>> i have decided to sand aside. >> and now, everything is different. >> what do we need to do as a country to get back on the right track? >> can anyone overtake mitt romney as he tries to close in and seal the nomination. can rick santorum build on his stunning iowa success? is time running out for these candidates to catch the front-runner? save their campaigns? >> we've got some tough decisions to make. >> we are going to take america back. >> believe me, this moment sum going to continue. >> the voting has begun. the stakes couldn't be any higher. n tonight, we put them all to the test. so what's next in this campaign season filled with so many dramatic surprises? this is the abc news republican presidential debate. your voice. your vote. now joining us tonight from new hampshire's own wmur, political director josh mckelvin. >> good evening to all of you. welcome to st. anselm college and the first debate of 2012. those eight votes in iowa reminded us on tuesday, every vote counts. >> we are off and running. great to be here with you, josh. >> now let's introduce the candidates. former governor jon huntsman, ron paul, former governor of massachusetts, mitt romney, rick santorum, former speak of the house newt gingrich and texas governor rick perry. >> time to remind everyone again of the rules, they were negotiated and agreed to by the candidates themselves. so let's take you through them. one-minute responses with 30 seconds for rebuttal and showing everybody at home the candidates will see green and then when there's 15 seconds left yellow and red. >> our audience was chosen by the college and wmur and all of you at home can watch on abc news.com and yahoo!.com. you can download yahoo!'s into now app on your iphone. pitch in your opinions during the debate. >> so let the debate begin. governor romney, we'll begin with you. we just saw 200,000 new jobs created last month. and there are optimists who say this is the signal that this economy is finally turning around. your with those optimists? >> i'm an optimist and i certainly hope it turns around. we have millions of people who have been suffering too long. 25 million people that are out of work or have stopped looking for work. and also a lot of people who have got part-time jobs and need full-time employment. it's very good news. i hope we continue to see good news. it's not thanks to president obama. his policies have made the recession deeper. and his policies have made the recovery more tepid. as a result of everything from obama care to dodd/frank to a stimulus plan that was not as well directed tass should have been to a whole host of new regulations put on american businesses, he's made it smaller for small entrepreneurs to invest in america and grow jobs here. so the president is going to try to take responsibility for things getting better. it's like the rooster taking responsibility for the sunrise. he doesn't do it. what he did is make things harder for america to get going. >> senator santorum, you have said we don't need a ceo. we don't need a manager as president. what did you mean by that? >> we need a leader. someone who can paint a positive vision for this country. someone who, you know, has the experience to go out and be the commander in chief. i have experience and eight years on the armed services committee. i managed major pieces of legislation through the house, through the senate on national security issues like iran, which is the most -- you want to talk about the most pressing issue that we're dealing with today, it's iran. and as newt's talked about many times, there's no one that has more experience in deal with that country than i do. and that means we need someone who can go out and paint a vision of what america's strength is about. let our allies know they can trust us. let our enemies know that they have to respect us and if they cross us, they should fear us. >> it has been written you were talking about governor romney, were you? >> well, i am talking about -- oh, in the case of a manager as far as commander in chief or the manager part? >> the manager. >> yes, of course i was talking about governor romney. i was talking about someone who brings to the table, he says i'm going to be -- i've got business experience. well, business experience doesn't necessarily match up with being the commander in chief of this country. the commander in chief of this country isn't a ceo. it's someone who has to lead and it's also, being the president is not a ceo. you can't direct members of congress and members of the senate as to how you do things. you've got to lead and inspire. and that's what people here in iowa and new hampshire are looking for. someone who can inspire and paint a positive vision for this country. i've been the one that's been able to do it and that's the reason we're doing well in the polls. >> i think people who spend their life in washington don't understand what happens out in the real economy. they think that people who start businesses are just managers. people that start as entrepreneurs to start a business from the ground up and get customers and get investors and hire people to join them, those people are leaders. and the chance to lead in free enterprise is extraordinarily critical to also being able to lead a state like i led in massachusetts and lead the olympics. my experience is in leadership. the people in the private sector who are every day making this country a stronger nation and hiring people, they're not successful because they're managers. they're successful primarily because they are leaders. i wish people in washington had the experience of going out and working in the real economy first before they went there and they'd understand some of the real lessons of leadership. >> let me bring speaker gingrich in. a group supporting you, one run by one of your closest long-term advisers has put out a scathing attack just today on governor romney. on his tenure as the ceo of that investment firm bain capital. it calls that tenure a story of greed, that's a quote, saying that bain made spectacular profits by, again, quote, stripping american businesses of assets, selling everything to the highest bidder and often killing jobs for big financial rewards. do you agree with that characterization? >> well, i haven't seen the film, but it does reflect "the new york times" story two days ago about one particular company, and i think people should look at the film and decide if it's factually accurate and raises questions. i'm very much for free enterprises. i'm very much for exactly what the governor just described. create a business. grow jobs. provide leadership. i'm not nearly as enamored of a wall street model where you can flip companies, you can go in and have leveraged buyouts, basically take out all the money leaving behind the workers. >> is that the bain model? >> i joung think you have to lo the film. the governor has every right to defend that, but i think it's a legitimate part of the debate to say on witness, were people better off or worse off by this particular style of investment? >> back in december you said that governor romney made money at bain by, quote, bankrupting companies and laying off employees. >> that was, i think, the "new york times" story two days ago. they took one specific company. they walked through in detail. showed what they bought it for. how much they took out of it and the 1700 people they left unemployed. now that's -- check "the new york times" story but that's their story. >> governor romney, your response? >> well, i'm not surprised to have "the new york times" put free enterprise on trial. i'm not surprised to have the obama administration do that either. it's a little surprising from my colleagues on this stage. we understand that in the free economy, in the private sector, that sometimes investments don't work and you aren't successful. it always pains you if you have to be in a situation of downsizing a business in order to try and make it more successful, turn it around and try and grow it again. i'm very proud of the fact that the two enterprises i led were quite successful and the olympics was successful and my state was successful. the state of massachusetts. but in the business i had we invested and over 100 different businesses. and net-net, taking out the ones where we lost jobs and those we added, those businesses have now added over 100,000 jobs. i have a record of learning how to create jobs. >> there have been questions about that calculation of the 100,000 jobs. if you can explain a little more, i read some analysts who look at it and say that you are counting the jobs that were created but not counting the jobs that were taken away. is that accurate? >> no, it's not accurate. it includes the net of both. i'm a good enough numbers guy to make sure i got both sides of that. some of the biggest, for instance, there's a steel company called steel dynamics in indiana. thousands of jobs there. bright horizons children's centers. about 15,000 jobs there. sports authority, about 15,000 jobs there. staples alone, 90,000 employed. that's a business that we helped start from the ground up. but -- >> that includes jobs created even after you left? >> oh, yes. those are businesses we started that continue to grow. and we're only a small part of that. we were investors to help get them going. but in some cases, businesses clunk. we tried to help turn them around. but let's not forget. this is a free enterprise system. we don't need government to come in and tell us how to make businesses work. we need people with passion, willing to take risk and help turn things around. and where that works you create jobs. >> let me bring governor huntsman in on this. supporters have taken aim at the governor's tenure at bain. so on balance, should republicans worry about this attack? is governor romney's record at bain a weakness or a strength? >> well, part of his record, and, therefore, it's going to be talked about. and i think it's fair for the people of this nation to have a conversation about one's record. and governor romney can say whatever he wishes to say about it. i also have private sector experience. i combine a little of what rick santorum talked about and what governor romney has. i think it's a good balance. i come from manufacturing. people find something in my record. but, you know, it's important for the people to look at our records because everybody up here has a record that ought to be scrutinized. but it goes beyond the private sector. i served as a governor. mitt served as a governor. others up here have had positions of responsibility. take a look at what we did as governor. i think that is probably more telling in terms of what i would do or what mitt rould woas president of the united states. i put bold proposals forward. i delivered a flat tax for my state. i took my state to number one in job creation. with all due respect to what rick perry has said about texas, we did a little better. we reformed health care without a mandate. we took our state to number one as the most business friendly state in america. now in a time in our nation's history when we so desperately need jobs, i think that's going to be a very material part of the discussion. >> governor romney, 30 seconds. >> i congratulate governor huntsman on the success in his governorship to make the state more attractive for business. that's got to happen. but what -- i actually think it's helpful to have people who have had a job in the private sector, if you want to create jobs in the private sector. we've had a lot of presidents over the years who have wonderful experience, and right now we have people whose backgrounds are in the governmental sector and the private sector. i think now, given what america is facing globally, given an economy that's changed its dynamics dramatically over the last ten years, you need to have someone who understands how that economy works at a close level if we're going to be able to post up against president obama and establish a record that says this is different than a president who does not understand job creation. >> congressman paul, let's stay on the issue of records. you have a new ad in south carolina taking direct aim at santorum. you call him a corporate lobbyist, a washington insider with a record of betrayal. you also call him corrupt in that ad. senator santorum is standing right here. your willing to stand by those charges and explain them? >> well it was a quote. somebody did make a survey. he came out as one of the top corrupt individuals because he took so much money from the lobbyists. but really what the whole -- there it goes again. >> they caught you not telling the truth, ron. >> what really counts is his record. i mean, he's a big government, big spending individual because, you know, he preached the fact he wanted a balanced budget amendment but raised the debt to five times. he's a big government person. and we as republicans know something about right to work. he supported -- he voted against right to work. he voted along with no child left behind to double the size of the department of education, and he also voted to -- for prescription drug program. so he's a big government person, along with him being associated with the lobbyists and a lot of funds. and also, where did he make his living afterwards. he became a high-powered lobbyist on -- in washington, d.c. and he's done quite well. we checked out newt on his income. i think we ought to find out how much money he's made as well. >> do i have 20 minutes to answer these? let's talk about the corruption issue. the group that caught me corrupt was a group called crew. if you haven't been sued by crew, you aren't a conservative. crew is this left wing organization that puts out a list of every election of the top republicans who have tough races and calls them all corrupt because they take contributions from pacs. it's a ridiculous charge. and you should know better than to cite george soros-like organizations to say that they are corrupt. so that's number one. ron, i'm a conservative. i'm not a libertarian. i believe in some government. i believe that government has -- that as a senator from pennsylvania, that i had a responsibility to go out there and represent the interests of my state. and that's what i did to make sure that pennsylvania was able and formulas and other things to get its fair share of money back. i don't apologize for that any more than you did when you earmarked things and did things when you were a congressman in texas. as far as the money that i received, you know, i think i'm known in this race, and i was known in washington, d.c. as a cause guy. i am a cause guy. i care deeply about this country and the causes that make me -- that i think are at the core of this country. and when i left the united states senate, i got involved in causes that i believe in. i went and worked at the ethics and public policy center and wrote on the coughs iran and wrote and lectured all over this country. i got involved with a health care company because i was afraid of what was going to happen and i was asked by a health care company to be on their board of directors. i don't know whether you think board of directors are lobbyists. they're not. that's the private sector experience that i'm sure that mitt would approve of. you also -- i also worked for a coal company. as i mentioned the other day. my grandfather was a coal miner. i grew up in the coal region. when i left the united states senate, one of the big issues on the table was cap and trade, global warming, and i wanted to stay involved in the fray. so i contacted a local coal company from my area who -- and i asked. i said, look, i want to join you in the fight. i want to work together with you. i want to help you in any way to make sure we defeat cap and trade. and i'm proud to have engaged in that. >> congressman paul? >> it is true. i believe congress should designate how the money should be spent. but the big difference between the way i voted and the senator voted is i always voted against the spending. i always voted against the spending. there's only been a couple of appropriations bills i've voted for in the past 24, 26 years i've been in washington. so you are a big spender. that's all there is to it. you are a big government conservative. and you don't vote for right to work and these very important things, and that's what weakens the economy. so to say you are a conservative, i think is a stretch but you've convinced a lot of people of it. somebody has to point out your record. >>y in, i think i have an opportunity to respond here. i've convinced a lot of people of it because my record is actually pretty darn good. i supported and voted official a balanced budget amendment, the line item veto. i used to keep track when i was in the united states senate of all the democratic amendments. and all amendments that increase spending. i put on the board something called a spendometer. if you look at my spending record and take a look at the spending groups iwas rated at the top or near the top every single year. i go back to the point. i'm not a libertarian. you vote against everything. i don't vote against everything. i do vote for some spending. i think government has a role to play, particularly in defense. >> we'll let everybody get in here. first, i wanted to bring in governor perry on this. we'll stay on this second. >> i'll let you back in here, ron. >> i think you have just seen a great example of why i got in this race. because i happen to think that i'm the only outsider with the possible exception of jon huntsman who has not been part of the problem in washington, d.c. the insiders in washington, d.c. we have to nominate someone that can beat barack obama, that can get the tea party behind them, that can go to washington, d.c., and stop the corrupt spending that has been going on. and it doesn't make any difference whether you are an insider from washington, d.c., or an insider from wall street. that is what americans, rightfully, see is the real problem in america today. they want someone who has a record of executive governing experience, like i have in texas. i've been the commander in chief of 20,000-plus troops that get deployed. i have been the governor of a state that has created a million net new jobs. that is a record that american people are looking for. that is what americans are looking for. and outsider that is not corrupted by the process. >> governor, you are saying congressman paul is an insider? >> i am telling you, anybody that has had as many -- i mean, here's what frustrates me is that you go get the earmarks and then you vote against the bill? now i don't know what they call that in other places, but congressman paul, in texas we call that hypocrisy. >> well, i call it being a constitutionalist because i believe we should earmark or designate every penny. you designate weapons systems. you designate money to go to spend a billion dollars on an embassy in iraq. that's an earmark, too. i say the congress has more responsibility. but back to senator santorum. he ducks behind this, he's for this balanced budget amendment but voted five times to increase the national debt by trillions of dollars. this is what the whole tea party movement is about. government is practically stopped over increasing the national debt. you did it five times. what's your excuse for that? that's trillions of dollars. you kept this thing going. you didn't do very much to slow it up when you had a chance. >> i did do a lot to slow it up when i had the chance. i was the author of the only bill that repealed a federal entitlement, welfare reform. i promoted and talked -- and tried to pass social security reform. i worked on medicare and medicaid. i was one of the only guys out there in a time, ro