The Gloves Come Off at Iowa Debate

Mrs. Bachmann misrepresented the debt ceiling debate when she complained that Congress had given a “blank check” to President Obama by agreeing to raise the debt ceiling — even though it had to be raised to pay for the bills that Congress had already approved, not for future spending.

And her gloss of the warning from Standard & Poor’s, the ratings agency that downgraded the United States’ credit rating last week, was off as well. “We just heard from Standard & Poor’s,” she said at one point. “When they dropped our credit rating what they said was we don’t have an ability to repay our debt.”

In fact, the ratings agency warned that the difficulty in reaching consensus was weakening the government’s ability to manage its finances. And it was dismayed by how close the nation came to default -– which would have happened if the debt ceiling had not been raised, a position Mrs. Bachmann supported.

Mrs. Bachmann also claimed that the deal only led to “$21 billion in illusory cuts.” While that was the amount projected for the very short term, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that the deal would cut the deficit by at least $2.1 trillion over the next decade.

Her complaint that the cuts were illusory also clashed with her own critique of the debt ceiling deal from last week, when The Des Moines Register quoted her as saying: “Under this debt ceiling bill, do you know how this works? The first thing that gets whacked — and with a hatchet — is defense.”

— Michael Cooper

If Mr. Huntsman felt as if he had not gotten the attention that he deserved during the debate, he made one last attempt in the final moments.

As the clock ticked down, Mr. Huntsman pointed out that he had been the only Republican presidential candidate to support the debt ceiling deal worked out by Mr. Obama and the Republicans in Congress.

“We are 25 percent of the world’s G.D.P.,” Mr. Huntsman said, saying that the idea of letting the country default on its debts is unthinkable.

That idea puts Mr. Huntsman at odds with his rivals on the stage, who say they would not have raised the debt ceiling. Mr. Huntsman is hoping that he comes across looking like the adult in the room who will take care of the fiscal reputation of the country.

But it also seemed like an effort to cut through the clutter of the debate and get a little attention.

— Michael D. Shear

Newt Gingrich, who complained about “Mickey Mouse games” and “gotcha” questions during the debate, has tried to position himself as the candidate of ideas, and he said he would like the focus of the campaign to be on “the basic ideas that distinguish us from Barack Obama.”

— Ashley Parker

One key difference in this debate? There was no attempt to keep members of the audience from applauding whenever they wanted.

During many debates, the hosts try to keep the audience quiet, arguing that the applause takes up time that the candidates could otherwise use for their answers.

But by breaking with that practice, the host, Fox News, created an atmosphere that was less policy debate, more political rally.

The audience has been particularly loud and boisterous for Mr. Paul, not surprising given his tendency to attract young and energetic college students.

But the audience has also served to amplify the clashes between the candidates, applauding when one of them gets off a good, sharp point and reacting with surprise when a comment takes on a particularly aggressive tone.

Other than Mr. Paul, there wasn’t a clear winner in the applause area. All of the candidates seemed to get their share.

But there was one clear loser: Mr. Obama. The audience applauded most loudly when any of the candidates offered a particularly brutal critique of the president.

— Michael D. Shear

Other than a brief moment at the beginning of the second hour, when the debate began and Mrs. Bachmann was nowhere to be found, then strode to her lectern just moments later, the Minnesota congresswoman kept her cool, answering questions meant to fluster her with a calm smile.

“I like Sarah Palin a lot,” Mrs. Bachmann said when the moderator, Mr. Baier, asked whether Ms. Palin’s visit to Iowa this weekend was stealing her thunder. “We are very good friends. And I think there’s room in the race for Governor Perry, Sarah Palin, or even, Bret, you too, if you want to throw your hat into the race.”

Later, when Byron York, a Fox News contributor, asked Mrs. Bachmann about her vow to be submissive to her husband, Marcus, the audience gasped and then booed. Once more keeping her cool, Bachmann smiled and then pleasantly answered, “Thank you for that question, Byron.”

“What submission means to us, if that’s what your question is, what submission means, it’s respect,” she said. “We respect each other. We love each other.”

— Ashley Parker

When another of the moderators, Chris Wallace, asked Mr. Cain about his past statement that communities have “the right to ban Muslims from building mosques,” Mr. Cain denied having said it.

“The first point that you raised, about saying that communities have a right to ban mosques, no, that’s not exactly what I said,” he said. “Unfortunately, the people who helped you put that together have misquoted me. I have gone on record, and I put it in a press release that’s available at my office that simply says that if anyone misunderstood my intent, I apologize for that.”

In fact, Mr. Cain said something very much like what Mr. Wallace said he did –- in an interview on Mr. Wallace’s television show. Mr. Wallace asked him, “So, you’re saying that any community, if they want to ban a mosque … ”

“Yes, they have the right to do that,” Mr. Cain replied.

— Michael Cooper

With the debate more than over half over, Mr. Huntsman has struggled to break out as his rivals sniped at each other.

Mr. Huntsman has a particularly difficult challenge. Having said he will not compete in the Iowa caucus early next year, he as taken himself out of much of the political conversation.

That continued Thursday night as most of the questions — and the high-decibel arguing — took place with him watching. At one point, Mr. Huntsman tried to capture a little attention by criticizing Mr. Obama’s jobs record.

“President Obama has had two and a half years to get it right,” he said. “He’s fundamentally failed us.”

He also answered a question about foreign policy, saying that it would be nice to have a president who knows something about China.

But Mr. Huntsman was left out of most of the exchanges seen on television as Mr. Pawlenty and Mrs. Bachmann clashed. And later, a long back-and-forth on Iran between Representative Ron Paul of Texas and Rick Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, kept Mr. Huntsman off the screen some more.

Aides say they believe that his strategy of focusing on New Hampshire and Florida will succeed. But he remains largely unknown and is stuck at the very bottom of most national polls.

Also troublesome for Mr. Huntsman is the turmoil that has already engulfed his young campaign. The departure of his first campaign manager was followed by a promise of a new, more aggressive approach toward his rivals and toward Mr. Obama.

But with only a half-hour left in the debate, Mr. Huntsman has done little to show that more aggressive posture.

— Michael D. Shear

The concept of “Minnesota Nice” may not survive this debate, considering the way Mr. Pawlenty and Mrs. Bachmann went at each other.
One of the moderators, Chris Wallace of Fox News, asked Mr. Pawlenty why he had questioned Mrs. Bachmann’s history of migraine headaches. In his response, Mr. Pawlenty may have created a small headache for himself.

“Well, Chris, to correct you, I have not questioned Congresswoman Bachmann’s migraine headaches,” Mr. Pawlenty said. “I don’t think that is an issue. The only headache I hear about on the campaign trail is the headache Barack Obama has given the people of this country with his lousy leadership and this lousy economy.”

In fact, Mr. Pawlenty did seem to raise questions about her headaches just last month, when he told reporters in Iowa, “I certainly would defer to the judgment of the medical professionals, but setting that aside, all of the candidates, I think, are going to have to be able to demonstrate they can do all of the job all of the time.”

— Michael Cooper and Kitty Bennett

The clash between Mr. Pawlenty and Mrs. Bachmann continued into the first hour of the debate, with both arguing over their records in office.

Mrs. Bachmann said that as governor, Mr. Pawlenty had forced lawmakers like her — she was in the State Senate at the time — to choose between raising taxes on cigarettes and protecting “the sanctity of human life.”

“Governor Pawlenty cut a deal with the special-interest groups,” she said, calling the issue of abortion “a nonnegotiable. When we come to a nonnegotiable, we must stand, and I stand.”

Mr. Pawlenty tried to turn the topic back to Mrs. Bachmann’s record as a lawmaker, saying: “She speaks of leading these efforts. Leading and failing is not the objective.”

The results of the back-and-forth between the two is likely to shape the outcome of the straw poll in two days. Mr. Romney and Mr. Huntsman are not participating in the straw poll, so most of the anticipation is about how Mr. Pawlenty and Mrs. Bachmann will perform on Saturday.

It may be especially important for Mr. Pawlenty, who continues to struggle to attract donors and support in Iowa with low poll numbers. If he does poorly, his campaign advisers have said the way forward will be difficult.

But Mrs. Bachmann also has a lot at stake in Saturday’s outcome. Expectations are high that she could win the straw poll, and if she does not, many Republicans could question whether she has the staying power to win a long, difficult campaign.

— Michael D. Shear

Michael Cooper writes that the Republican presidential candidates made several misleading, incomplete or simply false claims about the nation’s lowered credit rating during Thursday’s debate in Iowa. Read the fact check.

For months, Mr. Romney has tried to remain above the fray, engaging infrequently with his Republican rivals and focusing all of his campaigning energy on Mr. Obama.

But his rivals may not let that continue, as several made clear during Thursday night’s debate.

Given the chance — for a second time — to criticize Mr. Romney’s record on health care, Mr. Pawlenty did not hesitate.

“I don’t want to miss that chance again,” he said, turning to look at Mr. Romney directly and telling him that Mr. Obama’s health care plan was modeled after Mr. Romney’s.

“That’s not the only similarity between Mr. Romney’s record and Mr. Obama’s,” he said. He said Mr. Romney “ran up spending” as governor and appointed “pro-choice,  Democrat or liberal” judges.

He said Mr. Romney’s similarities with Mr. Obama would make it difficult for him to run against the president.

Mrs. Bachmann also took a shot at Mr. Romney’s health care plan, saying it was clear that a state government does not have the constitutional authority to make its citizens buy health insurance.

“The government is without authority to compel a citizen to purchase a good or service against their will,” Mrs. Bachmann said.

Until recently, allies of Mr. Obama have aimed their fire at Mr. Romney, the Republican candidate some of them view as the most likely to emerge as the president’s opponent next year.

But during the debate, it was clear that friendly fire — from Republicans — is heading his way as well.

Mr. Romney appeared defensive on the subject of his health care plan, saying, “The right answer for every state is to determine what is right for those states.”

But he also pledged that as president, he would immediately grant waivers to all 50 states so that they would not have to comply with Mr. Obama’s health care plan.

— Michael D. Shear

The second hour of the debate began with a conspicuous absence — Mrs. Bachmann.

“Are we actually missing a candidate on the stage?” asked an incredulous-sounding Mr. Baier. (They were.) But Mrs. Bachmann quickly strode out from the wings, and a lightning round soon commenced.

— Ashley Parker

Jon M. Huntsman Jr., who made his debate debut Thursday night, referred to his record as governor to burnish his economic credentials.

“I intend to do exactly what I did as governor of the state of Utah,” he said. “We took a good state and made it No. 1 in this country in terms of job creation.”

Later, he added, “We created the most business-friendly environment in the entire country.”

— Ashley Parker

Even in serious times, one of the things to watch for in a presidential debate is who offers up the best joke.

As the debate began, Herman Cain, the former C.E.O. of Godfather’s Pizza, was eagerly gunning for the prize.

Asked whether he was serious about the idea of an electrified fence along the Mexican border to keep illegal immigrants out, he smiled.

“America has got to learn how to take a joke,” he said, prompting laughter from the audience.

— Michael D. Shear

The early moments of the debate featured one of the sharpest exchanges yet of the 2012 campaign, with Mr. Pawlenty and Mrs. Bachmann trading personal accusations ahead of their participation in Saturday’s Ames straw poll.

On Thursday night, Mr. Pawlenty lashed out at Mrs. Bachmann’s record as a member of Congress, saying, “Her record of accomplishment and results is nonexistent. That’s not going to be good enough.”

“The American people are going to expect more and demand more,” he said.

Given the chance to respond, Mrs. Bachmann shot back that Mr. Pawlenty had pursued policies as governor of Minnesota that sound “a lot more like Barack Obama, if you ask me.” She cited his support for cap-and-trade environmental policies, and support for individual health care mandates.

She also said she had led the fight against “Obamacare” and other policies of the Democrats.

“I have a very consistent record of fighting against Barack Obama,” she said. “That is what qualifies me as a fighter and a representative of the people. People are looking for a champion.”

Mrs. Bachmann has turned a good performance in the last debate into enormous momentum in Iowa. But the growing sense that her campaign is surging here has also made her a target for her Republican rivals.

The one with the most to gain from criticizing her may be Mr. Pawlenty, who has invested more than $1 million in an attempt to win the Ames straw poll. But Mrs. Bachmann’s rise in the state, and the buzz she creates wherever she goes, threatens to keep Mr. Pawlenty from moving to the front of the pack.

In the last several weeks, as the media glare has turned on Mrs. Bachmann, there has been fresh ammunition for her rivals. Those have included criticism of her husband’s Christian counseling center and questions about her acceptance of stimulus money from the federal government.

The back-and-forth between the two rivals continued on Thursday night. Mr. Pawlenty accused Mrs. Bachmann of having “a record of misstatements” and “making false statements.” He also mocked her opposition to Mr. Obama’s health care plan and other policies as ineffective.

“If that’s your view of effective leadership, please stop,” Mr. Pawlenty said. “You are killing us.”

The sharp-edged tone from Mr. Pawlenty is in marked contrast to the last debate, when he seemed hesitant to criticize his rivals.

Before the second debate, Mr. Pawlenty took aim at Mr. Romney, coining the term “Obamneycare.” But at that debate, held in New Hampshire in June, he declined to repeat the charge, opening himself to criticism that he was weak.

Since then, Mr. Pawlenty’s attacks have gotten sharper, especially the ones aimed at the president. But he continues to struggle to attract donors and support in Iowa, and his poll numbers have stayed low.

— Michael D. Shear

If there were any doubts that Republican candidates were going to aim their fire at President Obama during their two-hour debate, the opening moments put them to rest.

Asked whether he would have vetoed the debt ceiling deal, Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, answered, “I’m not going to eat Barack Obama’s dog food.”

It’s not clear exactly what he was talking about. But he left no doubt that neither he nor the others on the stage were going to hold back when it came to the president.

The attacks on Mr. Obama were perhaps the easiest thing to predict ahead of the debate.

In the absence of much direct criticism of each other, all of the Republican candidates have been withering in their verbal assaults on the president and his economic policies.

All of them have accused Mr. Obama of failing to lead, saying his economic policies have failed to turn around unemployment and his foreign policies have lagged behind the fast-moving events around the world.

Allies of Mr. Obama have mostly returned fire at Mr. Romney, the Republican candidate some of them view as the most likely to emerge as the president’s opponent next year.

Mrs. Bachmann declared in her first answer that she would make Barack Obama a “one-term president.”

Mr. Pawlenty quickly questioned Mr. Obama’s leadership on the big issues of the day, asking, “Where is Barack Obama on these issues?”

Mr. Pawlenty then repeated a challenge that he uses on the campaign trail, saying that if anyone can find a specific plan from Mr. Obama, he would give him or her a prize.

“I will come to your house and cook you dinner,” he said. “Or, if you prefer, I’ll come to your house and mow your lawn. But in case Mitt wins, it’s limited to one acre,” a gentle dig at the former governor’s immense wealth.

— Michael D. Shear

One of the debate moderators, Bret Baier, began with Michele Bachmann, asking her if turning the economy around in three months — a feat she has been promising on the campaign trail — was realistic. After reiterating her opposition to raising the debt ceiling, Mrs. Bachmann used her opening answer to criticize President Obama, using a familiar applause line from her stump speech.

“The message is this: You are finished in 2012 and you will be a one-term president,” she said.

— Ashley Parker