Romney and Perry leave debate as White House front-runners

Presidential hopefuls traded blows and barbs as the gloves finally came off in the fight to win a Republican nod towards a run at the White House.

There were eight of them on stage debating, but only two appeared to matter as sharpshooting Texas governor Rick Perry sparred with Mitt Romney, the man whose heavyweight belt he had seemingly stolen.

Social security, healthcare, job creation – blows on these topics were landed by both sides and on others during the near two-hour encounter. But both men left the stage unbeaten, their reputations left intact to fight another bout, another day.

As for the others, they were a mere side-show to the main event and suffered as a result.

Michele Bachmann, the right-winger who had been flying high in the polls until Mr Perry’s entrance in the race, was the main victim of the night.

She disappointed supporters with a lacklustre performance. On the back of the departure of two of her most senior campaign aides in recent days, her colourful campaign now appears to be on the wane.

At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library – in front of former first lady Nancy – Mr Romney and Mr Perry were placed side-by-side, prominently in the centre of the stage.

Moderators then spent the first ten minutes of the eight-way debate baiting the pair with questions geared to provoke an attack on the other.

Coming on the eve of president Barack Obama’s long-awaited employment plan, the debate turned to job creation, a strong area for Mr Perry who has a good track record in Texas.

“Michael Dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did, Mitt,” sniped Mr Perry in a reference to Mr Romney’s predecessor as governor of Massachusetts.

“As a matter of fact, George Bush and his predecessors created jobs at a faster rate than you did,” Mr Romney shot back.

The Massachusetts politician also suggested that Texas’s abundant natural resources and low taxes were the key drivers of job growth in the Lone Star State, rather than Mr Perry’s policies.

He came into the race late on, but has quickly emerged as Mr Romney’s main rival.

Momentum in his campaign has catapulted the 61-year-old right-winger to the top of the polls amongst would-be Republican voters. As a result, the seven other rivals on stage focused their attacks on him.

Mr Perry was tackled on Texas’s low high school graduation rates, poor healthcare coverage and a decision to mandate the vaccination of teenage girls against a sexually transmitted disease.

“I kinda feel like a piñata here at the party,” Mr Perry complained after being forced to defend himself yet again. But despite the sustained attacks, Mr Perry survived. So too did Mr Romney who benefited from not coming to the event as the perceived front-runner.

Former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich put on his grumpy old man act once again, lambasting the media for trying to manufacture discontent amongst the candidates.

“I’m frankly not interested in your efforts to get Republicans fighting each other,” he complained.

Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman attempted to up his nastiness factor. But, Mr Huntsman, recently returned from a job as US ambassador to China, is not by nature a brawler.

Ms Bachmann likewise suffered in the debate. Starved of the attention she received earlier on in the race, she is fast becoming an also-ran.

Her position as the favoured candidate among the right of the party has been largely eclipsed by Mr Perry, an evangelical Christian who can match her socially conservative agenda.