Michele Bachmann refutes Mitt Romney endorsement report

He runs the PAC RT @StuartRoy: Min invest yields win head 2 head w/ romney MT @chucktodd Santorum SuperPAC up with new ad in MO

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Romney hits morning shows, armed with talking points about Obama’s billions

He runs the PAC RT @StuartRoy: Min invest yields win head 2 head w/ romney MT @chucktodd Santorum SuperPAC up with new ad in MO

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Mitt Romney easily clinches Florida primary with more votes than Gingrich and Santorum combined

Seven states will vote in February. Here's the calendar...http://t.co/kcAv4K9v

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Perry loses key SC backer after attack on Romney

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. (AP) — Presidential candidate Rick Perry's criticism of Mitt Romney's business past had a boomerang effect Thursday, costing him the support of a prominent Republican in South Carolina.

Investment fund executive and top GOP donor Barry Wynn told The Associated Press he was leaving the Perry fold to endorse Romney, the former Massachusetts governor. Wynn said Perry's attacks on Romney's time at the helm of the private equity firm Bain Capital had crossed the line in a political party that values free-market capitalism.

"I've been fighting for this cause most of my life," Wynn said. "It's like fingernails on the chalkboard. It just kind of irritated you to hear those kind of attacks."

Perry, the Texas governor, swung hard this week at Romney's work at Bain Capital. The firm sometimes turned big profits even as companies it invested in went under, including some in South Carolina, and people lost jobs. Perry called Romney a "vulture capitalist" who put profits ahead of jobs.

By late Wednesday, Perry had backed away from the attack line and didn't mention in during remarks to crowds at campaign stops.

Perry is desperate for a strong showing in South Carolina, where the primary is Jan. 21, to keep his presidential hopes alive. He finished near the bottom of the pack in the voting in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Katon Dawson, a top Perry adviser in South Carolina, tried to minimize the effect of Wynn's decision.

"It's unfortunate and disappointing. But at the end of the day we are marching on," Dawson said. "It won't have any impact. The only impact it will have is on the media trying to report it."

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Mitt Romney goes into damage control over ‘fire people’ remark

(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

HUDSON, New Hampshire—Mitt Romney hadn't planned on addressing the media trailing him in the Granite State this week, but finally he had to, all in the name of damage control.

After a town hall with employees of a metal fabricating plant here, the former Massachusetts governor stepped to the mic to clarify two statements he's made on the trail over the last 24 hours that have quickly become attack fodder for both the Democratic National Committee and his rivals in the 2012 GOP presidential field.

Perhaps the most pressing point of clarification arose from a statement he made during a question-and-answer session with Nashua Chamber of Commerce Monday morning, when he was explaining that he supports the right of individuals to have greater control over their health insurance providers.

"I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy," Romney said. "It also means that if you don't like what they do, you can fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. You know if someone doesn't give me the good service I need, I want to say, you know, I'm going to go get someone else to provide that service to me."

But Romney's opponents quickly seized on the "I like being able to fire people" comment, and the Democratic National Committee forwarded a clip of the video to reporters. In Concord, Jon Huntsman used the statement out of context to contrast his candidacy with Romney, whom he called "out of touch."

"It's become abundantly clear over the last couple days what differentiates Gov. Romney and me," Huntsman said. "I will always put my country first. It seems Gov. Romney believes in putting politics first. Gov. Romney enjoys firing people, I enjoy creating jobs."

And so it happened that Romney was forced to go before a gaggle of more than 100 reporters—one of his biggest entourages of the campaign so far—to rebut his rivals. Before Romney stepped up on a tiny elevated platform to clarify his earlier comments, members of the media pushed and shoved their way into prime positions near the microphone in an exercise that seemed more like a sporting event than a news conference. On-air talent begged their way to the front of the pack—in hopes of getting themselves on camera actually speaking to the candidate.

There were a few false starts, as the Romney advance team shifted around supporters holding campaign signs to get them into prime camera position. "We're having flare problems," a photographer called out.

When Romney finally arrived at the microphone, he seemed to will himself to keep smiling, perhaps knowing that even the hint of a frown could produce an image that he might regret. He insisted opponents had intentionally misinterpreted his "fire people" remark.

"Sorry, you know the context of what I was saying, which is we all like to be able to chose our own insurance company and if they don't do the job for us being able to get rid of them and that's what I was referring to," he said. "I understand that in politics people are going to try and grasp at anything, take it out of context and make it something it's not, and by the way, that's the nature of the process."

But, he added, he was being "adult" about it. "It's a part of the process," he declared.

Romney also sought to offer context for another potentially controversial remark he made on the trail Sunday, which suggested that he knew what it was like to worry about losing your job. "I know what it's like to worry whether you're gonna get fired," Romney said. "There were a couple of times I wondered whether I was going to get a pink slip."

On Monday, Romney insisted he hasn't had it as easy as some might expect. "As you know in your profession, you never quite know what's going to happen," Romney told reporters. "I think people imagine that I came in at the top of Bain & Company . . . . I started at the bottom. I came out of school, and I got an entry level position like the other people that were freshly minted MBAs. And like anybody that starts at the bottom of an enterprise, you wonder, when you don't do so well, whether you're going to be able to hang onto your job and you wonder if the enterprise gets in trouble, you know, will you be one of those that's laid off. "

"That's what's happening around the country to a lot of people today," Romney added. "And it breaks your heart to see people lose their jobs. Like everybody else, everybody in the private sector knows that there's some prospect that you might lose your job."

But when a reporter followed up with the question of whether Romney believes it's appropriate to liken his experience to less-privileged Americans who have lost their jobs, the candidate seemed to get a bit irritated.

"If you think I should spend my entire campaign carefully choosing how everything I say relates to people, as opposed to saying my own experience and telling my own experience, then that would make me a very different person than I am," he said. "My own experiences. . . . I realize they aren't the same as everyone else that I speak with but I am going to tell you about myself."

Romney then seized the moment to try and get back on message by turning the focus to President Obama.

"If people like that, great. If they want President Obama and a loss of 2 million jobs, a decline of median income in America by 10 percent, and people looking at very difficult prospects going forward, they can choose President Obama," he said. "But if they want someone who understands how the economy works at the level of job creation, of businesses of failing and succeeding, that's what I can bring to the table."

Other popular Yahoo! News stories:

• Ron Paul supporters rule the night in Manchester

• Mitt Romney's biggest test: Can he connect with voters?

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Romney bashed for 'firing' remark

9 January 2012 Last updated at 21:01 ET

Mitt Romney dropped into a campaign office on Monday to make calls to potential voters

Republican front-runner Mitt Romney has come under attack on the eve of New Hampshire's primary after remarking that he likes to fire people.

He was talking about inefficient health insurers, but rivals used the comment to pillory the tycoon, who built a fortune from corporate restructuring.

Polls on Monday showed Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman jockeying for position behind Mr Romney in New Hampshire.

The eventual nominee will challenge President Barack Obama in November.

Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich are vying for conservative votes, with one eye on the next race in South Carolina, while Jon Huntsman has staked his entire campaign on New Hampshire's result.

Huntsman pounces

Primaries and caucuses will take place in every US state over the next few months before the prevailing Republican candidate is crowned at the party convention in August.

But Tuesday's vote in New Hampshire, followed by two more this month in South Carolina and Florida could well decisively shape the outcome of the race.

There was a last flurry of campaigning in New Hampshire on Monday, with candidates holding town hall meetings and "meet and greets" in restaurants and coffee shops.

Former Massachusetts Governor Romney's answer to a question from a business group gave plenty of ammunition to rivals.

"I like to be able to fire people who provide services to me," Mr Romney said, answering a question about healthcare insurance.

Former Utah Governor Huntsman was quick to attack.

"Governor Romney enjoys firing people; I enjoy creating jobs," Mr Huntsman said on Monday.

"It may be that he's slightly out of touch with the economic reality playing out in America right now, and that's a dangerous place to be."

Pink slips

With seven campaign stops on his agenda, Mr Huntsman was the busiest of the candidates on the eve-of-primary day.

Rick Santorum is trying to position himself as the leading "true conservative" candidate

Texas Governor Rick Perry has begun campaigning in South Carolina ahead of the 21 January primary there.

Mr Romney has faced mounting criticism from rivals over his years at a private equity firm, Bain Capital.

The company carried out corporate restructuring projects under Mr Romney's leadership.

A Reuters news agency report on one of the companies that Bain bought in the 1990s found that it had doubled its purchase price of a steel mill, but ultimately the mill declared bankruptcy and laid off 750 workers.

Rick Perry used the opportunity to attack Mr Romney's remark over the weekend that he knew what it was like to fear getting a "pink slip", or being fired.

"I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips, whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out," Mr Perry said on Monday.

In an appearance on NBC's Today show, Mr Gingrich said Mr Romney "owes us a report on his stewardship" of Bain Capital.

The former House speaker's remarks came as a pro-Gingrich political action committee - known as a Super PAC - unveiled a short film attacking Mr Romney over his business career.

'Corporate raider'

Focusing on his record at Bain Capital, the video portrays Mr Romney as a greedy "corporate raider" who destroyed the lives of American families.

Romney was challenged by opponents Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich on Sunday

The pro-Gingrich group, Winning Our Future, is poised to spend $3.4m (£2.2m) on TV advertising in South Carolina after the New Hampshire vote, the New York Times reported on Monday.

While Mr Romney's polling numbers have slipped slightly in New Hampshire, he has attempted to brush off the criticism.

"I thought it was going to come from the president, from the Democrats on the left, but instead, it's coming from Speaker Gingrich and apparently others," he said on Monday.

He remained focused on attacking the Obama administration in his Monday campaign stops.

During one of two televised debates held over the weekend, Mr Gingrich accused Mr Romney of trying to mislead voters by suggesting he was not a career politician, saying that was "pious baloney".

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Could the 2012 GOP nomination be drawing to a close? Candidates attack Romney, but fail to land lasting blows

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- It is somewhat astonishing, if not unjustified, that although only a small slice of voters have cast ballots in a single state where the winner emerged with an 8-vote margin of victory, the dominant question hanging over the contest for the Republican nomination is, 'Is it over?'

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has been the major player here in the Granite State for the cycle so far. His slim victory in Iowa, bolstered by polls showing his opponents barely making a dent here and expanding support for him in South Carolina, makes for a formidable frontrunner status. So formidable, in fact, that it may be impossible to derail.

Naturally, the single biggest question heading into this weekend of back-to-back debates in New Hampshire was: what were Romney's opponents willing to do to alter the trajectory of his campaign?

"Nothing" seemed to be the answer to that question at the ABC/Yahoo debate on Saturday night. Yet by the time the candidates appeared on the NBC debate stage Sunday morning in Concord, the answer had changed.

In the opening moments of the debate, moderated by NBC's David Gregory, both Sen. Santorum and Speaker Gingrich seized  opportunities to chip away at Romney as a moderate, weak, unprincipled, and untruthful candidate for president.

Gingrich called himself a "bold Reagan conservative" in contrast to the "timid Massachusetts moderate" label he ascribed to Romney. Gingrich would not go as far to say that Romney is unelectable, but he made the case that Romney will have a tough time defeating President Obama because he doesn't provide as big, bold, and clear a contrast as Gingrich believes is required.

"I think he will have a very hard time getting elected," Gingrich said.

"He ran from Ronald Reagan and he said he was gonna be to the left just like Kennedy on gay rights and abortion, a whole host of other issues," Santorum said in reference to Romney's 1994 run for the US Senate in the Massachusetts.  "We want someone when the time gets tough--and it will in this election.  We want someone who's gonna stand up and fight for the conservative principles," he added.

Romney attempted to push back on the attacks coming his way by painting his competitors as life long politicians with no understanding of the real world economy because they lack his private sector business experience.

But Romney's argument was revealing in terms of how much he is willing to stretch to appear as an outsider to the political process. Romney claimed he didn't run for reelection in Massachusetts in 2006 because he had accomplished his goal of improving the state and that he decided to return to private business.

Yet, as Newt Gingrich quickly pointed out, Romney launched his presidential campaign almost immediately upon leaving the governor's office.

"Can we drop a little bit of the pious baloney?," Gingrich asked. "Just level with the American people," he added.

Ultimately, the Santorum and Gingrich attacks against Romney, and to a lesser extent the barbs that came his way from Huntsman, Perry, and Paul, were sharp but not sustained and may not have done the lasting damage they seek in order to upend the race.

These strong attacks go fundamentally after Romney's character, but they aren't particularly new. Nor have they had success  sticking to Romney over the course of the last year. Surprisingly, there is still a lack of substantial and sustained television advertising aimed at tearing down Romney along these lines; without more of it, it will be much harder for his opponents to gain traction.

Still, the candidates not named Romney may have the political press corps on their side.  There is always a desire among the press for a protracted race. That, of course, is in direct tension with the other strong desire: to be the first to declare the race over. As Romney's opponents attempt to rewrite the current narrative about his inevitability, they'll seek to exploit that tension.

Other popular Yahoo! News stories:

• In final New Hampshire debate, candidates go after Romney--very briefly

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Romney sous le feu avant de sondage

8 Janvier 2012 Mise à jour à 11:13 ET

Débat de dimanche a été décrit comme animé

Favori des républicains U.S. Mitt Romney vient sous le feu de collègues prétendants avant de votes primaires de mardi dans l'État du New Hampshire.

Lors d'un débat télévisé à l'échelle nationale le dimanche, programme économique de l'ancien gouverneur Massachusetts a été appelé « timide » et ses lettres de créance conservateurs ont été aussi remis en question.

Depuis sa victoire étroite dans l'Iowa, la semaine dernière, M. Romney a une avance sur ses rivaux.

Le gagnant sera défi président Barack Obama dans les élections de novembre.

Six candidats restent dans la course à l'investiture républicaine.

Primaires et caucuses aura lieu dans chaque État américain dans les prochains mois avant que le candidat républicain éventuel est couronné à la convention du parti en août.

Mais les votes dans le New Hampshire, la Caroline du Sud et la Floride ce mois-ci, qui pourrait bien donner forme à la course à l'investiture.

« Pieux baloney »

Débat de dimanche était la deuxième en moins de 24 heures. Il a été conjointement par se rencontrent NBC la presse, le dirigeant syndical New Hampshire et Facebook - questions envoyés sur le site de réseautage social.

Ancien président de la Chambre des représentants Newt Gingrich a accusé M. Romney de « pieux baloney » pour dire : il n'était pas un homme politique de carrière.

Le « Juste niveau avec le peuple américain », M. Gingrich pressa.

À laquelle M. Romney quipped : "la politique n'est pas ma carrière. Passion de ma vie a été ma famille, ma foi, mon pays. »

M. Gingrich décrit M. Romney comme un « relativement timide Massachusetts modéré » - ajout, « je pense qu'avoir très mal à obtenir élu. »

Mais M. Romney a répondu: « Je suis très fier de mon dossier et je pense que la seule chose que vous ne peut tromper le peuple du New Hampshire sur est l'enregistrement d'un gouverneur voisine. »

Rick Santorum, l'ancien sénateur de la Pennsylvanie qui a perdu le caucus de l'Iowa par huit voix, s'est demandé pourquoi M. Romney n'avait pas demandé un second mandat de gouverneur du Massachussetts.

« Pourquoi vous sauver ? Et est de la ligne de fond, que je vais combattre la lutte,", a déclaré M. Santorum.

M. Romney a adopté la même tactique que durant le débat du samedi, en grande partie s'est abstenu de prise de fouilles à ses adversaires - bien qu'il mit en période de Jon Huntsman comme ambassadeur en Chine dans le cadre de M. Obama.

Le dimanche, M. Hunstsman a répondu : "j'ai été critiqué hier soir par le gouverneur Romney pour mon pays en priorité. Il m'a critiqué alors qu'il était hors de collecte de fonds. Je veux être très clair. Je toujours mettrai mon pays Premièrement. »

Trois principaux rivaux de M. Romney - M. Santorum, M. Gingrich et Texas congressman Ron Paul - mutuellement attaqués encore.

M. Santorum dit Monsieur Paul avait « jamais vraiment passé quelque chose de quelque importance ».

« Une des personnes motifs comme membre du Congrès Paul est son plan économique. Il n'a jamais pu accomplir tout cela, n'a aucun antécédent d'être en mesure de travailler ensemble. Il a été là-bas sur les marges et a vraiment réussi à travailler avec quelqu'un de faire quelque chose. »

Et questionné sur titres patriotiques du président Obama, Rick Perry a déclaré: « nous avons un président qui est un socialiste. Je ne pense pas que nos pères fondateurs voulu faire de notre pays comme pays socialiste. »

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Romney Unruffled in GOP Debate as Rivals Attack Each Other

Mitt Romney was unruffled in the New Hampshire Republican debate Saturday night that saw heated exchanges between Ron Paul and his rivals but relatively little criticism leveled against the frontrunner.

Rick Santorum, who is riding high after his number two finish in the Iowa caucus, was one of the few candidates to go aggressively after the former Massachusetts governor, taking on his economic plan and health care record.

The former senator, who has portrayed Romney as a cold, calculating, chief executive and not an inspirational leader, continued that line of attack tonight.

"Business experience doesn't necessarily match up with being the commander-in-chief of this country," Santorum said at the debate in Manchester, N.H., sponsored by ABC News, Yahoo! News and WMUR. "The commander-in-chief of this country isn't a CEO."

Romney responded with a veiled jab at the former senator, saying, "I think people who spend their life in Washington don't understand what happens out in the real economy."

"The people in the private sector," Romney continued, "They're not successful because they're managers. They're successful primarily because they are leaders."

Later in the debate, Santorum attacked Romney's use of the word "middle class," suggesting that it only adds to President Obama's and Democrats' line of argument.

"As far as substance, I agree with Speaker [Newt] Gingrich. I don't think Governor Romney's plan is particularly bold, or is particularly focused on where the problems are in this country," Santorum said.

Saying that "there are no classes in America," Santorum took issue with Romney's use of the word middle class.

"We are a country that don't allow for titles. We don't put people in classes. There may be middle income people, but the idea that somehow or another we're going to buy into the class warfare arguments of Barack Obama is something that should not be part of the Republican lexicon. That's their job, divide, separate, put one group against another," he said.

"I'll use the language of bringing people together," he added.

Gingrich, who has seen his ranking in the polls slide rapidly, was asked about Romney's record at Bain Capital but largely left criticism in a scathing TV ad by a super PAC aligned with his campaign to speak for itself.

The pro-Gingrich super PAC Winning Our Future recently teased a forthcoming film it produced -- called "King of Bain" – that featured interviews with laid off employees, hammering Romney for turning their lives upside down. The video calls Romney's tenure at Bain "a story of greed."

Gingrich said he hasn't seen the ad but that "people should look at the film and decide."

"I'm not nearly as enamored of a Wall Street model where you can flip companies, you can go in and have leveraged buyouts, you can basically take out all the money, leaving behind the workers," he said, taking a swipe at Romney without saying his name.

Romney defended his record at Bain, including the fact that some of the companies it invested in led to layoffs. "We understand that in the free economy, in the private sector, that sometimes investments don't work and you're not successful," he said. "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."

View ABC News' live blog from the debate here.

Romney may be the frontrunner but it was Rep. Ron Paul who was the subject of the testiest exchanges of the night. Paul went aggressively at his rivals, accusing Santorum of corruption and Gingrich of ducking military service.

Paul and Santorum are engaged in a tooth-and-nail battle for the number two position and the two have had the feistiest exchanges of the debate.

"To say you're a conservative, I think, is a stretch. But you've convinced a lot of people of it, so somebody has to point out your record," Paul charged, citing a report by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in 2006 that named Santorum one of three "most corrupt" senators.

Paul's charge comes at a time when Santorum is trying to make the case that he is the one true, viable conservative alternative to Romney.

Santorum bashed CREW as a liberal organization and defended his conservative record.

"If you haven't been sued by CREW, you are not a conservative," he responded. "It's a ridiculous charge and you should know better than to cite George Soros-like organizations."

He painted Paul as being far out of the mainstream of the Republican Party: "You vote against everything."

Soon after, Gingrich and Paul clashed in a heated exchange on the question of military service.

"I think people who don't serve when they could and get three or four or even five deferments have no right to send our kids off to war and be even against the wars we have. I'm trying to stop the wars but at least I went when they called me up," he said.

But Gingrich, who received a draft deferment during the Vietnam war on the basis that he had children and was studying, pushed back heavily at Paul's not-so-veiled jab.

"Dr. Paul has a long history of saying things that are inaccurate and false. The fact is I never asked for a deferment. I was married with a child. It was never a question," he countered. "I personally resent the kind of comments and aspersions he routinely makes without accurate information and then just slurs people."

"When I was drafted I was married with two kids and I went," Paul responded, to applause.

"I wasn't eligible for the draft. I wasn't eligible for the draft," Gingrich repeated.

On the issue of foreign policy and how they would handle Iraq and Afghanistan, the candidates deviated little from their talking points, except Rick Perry, who said for the first time that he would send troops back to Iraq. Perry was the only other candidate on stage, besides Paul, to serve in the armed forces.

"I would send troops back into Iraq," he said. "The idea that we allow the Iranians to come back into Iraq and take over that country, with all of the treasure, both in blood and money that we have spent in Iraq, because this president wants to kowtow to his liberal leftist base and move out those men and women. ... I think it is a huge error for us."

The Texas governor has long criticized Obama for announcing a date for the troop withdrawal but has previously only said that he would consult with commanders on the ground before making troop decisions.

On Iraq, Perry stood out from the rest of the candidates, namely Paul who advocates bringing all troops back home, even from Afghanistan.

They may have stood apart on economic issues, but the candidates were united in opposition when asked about gay marriage, which is legal in New Hampshire and Iowa.

"There's every right for people in this country to form long-term relationships with each other, that doesn't mean they need to call it marriage," said Romney.

"It's a huge jump from being understanding, considerate, concerned [for same-sex couples], which we should be," Gingrich said, "to saying we're therefore going to institute the sacrament of marriage as though it has no basis. The sacrament of marriage is based on a man and a woman, has been for 3,000 years, is at the core of our civilization and is worth protecting and upholding."

"I think protecting and upholding that doesn't mean you need to make life miserable for others," he added.

"I believe the issue of marriage itself is a federal issue," said Santorum, a longtime critic of same-sex marriage. "Marriage is... a foundational institution in our country and we have to have a singular law with respect to that."

Then Gingrich trained fire on the news media for not adequately reporting on recent decisions by Catholic Charities groups to cease adoption services in several states which would have required them to work with same-sex couples.

"You don't hear the opposite question asked: should the Catholic Church be forced to close its adoption services in Massachusetts because it won't adopt to same-sex couples?"

"The bigotry question goes both ways. And there's a lot more anti-Christian bigotry today than there is on the other side and none of it gets covered by the media," he said, drawing loud applause.

"People in this room think Speaker Gingrich is right, and I do too," interjected Romney.

During the debate several of the candidates, including Romney and Gingrich, urged party unity, saying they'd support anyone on the stage if he were to become the GOP nominee to challenge Obama. But not Paul, who some speculate could mount a third party run.

When asked about the possibility of making an independent general election bid, Paul insisted he has "no plans to do it" but would not definitively rule it out.

"I don't intend to do it. And somebody pushed me a little bit hard and said why don't you plan to do it? I just -- I don't want to. So I have no intention," he said. "But I don't know why a person can't reserve a judgment and see how things turn out? You know, in many ways I see the other candidates as very honorable people, but I sometimes disagree with their approach to government."

Jon Huntsman, who has focused the bulk of his campaign efforts in New Hampshire, struggled to maintain his ground and came under a late, last-minute surprising attack by the frontrunner himself.

Romney attacked Huntsman's work as ambassador to China under the Obama administration, saying that as president, he wouldn't talk about China.

"I'm going to tell the Chinese, it's time to stop. I'm not going to let you kill American jobs," he said.

Huntsman responded in Chinese, saying, "he doesn't understand the situation."

Romney, the clear leader in the debate, has never looked stronger than he does right now. He is well ahead of his rivals in the Granite state, garnering 44 percent of the vote among GOP voters in a WMUR poll released Friday. In South Carolina -- the state next in line for the primary -- the former Massachusetts governor is leading the pack with almost 40 percent of the vote, while the only southerner in the contest, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, has fallen to 5 percent.

Romney is leading well ahead of his rivals in all major national polls, but Santorum is also rising quickly, mostly at the expense of Gingrich. In Gallup's latest tracking poll conducted on Jan. 1-6, 29 percent of GOP voters chose Romney, 17 percent picked Gingrich and 16 percent said they would vote for Santorum. This is one of Romney's largest leads since the poll began.

ABC News' Michael Falcone and Arlette Saenz contributed to this report.

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Candidats républicains stand par des publicités négatives, ne parviennent pas à knock out Romney

(AP)

GOFFSTOWN, N.H.--Avec la pression sur trois jours seulement avant le premier concours primaire dans la nation, les candidats républicains avaient leurs arsenaux prêt pour ce soir débat--mais gauche front runner Mitt Romney largement intacte.

Romney est du scrutin à environ 40 % de l'État, plusieurs points en face de la finaliste de la plus proche. Ce soir, ses concurrents a omis de lui tenir efficacement d'une manière qui pourrait abaisser son avance dans l'État. Si les performances du samedi soir sont tout indicateur, il prendra la tête dans les primaires de la semaine prochaine recherche toujours forte.

Les candidats ont jumeler des attaques sur les uns des autres, discours de campagne moignon tant dans les annonces s'exécutant dans les premiers États primaires au cours des dernières semaines. Le samedi, chaque candidat a demandé à être maintenue par leurs accusations et répéter, face à face.

Sur la piste, ancien sénateur de la Pennsylvanie Santorum a dit qu'exécutif expérience dans le secteur privé n'est pas assez pour qualifier un candidat à la présidence. Développant cette accusation, Santorum retrouve au Centre de l'attention pour la première fois à ce débat.

« Certes je parlais gouverneur Romney, » a déclaré Santorum. « Bien, expérience des affaires ne correspond pas nécessairement à étant le commandant en chef de ce pays. »

Romney défend, exiger que son adversaire était un homme politique de vie qui n'avaient pas la compréhension de l'économie.

« Je crois que les gens qui passent leur vie à Washington ne comprennent pas ce qui se passe hors de l'économie réelle », a déclaré Romney. « Ils pensent que les personnes commencent les entreprises sont gestionnaires justes. Le commandant en chef de ce pays n'est d'un PDG".

Peut-être l'offensive plus agressive de la nuit sont venus au Texas Rep. Ron Paul comme il visant à l'ancienne maison orateur Newt Gingrich, qui il a récemment accusé d'être un « chickenhawk » pour ne pas servir dans la guerre du Vietnam. Gingrich, dont étape-le père a passé sa carrière dans l'armée, a eu infraction personnelle du commentaire.

Vous pouvez regarder la vidéo de l'échange ci-dessous:

« Dr Paul a une longue histoire de dire des choses qui sont inexacts et faux, » a déclaré Gingrich. « Le fait est, j'ai jamais demandé d'ajournement. J'ai été marié et a un enfant. Il n'a jamais été une question. Mon père était, en fait, desservant au Vietnam dans le Delta du Mékong, au moment où qu'il fait allusion aux. Je crois qu'avoir une assez bonne idée de ce que c'est comme une famille à vous inquiéter de votre père getting tué. « Et je renvoyer personnellement le genre de commentaires et de discrédit il prend régulièrement sans des renseignements exacts et ensuite seulement des insultes personnes avec ».

Mais Paul a tiré de retour, disant : il a trop d'enfants pendant la guerre, « et je suis allé. »

Le débat, a toutefois pris un tour quand les modérateurs de ABC News George Stephanopoulos et Diane Sawyer grandis questions sociales : mariage gay et un contrôle fédéral sur la contraception.

Vous pouvez regarder la vidéo de Romney discutant de contraception ci-dessous:

Lorsque les candidats ont été invités à défendre leur opposition au mariage gay, ils ont accusèrent délibérément que le sujet avait seulement fait une question par ce que Gingrich appelé médias « partialité ».

Vous pouvez regarder la vidéo de Gingrich ci-dessous:

Les candidats sont définies pour débattre à nouveau dimanche matin lors d'un forum organisé par NBC News. Ne vous étonnez pas de les voir tourner la chaleur sur Romney.

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Can Gingrich stay positive? Will Romney go negative? A preview of Saturday’s Yahoo/ABC debate

Come to Yahoo! at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday to watch the Republican presidential debate in Des Moines, sponsored by Yahoo News and ABC News. You will be able to provide real-time feedback, and to read and watch live coverage and analysis.

David Chalian is the Washington bureau chief for Yahoo News. Amy Walter is the political director for ABC News. Here is their analysis of what to look for when the candidates take the stage.

By David Chalian and Amy Walter

David Chalian: With 25 days to go before Iowa Republicans brave the January cold to head to their caucuses and cast the first votes in the 2012 GOP nomination battle, Saturday night's debate seems particularly well timed to hear the candidates' closing arguments.

Amy Walter: And ironically these candidates have spent less time in Iowa than we've seen from presidential candidates in recent years. So they are here to make the case not just to Iowans—whom they have kind of ignored for the last few months—but to a national Republican electorate still trying to figure out what kind of nominee it wants to face Obama.

So, given the stakes, what should we expect to see from the newest frontrunner, Newt Gingrich?

Chalian: First and foremost, I expect to see an inherent tension within Gingrich on stage. He has had such great success trying to stay above the fray and has made his pledge to promise only positive campaigning. It seems to me that will be in direct conflict with being the frontrunner and the likely target of nearly everyone else on that stage. Watching how he navigates through that tension will be fascinating, don't you think?

Walter: Absolutely. And, then there's the fact that Gingrich has, in the past, been his own worst enemy. Staying on message has never been his strong suit.

But, his opponents have to be careful too. As we've seen in past debates, the candidate who stays above the fray—whether that's Cain or Gingrich—has benefitted. So, I'm just as fascinated to see what Romney does. Does he try to let the other candidates take their shots at Newt or will he have to do it himself?

Chalian: A good question. And one that they have been wrestling with at his Boston campaign headquarters in recent days. I don't recall ever seeing as aggressive and overt a launch of a contrast/comparative phase of a campaign (within a nomination fight) as we saw with the Romney campaign this week. That kind of direct attack on Gingrich's record suggests to me Romney is prepared to do a lot of the heavy lifting himself Saturday and not simply rely on his fellow competitors. The lesson of Tim Pawlenty from June, right? If you launch a pre-debate attack, you better follow up on it when you get on the stage.

Walter: So, the next issue: what about the other folks on stage? This is do or die time for Rick Perry, who is spending A LOT of cash on TV ads here and is about to embark on a major bus tour around the state. He's trying to position himself as the "consistent conservative" in the race. And, of course, there's Ron Paul, The guy who came close to winning the Iowa straw poll back in August and has a serious opportunity to win it all in January.

Chalian: Perry's strategic decision to double down on capturing the social conservatives that have driven Iowa caucuses past is very interesting to me. Polls have shown that the economy is the driving force for the Iowa electorate similar to how it is nationally. This seems like an effort to capture that Huckabee vote from 2008, but the electorate may be different in terms of size and makeup on Jan. 3, 2012 than it was on Jan. 3, 2008. Many Perry aides seem to think it is the only shot they've got, but if he doubles down on the social conservative wing of the party and loses, I'm not sure he gets a ticket out of Iowa.

Paul represents the greatest question to me about this cycle. Does his additional money, organization, and poll strength compared to his 2008 run translate into a motivated army of activists who show up on caucus night. No way for us to answer that yet, but it is a very big unresolved question that hangs over this process.

Bachmann and Santorum have probably done more in-person campaigning than any of the others in Iowa, but as you said at the top — that doesn't seem to be the roadmap for success this election cycle.

Walter: So, in the end, the candidate who "wins" the debate will be the one who is able to not only engage and energize the Republican base, but one who also looks like he/she is able to translate that success beyond the primary season and into the general election. Today, polls show that Gingrich is that guy. But, will he still be that guy on Sunday morning?

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Romney turns up the heat on Obama in New Hampshire

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney unveiled his first television ad of the election cyle this week in New Hampshire, kicking off a major media push in the state.

The 60-second spot ignores Romney's Republican primary opponents and strikes directly against President Obama, who is scheduled to visit Manchester Tuesday.

Democrats on Tuesday took issue with the part of the ad that quotes Obama saying, "If we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose," pointing out that Romney took the quote out of context. Obama used the line in 2008, but he was talking about his opponent, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, not his own campaign. What Obama did say at the time, was this: "Senator McCain's campaign actually said, and I quote, 'If we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose.'" In response, the Democratic National Committee slammed Romney, calling him "a serial deceiver."

Apart from the video, Romney also penned a two-page open letter to the president, which three of the state's largest newspapers will publish this week.

"I will be blunt. Your policies have failed," Romney writes. "It is bad enough that they have fallen short even by the standards your own administration set for itself. But things are much worse than that. Far from bringing the crisis to an end, your policies have actively hindered economic recovery. In some cases, they were the exact opposite of what our government should have been doing."

"It is not America's laziness that is the problem, as you recently suggested," Romney goes on to say. "It is your policies."

As the former governor of a neighboring state and a Granite State property owner, Romney--should he become the GOP nominee--would presumably enjoy something of a home-field advantage against Obama in New Hampshire, who won the state against Republican presidential candidate John McCain by nearly 10 percentage points in 2008.

You can read the full letter after the jump.

Dear President Obama,

Welcome to New Hampshire.

I hope you enjoy your visit. In 49 days, voters here will be going to the polls to choose a Republican nominee to run against you. I would like to lay out for you some of what I will be saying on the campaign trail if I am fortunate enough to become my party's candidate.

I would begin by acknowledging that you were dealt a hard hand. You came into office in the midst of an economic crisis that was not of your making. You were asked to face great challenges and to solve difficult problems. The tasks before you would have taxed the abilities of any new president.

But we now have had three years to watch your policies unfold and to assess their results. The evidence is in and it is unequivocal. I will be blunt. Your policies have failed. It is bad enough that they have fallen short even by the standards your own administration set for itself. But things are much worse than that. Far from bringing the crisis to an end, your policies have actively hindered economic recovery. In some cases, they were the exact opposite of what our government should have been doing.

You and your advisors sold your economic "stimulus" package to Congress on the basis of a forecast that it would hold unemployment below 8 percent. There is a reason why this projection was wildly off base and that unemployment soared above 10 percent and is now stuck around 9 percent. Your stimulus bill was filled with special interest giveaways, and eased the way for your administration to shovel loan guarantees out the door to politically connected "green" technology firms, some of which are now in bankruptcy, with the taxpayers on the hook for more than $500 million.

Even where crony capitalism did not get in the way, so many projects were far from "shovel ready" or had absolutely nothing to do with creating jobs. Nearly a trillion dollars of tax dollars was spent, our budget deficit exploded, and some 25 million Americans remain either unemployed, underemployed, or have given up seeking work altogether. You placed a burden of debt on America that will take generations to repay and we got almost nothing in return.

You also failed to grasp the impact of your policies on the American business climate. Investment depends upon a degree of certainty, but your administration made it impossible for enterprises to make accurate forecasts about their future costs. If companies have stopped hiring in America, it is in no small part because of policies, including Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, and an astonishing tangle of new federal regulations that have snuffed out investment. If we are ever to get America back to work, they all must be repealed.

I will also be talking about how you have catered to favored special interests, like civil-service unions and environmentalists, at the expense of American workers. Take your decision to "delay" building the state-of-the-art Keystone XL oil pipeline. Some 20,000 American jobs are at stake. You may not regard that as a large number, but every one of the unemployed men and women whose future you have sacrificed to satisfy your political base in the environmentalist left deserve far better. And this is but one of many examples I can cite.

America deserves better.

It is not America's laziness that is the problem, as you recently suggested. It is your policies.

So once again, Mr. President, welcome to New Hampshire. We need a great debate about how best to get our country working again. We can't afford four more years of failure. I believe in unleashing America's potential. That is what my own campaign for the presidency is all about.

Sincerely,

Mitt Romney

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