The unusual morning forum was the 15th debate of the campaign season — and the second in 10 hours — for the candidates. It was sponsored by NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the New Hampshire Union Leader and Facebook.
In the previous night’s event, which aired on ABC, Romney’s opponents had landed few blows on the front-runner.
N.H. debate in 60 seconds: For the second time in less than 24 hours, GOP presidential candidates took the stage in New Hampshire. Watch the highlights.
INTERACTIVE: New Hampshire debate transcript and analysis
Defending his record
Romney, initially rattled under Sunday morning’s barrage, tried to defend himself — but at times seemed to fuel some of the most damaging perceptions about him.
For instance, he reminded viewers of his background of wealth and privilege when he recounted a bit of “good advice” that he got from his father, George Romney, a wealthy auto executive who served as governor of Michigan.
“He said, ‘Mitt, never get involved in politics if you have to win an election to pay a mortgage,’ ” Romney recalled.
Later, at a town hall meeting in Manchester with Hispanic supporters at a Mexican restaurant, Gingrich blasted what he said was Romney’s suggestion that only the wealthy should run for office. “We want everyday, normal people to be able to run for office, not just millionaires,” he said.
At a midday rally in Rochester, meanwhile, Romney defended his career in private equity against charges by Gingrich’s allies that he had acted as a corporate predator.
“I spent my career in the private sector. I’m not perfect, but I do get it, and I will use what I know to get America to work,” he said. Romney also said there had been times in his life when he had been worried about getting laid off, though neither he nor his campaign provided specifics.
Romney was not the only target.
Ron Paul, who is running second to Romney in most New Hampshire polls, came under fire from Santorum, who said Paul’s political appeal stems from an economic proposal “that he’s never been able to accomplish.” But, Santorum said, Paul could bring troops home, as he has proposed doing, the moment he arrives at the White House.
“The problem with Congressman Paul is, all the things that Republicans like about him he can’t accomplish and all the things they’re worried about, he’ll do Day One,” Santorum said.
“We can’t stay in 130 countries, get involved in nation-building,” Paul replied. “We cannot have 900 bases overseas. We have to change policy.”
All of the candidates seemed on top of their games, and the months of practice they have had in honing their arguments showed.
Some do-overs
Two took a chance for do-overs on earlier muffed moments.
Gingrich had incurred the wrath of the Republican establishment in the spring — and nearly torpedoed his campaign just a few days after launching it — by calling a Medicare overhaul proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) “right-wing social engineering.” But on Sunday, he said that the latest version of the proposal “actually incorporates allowing people to choose and allows them to stay in traditional Medicare with the premium support model or go to new methods. And I think it’s a substantial improvement, because it allows for a transition in Medicare in a way that makes sense.”
And Texas Gov. Rick Perry made a wry, self-deprecatory reference to his own struggles in the debates, which have reduced his standing from front-runner to afterthought in the race.
Seizing on a question asked of someone else, Perry described the “three areas” of government he would cut, finally getting right the answer he famously flubbed on a debate stage in Michigan last year.
“It would be those bureaucrats at the Department of Commerce and Energy and Education that we’re going to do away with,” Perry said, grinning and turning to his rivals to hold up three fingers.
Negative advertising
The debate ended as it began: with a squabble, this time between Romney and Gingrich over the tenor of ads that a super PAC supporting Romney has run against Gingrich.
Gingrich repeated his view that the ads are false and that Romney bears responsibility for the onslaught despite the fact that the PAC is independent from the Romney campaign.
“Governor, I wish you would calmly and directly state it is your former staff running the PAC,” Gingrich said. “It is your millionaire friends giving to the PAC. And you know some of the ads are — aren’t true. Just say that. It’s straightforward.”
Romney responded, “I haven’t seen them.” But he went on to recite a long list of claims made in the ads, all of which, he said, were true.
“The ad I saw said that you’d been forced out of the speakership. That was correct,” he said. “It said that you had sat down with Nancy Pelosi and argued for a climate-change bill. That was correct.”
After the debate, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom explained the apparent inconsistency this way: “He hasn’t seen all of the super-PAC ads, but there was one in particular which he saw that he described on the debate stage.”
Staff writers Aaron Blake, Rosalind S. Helderman and Philip Rucker contributed to this report.
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