Jan. 24 Republican debate transcript

Williams: Time has expired.

Senator McCain, we've talked about the issue that arose with the Chuck Norris fight, shall we say, with your mom. The "L.A. Times" famously wrote recently that your own temper, "has been an issue for years."

Do you see that as a possible impediment?

McCain: I don't. I've -- look, I've dealt with people and my friends and colleagues for many, many years. I think they know me.

I don't think I would have the support of so many of my colleagues that I work with every day if that -- if that were the case. And I've been able not only to make close friendships and warm ones over the years, but also across the aisle.

If you'll indulge me one second, I know this is unusual, but I happen to know Rudy Giuliani. I happen to know he's an American hero. And I happen to have gone to New York City after 9/11. And I'm proud of the way he led this country and united it following 9/11.

And all these are good people who are running here. And I respect them. And I intend to respect them both during and after this campaign is over.

Williams: Governor Huckabee, a Bush administration official said that your use of faith in your campaign gave him a "queasy feeling."

Your response to that.

Huckabee: I would say that would be his problem, not mine. My faith does not give me a queasy feeling. It gives me a solid core from which I'm able to live every day.

I don't wake up every day and have to look at a poll to decide what I believe. My faith grounds me, it gives me a sense of direction and purpose.

I don't try to impose it on other people. And I certainly would never use the auspices of government to try to push my faith.

But for me to run from it, impossible. It's who I am. And so if it gives some people a queasy feeling, then they'll have to deal with it.

The fact is, this country has always been a country where people were able to respect people who had faith. And frankly, we ought to be able to respect people who don't have any.

I mean, I don't feel like a person has to share my faith to share my love of this country. But if a person hates me or dislikes me because of my faith, I'm not sure if they understand what it means to truly be an American, where we can live with each other no matter how different our faith is, but at least we have that understanding that historically faith has been an important part of who this country is.

Most Americans believe in God. As I've often said, if you want a president that doesn't, you'll have to pick somebody else.

Williams: Thank you, Governor.

Congressman Paul, the other campaigns have said to you that their worry is that you won't stick to your party. If you look at yourself and see yourself some day as unelectable, perhaps you would launch a third party movement and hurt the Republicans.

Paul: My biggest concern is they won't stick to the party principles that Republicans stood for, for so long. And you know, being conservative and balanced budgets, and limited government, and individual freedom, no, I have no intention of going into another party.

I've been elected 10 times as a Republican. I was from a Republican family. And no, I don't plan to do that.

I wish they would worry about it, you know, just in case. But, no, I have no intention of doing that, but it might keep them on their toes.

But, no, I just think that the Republican Party has a problem because we don't act like Republicans. And we talked about this earlier, you know, that we're spending money that we don't have, we run up these deficits.

We -- instead -- you know, in the old days, we used to be against the Department of Education. Now we doubled the size of it. No Child Left Behind -- even the Democrats are running against some of the things that we do, and they used to love that kind of stuff.

And it used to be that we used to stop the wars. We stopped the Korean War. We were supposed to stop the Vietnam War that Democrats started. And here, we're starting these wars. So that's why we've lost our way.

So I don't think it's a matter of me leaving the Republican Party. If they would look toward what we're doing and the number of people who want to come into the party, they shouldn't be obstructing us. They should welcome.

The party is getting smaller. Yet they say, oh, you're too strict on the Constitution. Why shouldn't us, who believe strictly in the constitutional rule of law, be excluded? That's the way a lot of the people that gather around my candidacy think they're being treated.

So I would say, why don't we have a big tent and welcome those of us who believe in liberty and believe in the Constitution? That's what it's all about, and that's what the Republican Party used to stand for.

Williams: Congressman, thank you.

That will have to be the -- before we allow the audience the chance to release their pent-up feelings about tonight, and as we bring tonight's debate to a close, we would like to remind those who missed any or all of tonight's debate, it will re-air on MSNBC tonight at 9:00 p.m. on the West Coast, midnight here in the East.