Rick Holmes: The Mitt and Rudy show

They are a curious pair of front-runners: an ex-Massachusetts governor and an ex-New York mayor. It sounds more like a fight between urban Democrats than the kind of a match that would appeal to Sunbelt Republicans.

But there they are, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, at the top of the Republican pack, further testament that the party that just three years ago pronounced itself a permanent majority has totally lost its mojo.

All the Republican presidential contenders pretend to fashion themselves after Ronald Reagan, but as the primaries grow closer, they are increasingly prone to violating what Reagan called the 11th commandment: "Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican."

This is especially true of Romney and Giuliani, not because they are less Republican than the other candidates - though they are - but because each sees the other as the largest obstacle between him and the nomination. That's also the way they want it to be, I think. Each would prefer a two-man race limited to northeasterners with suspect conservative credentials over having to go head-to-head against a Bible Belt Republican.

Giuliani and Romney are spending money faster than they can raise it, with Romney, who just lent his campaign another $8.5 million, spending faster than he can donate to himself. They tried to turn last week's debate into a two-man affair, trading jabs about their records on issues Republican primary voters hold dear.

Romney and Giuliani are equally vulnerable to the charge of violating bedrock conservative values, mostly because both were ambitious Republicans elected in Democratic precincts. But they won't cut each other a break. Mitt has blasted Rudy for being soft on illegal immigration. Rudy has gone after Romney for being a big spender.

On national debates, and especially in tax-phobic New Hampshire, Giuliani and Romney are engaged in a traditional Republican ritual of one-upsmanship: My tax cuts are bigger than yours.

Both overstate their cases - this is politics, after all - and a tax expert would have a hard time getting to the truth. Romney in particular comes off as disingenuous. He denies raising taxes, but raised $700 million through higher fees and fines and by closing tax "loopholes." His ads cite more than 800 line-item vetoes he made, but almost all of them were overridden by the Democratic state Legislature - as he knew they would be.

Three reality checks voters may need to see through the two-minute debate responses and 30-second ads: First, Giuliani ruled New York City from 1993 through 2001, a time of roaring economic expansion during which every state cut taxes. Romney governed Massachusetts from 2002 through 2006, a time of recession and dramatic shortfalls in state revenue. Here in the Bay State that problem was exacerbated by tax cuts pushed through by his predecessor, Gov. Paul Cellucci, who has joined the Giuliani team and stepped forward last week to blast Romney's tax-cutting credentials.

Second, voters should remember that neither Rudy nor Mitt had much clout in setting tax policy. New York's governor and legislature only listen to the NYC mayor when they wants to, and the Massachusetts Legislature never paid much attention to Romney.

Finally, Romney and Giuliani are attacking Washington's big spending with all their breath, while ignoring the spending elephant in the room. By some estimates, the long-term cost of the war in Iraq, which Mitt and Rudy both support, will top $2 trillion, which is the equivalent of $3,000 for every American family. Someone should ask the candidates where that money is going to come from.

Don't look for those reality checks on the campaign trail. Post-W Republican politics are about posturing, not principles. It's about looking like you're tough on crime, tough on taxes, tough on terrorism. Guiliani and Romney are leading the pack because, when it comes to striking heroic poses, they are among the best.

Rick Holmes is opinion editor for the MetroWest Daily News. He can be reached at rholmes@cnc.com.