By Melanie Jones: Subscribe to Melanie's RSS feed
January 17, 2012 6:13 AM EST
With the South Carolina 2012 primary just five days away, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum and Texas governor Rick Perry took to the stage for the first of two debates before the Jan. 21 primary.
The debate itself spanning topics ranging from border laws and the federal income tax to abstinence-only education and the killing of Osama bin Laden. But while some of the GOP candidates rose to the challenge, taking on their Republican rivals, the incumbent president and even the live audience, others floundered.
As the time to choose a GOP presidential nominee looms ever closer, every debate performance and primary victory could secure Mitt Romney's win... or clear the way for a candidate like Ron Paul or Newt Gingrich to steal the lead.
Below, read through a comprehensive breakdown of the candidates' performance in the debate last night, and how it's likely to affect their standing in the 2012 South Carolina Republican primary.
Mitt Romney: Same Old, Same Old
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Romney's poll numbers in South Carolina have been consistently high over the past two weeks. Barring a shaky performance at tonight's debate, the former Massachusetts governor was expected to continue as the uncontested frontrunner.
But Romney, while he answered well and continued to push the same talking points as he has over the past few months, didn't stand out among the candidates, three of which-Gingrich, Paul and Perry-seemed on fire during the debate.
In the area of foreign policy, Romney got big cheers from the crowd when he advocated building up a strong national defense, and was very well-received when he tackled his opposition to the DREAM Act, saying he would not lose the Latino vote because he was committed to the legal immigration that made America great.
He continued to go after incumbent president Barack Obama in almost every answer, while hammering in the message that his presidency would stand for opportunity, fairness and his new catch phrase "free enterprise."
Romney continues to convey a levelheaded yet personable approach to answering the moderators' questions. Yet Fox News voters viewed him as the least straightforward candidate of the bunch, as well as the one to most often dodge a tricky question.
This was especially apparent when Rick Perry went after Romney for not releasing his tax records. In a rare moment of fumbling, Romney stumbled through several answers before settling on the ambiguous half-assent. Moderators, picking up on his hesitance, returned to the tax record question several times throughout the debate, with Romney awkwardly brushing them aside each time.
In all, it was a good performance, but not particularly memorable. Romney isn't fighting for votes the way his opponents are doing, but last night's debate highlighted the return of one of Romney's weaknesses: he doesn't convey a lot of passion for the issues.
Notable Quotes:
On Bain Capital: "My record is out there and I'm proud of it."
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