Republican Rivals Aim At McCain

MIAMI (AP) — After his win in South Carolina Sunday, John McCain has become the target of his presidential rivals.

Rudy Giuliani is criticizing McCain’s lack of executive decision making experience, saying he’s never run a government. The former New York mayor is also attacking McCain for voting against the Bush tax cuts on two occasions.

McCain responded to the attacks on CNN, saying he now supports making the cuts permanent and anything less would amount to a tax increase. Noting that Giuliani hasn’t won a nominating contest yet, McCain says he can understand why Giuliani would attack the front-runner.

Mitt Romney is also on the attack, painting McCain as a Washington insider. Romney says he doesn’t think change can be made in Washington by somebody who has been a part of it for so long.

Mike Huckabee is in Texas attending a fundraiser hosted by actor Chuck Norris. Norris says McCain is too old for the job, but Huckabee distanced himself from the comment.

Meantime, aides to Fred Thompson say they don’t expect him to make a decision as to whether he’ll stay in the GOP race until after the weekend.