Live coverage of the New Hampshire Republican debate as Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and the rest try to trip Mitt Romney
A summary of tonight's GOP debate in New Hampshire:
• Saturday night's debate hosted by ABC News did nothing to upset the current pecking order in the Republican presidential nomination race, just three days before Tuesday's New Hampshire primary
• Mitt Romney had an easy night as the front-runner, rarely challenged by the other candidates and brushing aside the few that did, allowing him to concentrate on his own message and sharpen his attacks on Barack Obama
• Romney defending his record as a venture capitalist, claiming that businesses during his time at Bain Capital created many more jobs than were lost through downsizing
• The battle for second place in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary set off some surprisingly ferocious arguments among the other candidates, with Rick Santorum, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich trading blows
• An acrimonious spat between Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich followed Paul's description of Gingrich as a "chicken-hawk" for avoiding service in Vietnam, with Gingrich calling Paul a liar
• Rick Perry raised eyebrows by saying that he favoured the US military returning to Iraq in order to combat Iran's influence there and claiming Obama withdraw US forces "to kowtow to his liberal leftist base"
The strangest thing about tonight's debate? It ended early. Or at least that's how it appears. The debate was scheduled to go until 11pm but it seems that, somehow, they ran out of questions. Making this a strong candidate for the worst debate of the 2012 cycle.
There were other reasons why this was so deadly. Here we had Mitt Romney, the winer of the Iowa caucuses (albeit barely), and clear leader nationally, in New Hampshire and even in South Carolina. But apart from Rick Santorum early on and at the end, the other candidates gave him a free pass. Oh, there was Newt Gingrich's attempt to criticise Romney's business record but he cited a New York Times article in his charge. For a Republican audience, he may as well have cited Pravda.
The truth is that the Republican rivals really can't upbraid Romney for his business record because it would put them at odds with the philosophy of the Republican party.
Deciding the winners and losers of this debate wasn't difficult. Mitt Romney was the winner. The others showed up. It was more like watching the Harlem Globetrotters playing the Washington Generals, the rivals who lose by just enough to allow the Globetrotters to show off their skills.
Well, there was one loser: Newt Gingrich. First, he got abused by Romney for citing a New York Times article. Then he got trounced by Ron Paul for not serving in Vietnam – and frankly, claiming to be the off-spring of a soldier doesn't make up for that. And finally he claimed he'd rather be watching a fictional college basketball championship game tonight, when in fact it's the college football championship and it's not even tonight (it's on Monday).
The National Journal's Ron Fournier says it straight up: "If Romney wasn't the prohibitive front-runner before the debate, he is now":
Romney came to the debate threatening to run away with the race, and left the stage just as strong. Maybe stronger. He faced surprisingly little criticism from his flailing rivals, and answered their punches with sharp jabs.
Ron Paul called Rick Santorum corrupt. Santorum called Paul a liar. Paul called Gingrich a draft dodger. Gingrich accused the media of bias and actually praised Romney for "a good (campaign) message."
Governor Rick Perry suggested that he would send US troops back to Iraq, prompting disbelieving moderator George Stephanopoulos to all but challenge his sanity: "Now?" the ABC reporter said.
Ewen MacAskill live at the scene of the crime against televised debates:
Just come from spin-room which has been pretty boring in past debates but now back to its old self. Great fun. Santorum there, Nikki Haley for Romney, with Romney's spin doctor. Huge media scrum.
Future historians will uncover evidence that all of the Republican primary rivals to Mitt Romney were secretly funded and controlled by Mitt Romney. If so, then tonight's debate would actually make sense.
So who MITT won this ROMNEY debate? Obviously several candidates MITTROMNEY had their moments, Ron Paul in partromney had a few good mitts – and got applauseromney for his mittromney mittromneymittromney.
For British readers, that Newt Gingrich gaffe mixing up the BCS (college football) and the NCAA (college basketball) is on a par with Tony Blair's famous claim to be a Newcastle fan while in the womb.
Last question, hooray. So, politcal-wonks on stage, if you weren't cravenly losing to Mitt Romney right now, what would you be doing.
Rick Perry says he would be at a shooting range. Well he certainly needs the parctice: he shot himself in the foot here with that "Re-invade Iraq!" stuff.
In a bid for the common-man vote, Newt says he'd be at home watching "the national championship basketball". Oh, fail! It's the football Newt. And it's not even on tonight, it's NFL play-offs. Anyway, no one believes Newt Gingrich sits at home watching football or basketball on telly. He watches old videos of himself speaking.
Everyone else watches the football, including Romney who claims "I love it!" Yeah I bet. Still the wrong game they are enthusing over.
And then there's Ron Paul:
I'd be at home with my family but if they were in bed I'd probably be reading an economics textbook.
And that's it folks, the Mitt Romney Inevitable Candidate Debate is over.
More ads, including the cheapest one I've seen in years from Dulles Motor Cars Leesberg.
Ewen MacAskill observes:
Romney has been pretty disciplined tonight, behaving as if he is the nominee and concentrating attacks on Obama, avoiding criticism of Republican rivals. Sensible when 20% ahead: why risk alienating those Republicans who claim they do not like squabbling – I don't believe people who say this, anyway. A minor lapse in discipline, taking a pop at Huntsman for being Obama's ambassador to Beijing. Why bother when Huntsman so far behind in the polls?
Mitt Romney keeps riffing on some sort of pseudo-Reagan big picture closing argument thing here. But just now he came out with this, speaking of the next election:
If we don't make the right choice this time, we may not be able to make it again for a very long time.
Now what the hell is that supposed to mean? If your dog suddenly woke up and cocked its ears just then, that's why.
Mitt Romney's now off on his shameless China-bashing trade war bit, the least plausible part of the many implausible Mitt Romney manifesto non-promises.
"We're increasingly become like Europe!" says Mitt Romney. The man who made Massachusetts more like Europe through pushing mandatory health insurance.
Asked to respond to Romney, Newt Gingrich gets in a joke at Mitt's rant: "A little bit harsh on President Obama, who in his desperate efforts to create a radical European socialist state, is sincere."
ABC's cunning trick here is falling flat. Candidate A is asked their opinion on a subject, and then Candidate B is asked if they liked candidate A's answer. This is ABC trying to slip around criticism of provoking intra-Republican fighting. But the "net-net" result, as Mitt Romney would say, is deadly dull.
You can feel the energy draining out of this debate literally through the TV screen.
Once again, Larry Sabato, the Sage of Charlottesville, hits that nail on the head.
You can tell Mitt Romney is taking Rick Santorum seriously because when Santorum speaks, Romney faces him and gives him a Very Serious Look.
Back from the ad break – and it's the most exciting part of the debate: infrastructure questions. Woo.
Mitt Romney briefly says something about bridges being great and then skips over into something about how fantastic America is and how terrible Obama is. And sounded as spontaneous as a daytime soap opera.
Newt Gingrich answers a similar question by nakedly mentioning some local New Hampshire thing about power cables. Enjoy that, local voters!
With an hour gone in this debate, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul are shaping up as winners of this debate, says Ewen MacAskill:
Romney looks more relaxed than in the previous debates, hands in pockets, refusing so far to become flustered, even with that odd question on contraception. Twenty points ahead in the polls, all he has to do is get through the night without a gaffe or being tetchy.
Ron Paul is putting in a feisty performance. This debate not a game-changer yet. So they all basically remain where they were in the polls. One small question: why on earth did Rick Perry decide to keep campaiging and not pull out as hinted after his poor showing in Iowa?
Back to foreign policy, and it's the examination of the millimetres of difference between the candidates, other than Ron Paul of course.
Naturally, this is an excuse for Preofessor Newt Gingrich to give his standard "hell in a handbasket" lecture on geopolitical chaos, with phrases such as "an industrial depression across the planet within 48 hours" and so forth.
The others join in, other than Jon Huntsman.
Oh here's Rick Santorum and the war against "radical Islam". And Rick Perry pops up to say he would send troops back into Iraq right away. Now there's a vote-winning platform. Vote winning in 2003.
Bonus points to Newt Gingrich for claiming he created the "strategy to defeat Soviet communism".
The foreign policy parts of these debates are easily the most depressing. If you believe the non-Ron Paul candidates – and we should assume they are just nakedly pandering – then war with Iran is just around the corner. Can the Democrats just re-use that 1964 "Daisy" ad that LBJ used against Goldwater?
Now all that has meant I have missed chunks of an interesting question about gay marriage. The question being, if gays and lesbians can't marry, then what would the candidates have those who wanted to establish a long-term, loving relationship?
Defining marriage as just between men and women isn't discriminatory, says Mitt Romney. It's because children will be better off being raised by a man and a woman.
Oh dear here's Newt Gingrich going off on "media bias," demanding equal time for how the Catholic church is being discriminated against. "There's a lot more anti-Christian bigotry today than there is on the other side," says Gingrich.
Romney turns the question back to gay marriage: "Calling it marriage creates a whole lot of problems," he claims. Such as, uh. Never mind. "3,000 years of human history shouldn't be discarded so lightly," is Mitt's peroration, and he smiles as if that's a killer argument.
Ah, those 3,000 years of human history include a pretty diverse selection of ideas about what marriage is exactly. Mormons, once upon a time, for example. Just saying.
Ewen MacAskill updates his thoughts on the debating tactics being employed tonight:
Strategy becoming clearer now. Fight for second place is on: Gingrich and Paul sparring on military service. Perry team just put out email saying Santorum was "liason to lobbyists in the Senate".
So, can't we just declare that Romney has won New Hampshire and save time and money?
We're back. And it's Rick Santorum's mad notion that states have the right to ban contraception. Does Mitt Romney think that states have the right to ban contraception? "But no state wants to," complains Mitt, although he does say he thinks no state would want to ban contraception nor should they.
Eventually the moderator draws Mitt Romney into saying that he doesn't think there's a right to privacy in the constitution, as declared by the Supreme Court in the case of Griswold v Connecticutt, which defined a right to privacy.
Ron Paul is next up and he gives chapter and verse on the fourth amendment and the right to privacy.
Now Rick Santorum appears to side with Romney on the Griswold v Connecticutt question.
For those of you confused by this, it's a long story but since Roe v Wade was predicated by Griswold (I'm glossing over things here), stanch anti-abortion types such as Santorum want to see Griswold overturned as a means of undermining Roe v Wade. So this isn't about privacy or contraception, really, but abortion, although there is a connection as well in the Plan B or morning-after pill.
Adam Gabbatt is watching in New Hampshire with the Ron Paul crowd:
More than 200 Ron Paul supporters have packed into Jillian's bar in Manchester, with the crowd being whipped into a frenzy by a pro-Ron Paul military man and then lulled into a quieter state by an acoustic two-piece singing in support of the congressman.
As usual with Ron Paul events, it's a young crowd. Gathered around the numerous screens in Jillian's – a sports bar by trade with pool tables and $2.50 beer – supporters are wearing t-shirts, badges and other paraphernalia.
I began writing that Paul got huge cheers here when he labelled Rick Santorum a big government conservative, but it'd be simpler to mark out what he's said that hasn't drawn huge cheers.
So how's it going so far, 50-year-old Kristin Alpert from Massachusetts? "I think he's kicking ass. He's going after Santorum, which is really awesome."
And what about you, Victor Navarro, 32? "They never give him any questions, which kind of sucks, but he knows how to respond to ever single attack, which is great."
Ad break. Ewen MacAskill reports from the debate floor:
Not clear yet what each candidates' strategy is. Gingrich, Santorum and the others piled onto Romney, understandable given his huge poll lead. But they were basically responding to questions about Romney posed by ABC.
Since the fight is for second place, you would expect them to be battling with each other rather than Romney. Ron Paul, second in the polls, and being chased by Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, focused instead on them. He stood by his claim that Santorum in the Senate was corrupt and also raised again Gingrich's involvement as a consultant/lobbyist.
New Hampshire is Jon Huntsman's first and last stand, trailing in the polls, and needs to make an impression. Failed to do that.
Rick Perry's campaign has been an embarrassing flop, and he has said nothing yet to change that view.
"Dr Paul has a long history of saying things that are inaccurate and false," says Gingrich, dripping with malice, saying that he wasn't eligible to be drafted because he was married and that his father served in Vietnam, working himself up into tones of outrage.
But it falls flat:
"I have one quick follow up: when I was drafted I was married and had two kids, and I went," says Ron Paul, looking like ice. An otubreak of applause from the audience.
This is the highlight so far, no doubt about that.
Newt Gingrich is asked about Ron Paul's description of him as a "chicken hawk," meaning that he skipped Vietnam by getting draft deferments. Which he did. "Dr Paul says a lot of things," is Newt's snide response but then somehow claims that because his father served in the army somehow that means Newt served genetically. Well, at least 50% of his DNA did.
Romney is given a soft opportunity to fulminate about Iran's nuclear ambitions and how the Obama administration has failed to invade it.
Did you know that Jon Huntsman was US ambassador to China? He hardly ever mentions it so you probably didn't.
Huntsman's lame answer here about his own record gets jeers via Twitter: "Jon Huntsman officially kicks off his 2016 bid," is one. "Huntsman angling for secretary of state in Marco Rubio's second term," is another.
Oh hey, Rick Perry is here. And he's having a go at Ron Paul. Why?
Ron Paul has the bit between his teeth now, and accuses Santorum of raising the debt ceiling five times. Santorum responds with a dull lecture that appears to be chapters 6 to 8 of the Rick Santorum Congressional Record, with particular attention to the awesomeness of Rick Santorum.
Yes, squabble among yourself, foolish earthlings. Soon the RomneyBot 2000 will seize power.
"You're a big spender, that's all there is to it. You're a big government conservative. To say you're a conservative, that's a stretch, but you've convinced a lot of people of that," says Ron Paul in response to Rick Santorum, sounding pained.
Meanwhile, Mitt Romney's evil twin is sitting in his underground lair stroking a white cat and smiling. It's all going to plan.
Now Ron Paul is asked about his ads attacking Rick Santorum as a corrupt, big government patsy. But there's a strange metallic feedback on Ron's mic, and he stops mid-way through his answer and complains. "They caught you not telling the truth," Santorum quickly quips off-camera, and gets the first laugh of the night.
Ron Paul keeps going, doggedly like a dog after a bone.
Romney is taking this stuff face-on, saying "You need to have someone who knows how business works." Yes, like er, Ronald Reagan?
Next question to Rick Santorum, and he immediately takes the bait and says that America doesn't need a CEO – directly aimed at Mitt Romney.
Romney is ready for this, and he says Santorum has spent his life in Washington and doesn't understand anything about job creation and the real economy. Ah ha. A vulture fund manager, on the other hand, understands everything about creating profits.
Now Newt Gingrich is invited to the party, and he is talking coyly about "one particular company" and its slash-and-burn investment style. Now that would be Bain Capital, the company that Romney set up with a huge wodge of cash given to him by George Bain.
Back to Romney, who says that "net net" – that whistling sound is his point going over the head of everyone – he created jobs by the truckload. Pressed by Stephano ... George, Romney says his figures do include jobs created after he left but that's cool.
Personally I can't see this as a fruitful attack for Republicans, generally speaking.
First question to Mitt Romney, on the latest jobs figures. Mitt is forced to admit for a nanosecond that the job figues were good, but that ... they would have been so much better but for Obamacare strangling the economy.
Ah yes that would be why the healthcare sector was one of the biggest growth sectors. Pfft.
And once again I have to remind myself how to spell Stephanopoulos, since George is a moderator here tonight, alongside Diane Sawyer.
Introducing the candidates and the usual spiel....
Here we go. If you are away from a US ABC affiliate, follow it on this ABC News live stream. And here, obv.
And so we are down to the six candidates – like a craaazy Republican version of Big Brother, so far Herman Cain and now Michele Bachmann have dropped out. That means that tonight's debate will be back to the cast of white males that we have come to know and love the GOP to be.
On Twitter, Republican strategist Alex Castellanos reflects on the abscence of Bachmann by getting classy and quoting Yeats:
Why, what could she have done, being what she is?
Was there another Troy for her to burn?
Michele Bachmann as Helen of Troy? Joan of Arc, that I can believe.
This just in from Nevada super-reporter Jon Ralston:
That's Las Vagas casino magnate Sheldon Now, what Newt's Super Pac uses the $5m for is a good question. Attack ads aimed at Romney? Vegas baby.
My colleague Ewen MacAskill has been to far too many of the GOP debate in this cycle, and he reports that tonight has the biggest turn-out of journalists by far, with three times as many as have seen at other debates.
If there are a lot of journalists there, it must be important, right?
Another poll, but this time of South Carolina, shaping up once again to be the Republican party kingmaker since Mitt Romney has New Hampshire in the bag.
Pollsters PPP find that Romney leads in South Carolina as well but not by as much: Mittster has 30%, followed by Newt Gingrich with 23% and 19% for Rick Santorum. Ron Paul is well back with 9%, Rick Perry at 5% and Jon Huntsman at 4%.
The pollsters note:
Gingrich may be in second place right now but the candidate who would have the best chance of beating Romney in South Carolina is Santorum. He edges out Romney as the candidate with the best favorability rating at 63/21. We tested hypothetical head to head match ups between Romney and the other leading Republican candidates in the instance that were some drop outs before the primary. Romney defeats Gingrich handily in such a match, 49-35. But Santorum runs only slightly behind Romney at 45-40.
There are two things that taken together might make it possible for Santorum to upset Romney in South Carolina. The first is both Gingrich and Perry dropping out. Gingrich's voters prefer Santorum over Romney 52-37 and Perry's do by a 54-41 margin. Either of them dropping out would give Santorum a big boost.
Hold on, Beyonce's giving birth. Everything else is just a footnote now.
Obviously we'll have to live blog the birth as well as the debate. Which channel is Beyonce on? TMZ, right.
My colleague Ewen MacAskill sends this taste of the fervid atmosphere at the debate venue, leafy St Anselm College in Manchester:
This is the first of the debates that feels as if it is taking place in the middle of an election, which it is. Lots of people other than those with tickets for the debate are turning up, with long car queues, and cars having to be parked a long way from the debate hall.
The roads running up to the debate are lined with placards put up by bands of enthusiastic supporters, each trying to plant even more than the previous crew.
A Ron Paul bus, draped in a big banner "Ron Paul Peace," is blaring out from a loudspeaker a song about revolution, peace and the constitution: fine for election junkies, a bit rough on people living round about. There are bands of supporters wandering around all over the place, even a small bunch with a banner "Obama 2012".
Welcome to our live coverage of the New Hampshire Republican debate – and if this debate had a title it would be: Get Romney. With Mitt Romney holding commanding leads in the flurry of recent opinion polls and the New Hampshire GOP presidential primary just three days away, Romney's rivals – Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman – must put a dent in his armour or risk being swept away by the "Mittmentum".
But tonight's debate is also something of a circular firing squad. Other than Romney as the main target, the other five also need to take shots at one another as they jockey for positioning in the contests to come.
The Guardian's Ewen MacAskill explains the silver medal politics of New Hampshire:
With Romney expected to win New Hampshire, the others are vying for second place to provide them with momentum going into the next race – the South Carolina primary – which may prove to be the decider. Perry flew to New Hampshire for the debates but is not campaigning in the state, concentrating instead on South Carolina.
While Paul appears to be heading for second place, one of the others in the pack could still gain on him. That is one of the reasons why the debates take on such importance. With Gringrich, Huntsman and Santorum in a deadheat, each will be seeking to find a message that will resonate and help them break out off the bunch.
The debate, hosted by ABC News, is at St Anselm College in Manchester, and kicks off at 9pm ET (2am GMT). Bizarrely, there is another debate tomorrow morning, starting just 10 hours after this one ends. If you ever suspected that the current Republican party was made up of masochists, then this confirms it. They just love pain.
The Guardian's top team in the Granite State includes Ewen MacAskill at the debate venue itself, Adam Gabbatt is in a bar in New Hampshire trying to get Ron Paul supporters to buy him drinks.
Please leave your comments below as we warm up for the main event tonight.