U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg ripped into Democratic primary rival U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews today saying he won't take much pleasure in debating Andrews because his behavior is "contemptuous."

For weeks, Andrews has been holding press conferences and writing to constituents saying he wanted to debate Lautenberg. The Lautenberg camp has been saying they'd oblige but haven't settled on dates or venues. That has the Andrews camp wondering aloud if Lautenberg is dodging the debate issue until the campaign is over and it won't matter anymore. The Democratic primary is June 3.

Lautenberg said in a meeting with the Philadelphia Inquirer's editorial board today that he's been hesitating because "it has to do with my thoughts as to whether or not I want to sit face to face with him or whether we want to do it in some kind of a detached mode. That's an option I have."

Lautenberg declined to appear before the editorial board jointly with Andrews.

As for a televised debate, Lautenberg said "I wouldn't enjoy it because I think his behavior has been contemptuous."

Lautenberg said Andrews promised to support him at a meeting over Chinese take-out in Lautenberg's Washington D.C. home last October. Also attending were the state's six other Democratic congressmen who all pledged support.

"Rob Andrews isn't someone, in my view, who likes to keep his word," said Lautenberg. The cordial dinner meeting and promises "didn't prevent him, at a much later date, from assembling a campaign against me."

Lautenberg added "I think it stinks. It's outrageous."

He also took Andrews' campaign chairman Mike Murphy to task saying that Murphy promised to keep the campaign clean.

"Then they write the insinuating stuff about confused and age and all that. So, you deal with what you got," he said.

Andrews has been subtly picking away at Lautenberg's age saying that the senator is "confused" on the issues and the product of a "tired old" politics. Lautenberg is 84 and would be 90 at the end of the six-year senate term he now seeks.

But Lautenberg warned, "If Andrews has nothing more than my age to worry about, then he's in bad shape. I can tell you that."

Soon after Andrews' announced April 2 that he was running, Lautenberg's campaign scrambled into war mode. Within two weeks, the campaign began running negative television ads against Andrews and last week began a radio campaign against him. Today, they unveiled a web page called bushandrews.com which criticizes Andrews for his early support of the war in Iraq. Andrews has since called for a U.S. withdrawal.

Andrews has persisted in calling for a debate with Lautenberg saying that the voters deserve to hear their views. Andrews noted that he's accepted a dozen invitations to debate and that Lautenberg has accepted none.

"The people of New Jersey deserve an honest debate about the difference between the candidates," Andrews said.

His campaign chairman, Murphy, said Andrews' 18 years in congress makes him a legitimate candidate against Lautenberg.

"To suggest that he doesn't deserve a forum to debate issues is frankly offensive," Murphy said.

Contact Cynthia Burton at 856-779-3858 or cburton@phillynews.com.