentagon in Washington January 10, 2008. REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang (UNITED STATES) ...
