Mesa: Rivals piled criticism on US presidential candidate Rick Santorum at a testy debate on Wednesday, attempting to blunt his surprise surge at a pivotal period in the Republican race.
Looking to build on a late rise in polls, Mr Santorum instead went through an uncomfortable two hours duration fending off criticism of his Senate record, in his first appearance at centre stage of the debates which have defined the Republican campaign.
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney joined forces with libertarian Congressman Ron Paul in questioning Mr Santorum's conservative credentials. Mr Paul was asked at the CNN-sponsored debate why his campaign had run a television ad calling Santorum a fake.
Rick Santorum, a former US senator from Pennsylvania, often complained earlier in the campaign that he was ignored by moderators in debates. He might have missed an opportunity on Thursday to solidify his lead in many polls.
Mr Romney, his candidacy potentially at stake, went after his chief rival repeatedly. He said that Mr Santorum voted to raise the debt ceiling and supported "earmarks", the much-ridiculed pet spending projects that members of Congress often slip into appropriations legislation.
Mr Romney pointed out that Mr Santorum had supported a much-derided $400 million "bridge to nowhere" project in Alaska that was eventually abandoned. Mr Santorum shot back that Mr Romney had sought earmarks to pay for security at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Rick Santorum insisted that earmarks have their place.
Tempers Flare
Tempers flared between Mr Santorum and Mr Romney frequently and at one point the two candidates talked over each other, refusing to cede the floor. At times the crowd booed. Debate moderator John King of CNN frequently let the two candidates battle it out.
The two candidates are in a close race in Michigan, with the most recent polls showing Rick Santorum leading by 4 percentage points or fewer. A victory in Michigan is critical for Mitt Romney as he needs to prove that he can win in the state where he was born.
Mitt Romney again was forced to defend his opposition to bailouts that helped the auto industry in Michigan, a key industry in the state, while supporting bank bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis.
"He supported the folks on Wall Street and bailed out Wall Street, was all for it. And then when it came to the auto workers, the folks in Detroit, he said, no. That to me is not a consistent, principled position," Mr Santorum said.
Mr Santorum is the latest Republican candidate to seriously challenge Mr Romney for the party's nomination to face Democratic President Barack Obama in a November 6 general election.
Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, once a front-runner and now struggling for a breakthrough on Super Tuesday, got strong reviews for his debate performance while letting his rivals slug it out.
Mr Gingrich, who has drawn raves from conservatives for attacking the U.S. news media at the debates, replayed the role once again while talking about contraception and abortion.
"I just want to point out, you did not once in the 2008 campaign, not once did anybody in the elite media ask why Barack Obama voted in favour of legalizing infanticide. OK? So let's be clear here," he said. He was referring to a vote by Mr Obama while he was an Illinois state senator on legislation about the status of foetuses that survive abortion.
(Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012)
Looking to build on a late rise in polls, Mr Santorum instead went through an uncomfortable two hours duration fending off criticism of his Senate record, in his first appearance at centre stage of the debates which have defined the Republican campaign.
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney joined forces with libertarian Congressman Ron Paul in questioning Mr Santorum's conservative credentials. Mr Paul was asked at the CNN-sponsored debate why his campaign had run a television ad calling Santorum a fake.
Rick Santorum, a former US senator from Pennsylvania, often complained earlier in the campaign that he was ignored by moderators in debates. He might have missed an opportunity on Thursday to solidify his lead in many polls.
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Mr Romney, his candidacy potentially at stake, went after his chief rival repeatedly. He said that Mr Santorum voted to raise the debt ceiling and supported "earmarks", the much-ridiculed pet spending projects that members of Congress often slip into appropriations legislation.
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Mr Romney pointed out that Mr Santorum had supported a much-derided $400 million "bridge to nowhere" project in Alaska that was eventually abandoned. Mr Santorum shot back that Mr Romney had sought earmarks to pay for security at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
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Rick Santorum insisted that earmarks have their place.
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Tempers Flare
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Tempers flared between Mr Santorum and Mr Romney frequently and at one point the two candidates talked over each other, refusing to cede the floor. At times the crowd booed. Debate moderator John King of CNN frequently let the two candidates battle it out.
The two candidates are in a close race in Michigan, with the most recent polls showing Rick Santorum leading by 4 percentage points or fewer. A victory in Michigan is critical for Mitt Romney as he needs to prove that he can win in the state where he was born.
Mitt Romney again was forced to defend his opposition to bailouts that helped the auto industry in Michigan, a key industry in the state, while supporting bank bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis.
"He supported the folks on Wall Street and bailed out Wall Street, was all for it. And then when it came to the auto workers, the folks in Detroit, he said, no. That to me is not a consistent, principled position," Mr Santorum said.
Mr Santorum is the latest Republican candidate to seriously challenge Mr Romney for the party's nomination to face Democratic President Barack Obama in a November 6 general election.
Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, once a front-runner and now struggling for a breakthrough on Super Tuesday, got strong reviews for his debate performance while letting his rivals slug it out.
Mr Gingrich, who has drawn raves from conservatives for attacking the U.S. news media at the debates, replayed the role once again while talking about contraception and abortion.
"I just want to point out, you did not once in the 2008 campaign, not once did anybody in the elite media ask why Barack Obama voted in favour of legalizing infanticide. OK? So let's be clear here," he said. He was referring to a vote by Mr Obama while he was an Illinois state senator on legislation about the status of foetuses that survive abortion.
(Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012)
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