With former frontrunner Rudy Giuliani’s withdrawal from the race still fresh, a newly pared-down field of Republican voters touted their credentials and conservative records in last night’s Republican debate in California (NYT). Climate change, Iraq, immigration and the economy fueled heated argument in what largely became a two-person battle between emerging frontrunners Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).

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Rudy Giuliani has formally dropped out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination after a poor showing (NYT) in Florida. Giuliani had put most of his campaign efforts in recent weeks into the Florida race, all but ignoring other key states where other leading candidates were active. Exit polls from Florida showed Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) captured many of the security-conscious voters Giuliani was courting. Giuliani has now signaled he will throw his support (ABC) behind McCain’s campaign.

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After months playing third wheel to Democratic frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, John Edwards dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination today. The former senator from North Carolina has struggled for media airtime and for votes in early Democratic primaries, coming in third place everywhere so far but the Iowa caucuses, where he edged out Sen. Clinton (D-NY) for the second spot. In a Democratic campaign in which the top-tier candidates took similar stances on the key policy issues, Edwards struggled to differentiate himself from his opponents. Edwards focused much of his campaign on ending poverty, and regularly criticized Clinton for her ties to corporate lobbyists.

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Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) won Florida’s Republican primary (MiamiHerald) in a contest that could hold major implications for the Republican nomination. McCain won 36 percent of the vote to Mitt Romney’s 31 percent and Rudy Giuliani’s 15 percent. The New York Times reports McCain’s win could be especially damaging for Giuliani’s campaign and says the former New York mayor is likely to endorse McCain.

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After the State of the Union Monday night, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) both criticized President Bush for what they say is an attempt to ensure that the next president will not be able to withdraw from Iraq. In an interview with MSNBC after the address, Obama said Bush has been “foreshadowing” endless war. Obama said he “would have liked to see that we had a plan to exit from Iraq.”

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“I understand all the protectionist pressures in the U.S. On the other hand, I think it would be extremely unfortunate if people bolt themselves in positions that become difficult to extract themselves from, because the reality in the world is that we’re going to have to open up world trade, not close it down.”

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On Meet the Press Sunday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) continued to press his attack on Mitt Romney for what he said was support for a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq. Romney has called McCain’s allegation “dishonest” (BosGlobe). The two men are seen as the chief Republican presidential candidates competing in the January 29 Florida primary.

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Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), with broad support from African-American and women voters, won South Carolina ‘s Democratic primary (NYT) Saturday with 55 percent of the vote. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) got 27 percent of the vote, and John Edwards, a native of the state, won 18 percent.

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Most candidates have laid out their positions on U.S.-Cuba policy, and have occasionally expressed concern regarding Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s anti-American rhetoric. But Latin America has rarely generated much debate among Republican candidates this campaign season. The campaigns in Florida, of course, remain an exception. In the days leading up to the state’s January 29 primary, in which Cuban-American voters will represent an estimated ten percent of the Republican vote, candidates have increasingly invoked their anti-Castro positions.

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The economy once again took center stage in Thursday night’s MSNBC Republican debate  in Boca Raton, Florida. Though candidates first covered domestic economic issues, including President Bush’s new economic stimulus plan, they also answered related questions on the impact of foreign policy on the U.S. economy.

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