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Free trade, foreign investment and taxes topped the talk among the nine Republican presidential candidates who gave Michigan voters the full court press Tuesday at an event that was Fred Thompson’s first foray into the debate scene since 1996.

Tuesday’s debate was the Republicans’ sixth get-together, and focused on economic issues in the state that has been behind the national average in jobs and growth. Michigan’s unemployment rate is nearly 3 points higher than the nation’s 4.6 percent.

Thompson was the first to answer a question, saying that he sees no evidence the economy is heading toward recession though measures need to be taken to ensure long-term economic prosperity.

"We’re enjoying 22 quarters of successive economic growth that started 2001 and then further in 2003 with the tax cuts that we put in place," he said. "But we are spending money we do not have. We are on a mandatory spending lockdown that is pushing us in a direction that is unsustainable. We’re spending the money of future generations, and those yet to be born. That has to do with our mandatory spending problem."

The former Tennessee senator, who joined the race last month, is trying to surpass low expectations for his performance and prove that he’s in the contest for real and prepared to be president.

Thompson became a candidate on Sept. 5, following the last GOP debate sponsored by FOX News. Many speculated that he waited to announce his candidacy until after the debate to avoid attending. Thompson has said debates are not the best forum for getting to know voters.

The key to winning over Republican voters in Michigan could hinge on being the most aggressive anti-tax and anti-spending candidate, and the GOP contenders were quick to support, or as Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo said, "at least pay lip service to" efforts to control spending.

As for who is better at controlling taxes and spending, the fight that began last week between Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney for the title of true fiscal conservative bubbled over on the stage at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, with the two front-runners accusing each other of raising taxes within their respective administrations.

Romney initially turned the argument on Democratic Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who he said raised taxes and is continuing to keep the state in a recession. He drew laughter when he said he was afraid she "was going to put a tax on this debate."

But the debate turned feisty when Giuliani, who is leading in national polls, claimed he lowered taxes 23 times, cut $9 billion from the budget and reduced per capita spending by 7 percent while serving two terms as New York City mayor. He argued that while Romney was governor of Massachusetts per capita spending went up 8 percent.

Romney, who made millions as a venture capitalist, countered that he cut taxes as well, and quoted the Club for Growth finding that spending went up 2.2 percent annually under Romney, but 2.8 percent under Giuliani. Romney added that the best tool to keep spending down is with a line-item veto, a device that tax-cut proponents say would help reduce spending, and Romney said he used 847 times.

But Giuliani noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has said that the line-item veto is unconstitutional for the federal government, and he prosecuted the case against giving that authority to President Bill Clinton.

"You can bang your head up against the stone wall all you want. I am in favor of a line item veto, expect you have to do it legally. And as the mayor of New York, if I had let President Clinton take $250 million away from the people of my city illegally and unconstitutionally, I wouldn’t have been much of a mayor," he said. "So I took President Clinton to court and I beat him. And I don’t think it’s a bad idea to have a Republican presidential candidate who actually has beat President Clinton at something."

Other candidates, including Mike Huckabee and California Rep. Duncan Hunter, both advocated a fair tax system that would remove taxes on productivity and exports, and Huckabee claims, would lift up lower income Americans. Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback said he supports a flat tax, and noted that 16 nations use that system with great success. Brownback and Tancredo both pledged not to raise taxes if elected president.

Several candidates also argued for free trade, but Hunter said China is cheating on trade, leading to a loss of jobs in the U.S. Texas Rep. Ron Paul complained that the U.S.’s biggest export is dollars, which is leading to a debt of $2.7 trillion owned by foreigners

"As long as we live beyond our means we are destined to live beneath our means. And we have lived beyond our means because we are financing a foreign policy that is so extravagant and beyond what we can control, as well as the spending here at home. And we’re depending on the creation of money out of thin air, which is nothing more than debasement of the currency. It’s counterfeit," Paul said.

Tancredo and McCain both blamed out-of-control budgets in Washington, D.C., on excessive spending on entitlements like Social Security. Tancredo added that illegal immigration is costing the government $20,000 for every $10,000 that an illegal contributes to the economy.

McCain added that President Bush was right to veto a children’s health expansion bill, and he urged him to reject a multibillion-dollar public works measure as well.

"We’ve got to get wasteful spending under control," he said.

In the context of economic issues, the candidates also expressed their support for the war in Iraq, with Paul, the sole opponent, winning applause for saying the U.S. is bogged down under phony pretenses.

While criticizing Bush for not sending in enough troops initially, Thompson said the war in Iraq is one against Islamic fascists who want to bring down Western civilization and must be fought.

"Sometimes it’s strange to me to think that the average 20-year-old serving us in Iraq knows more about what it takes for our national security than the average 20-year veteran on Capitol Hill," he said.

The latest Republican primary poll in Michigan conducted by Insider Advantage has Thompson in fourth place among 1,190 voters, behind Giuliani with 19 percent, Romney with 16 percent and Arizona Sen. John McCain with 14 percent. Thompson still holds a competitive position in national polls and has raised $12 million over four months from 80,000 donors.

Separately, in a frank assessment, former Bush adviser Dan Bartlett described many in the top tier of Republicans in less-than-flattering terms. Bartlett who left the White House this summer said Thompson is a "dud" and suggesting that Romney’s Mormonism won’t fly with southern voters.

He added that Huckabee’s last name sounds too "hick," though he described the former Arkansas governor as the "best candidate." Bartlett predicted that McCain will repeat his meltdown of 2000, when he won New Hampshire but lost the nomination. He did not criticize Giuliani.

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