Six candidates take the stage at Drake University in Des Moines. (Jon M. Huntsman Jr., still lagging in the polls, did not qualify; Herman Cain has dropped out.)
We?ll be providing real-time analysis and fact-checking on our live dashboard, and also taking suggestions from readers for candidate statements that deserve a closer look. You can submit them via Twitter with the hashtag #asknyt or on the dashboard.
What to Watch for in Tonight?s Debate
Debate live blog
The debate is over now. The candidates will meet one more time ? next Thursday ? before the voters actually make their preferences clear on Jan. 3.
We will be back for another live blog from Iowa next week. In the meantime, stay with The Caucus for up-to-the-minute coverage of the political campaign. And be sure to catch the latest in-depth coverage of the Republican candidates and President Obama at the New York Times Web site.
And don?t forget to download the new Election 2012 iPhone app, which smartly combines our coverage with the best from political news sites, Twitter and blogs from around the Web.
? Michael D. Shear
|Fact Check: Newt Inc. Not Exactly ?Mom and Pop? Shop
Mr. Gingrich, who sometimes identifies himself while campaigning as a ?small businessman,? sought to enhance that image by describing his company, Gingrich Productions, as a mom-and-pop operation. The company, which produces and promotes books and films that Mr. Gingrich makes with his wife, Callista, may not be quite so small.
Mr. Gingrich?s personal financial disclosure form reported that the couple have $500,000 to $1 million in assets in Gingrich Productions. Their continuing efforts to sell and sign books and DVDs while stumping have drawn attention.
And the media production company is just one arm of the interlocking companies that Mr. Gingrich has built in the 13 years since he left the House, which collectively are known as Newt Inc.
The New York Times recently reported that two other of those enterprises, the Center for Health Transformation and a consulting company, the Gingrich Group, have enriched Mr. Gingrich. Together they earned $55 million over the past 10 years.
? Trip Gabriel
|D.N.C. Attacks Romney Bet
What will everyone remember from the debate tonight?
Even before it was over, the Democratic National Committee sought to make sure that voters don?t forget Mitt Romney?s spontaneous offer to bet Rick Perry $10,000 on a dispute about what Mr. Romney had written in his book.
?Here?s What the Average American Family Can Buy with $10,000,? the D.N.C. said in an e-mail to reporters.
The e-mail noted that $10,000 is more than four months? pay for most people in America, where the median income was $26,197 in 2010.
For Mr. Romney, the moment reinforces the problem he has had connecting with average people. (Mr. Romney is a multimillionaire whose net worth is estimated at $200 million.)
The moment recalled another this year, when Mr. Romney went looking in his wallet for a $1 bill for a boy who had donated a dollar folded into origami. The candidate at first only found a $100 bill and then dug deeper to find a $5 bill.
The particulars of the dispute with Mr. Perry tonight may not matter as much as the fact that he was so quick to bet such a large amount.
The D.N.C., at least, will be trying to make sure that?s what everyone remembers.
? Michael D. Shear
|Voter?s View: No Deciding Moments
Susan Saulny is watching the debate with Keith Hunter, an undecided voter in Urbandale, Iowa.
?As a whole, I liked it because although there were time limits, it didn?t seem constrained. Some of the debates have bells, a buzzer, electro-shock therapy, whatever they need to do to get you to stop. I like it when it?s more of a free-flowing discussion.?
?I don?t think anybody had any big crash-and-burn moments,? he said. ?I don?t think anybody landed any big knock-out punches. I think each candidate did what they had to do. I don?t think it moved a thing. I don?t think it changed a thing.?
So, the big question for Mr. Hunter is: Are you any closer to making up your mind?
He laughs. ?Maybe a little.?
?If I had a gun to my head, Gingrich is who I?d probably go for.?
? Susan Saulny
|Santorum Remembers the GOPAC Tapes
Santorum just came back to those GOPAC tapes made by Mr. Gingrich to inspire Republican candidates. ?He laid out a vision for conservative governance that I adopted and ran with,? Mr. Santorum said of Mr. Gingrich?s tapes. ?I stuck by the conservative principles that Newt outlined in the late ?80s.? While praising Mr. Gingrich, he also opened a question about whether Mr. Gingrich continued to abide by those principles.
? Katharine Q. Seelye
|Fact Check: Hamas and Fatah Redux
In defending his controversial remarks about the Palestinians, Mr. Gingrich amplified the reason he believes there is little daylight between the Palestinian Authority, which holds power in the West Bank with the support of the Fatah movement, and Hamas, which the United States considers a terrorist group. The Palestinian Authority has formally affirmed that Israel has a right to exist. But Mr. Gingrich said, ?The Palestinian Authority?s ambassador to India last month said there is no difference between Fatah and Hamas; we both agree Israel has no right to exist.??
Mr. Gingrich was referring to remarks by Adli Sadeq. According to a pro-Israel Web site, Palestinian Media Watch, Mr. Sadeq recently wrote that Israelis ?have a common mistake, or misconception by which they fool themselves, assuming that Fatah accepts them and recognizes the right of their state to exist, and that it is Hamas alone that loathes them and does not recognize the right of this state to exist. They ignore the fact that this state, based on a fabricated [Zionist] enterprise, never had any shred of a right to exist??
? Trip Gabriel
Interesting that after Mrs. Bachmann mentioned that her mother was a single mother, Mr. Gingrich talked about living above a gas station but omitted the struggles of his own mother. She was 16 years old in 1942 when she married his father, who was 19, and they split up after three days. She gave birth to her son nine months later. The teenage mother could not support herself, so she and her baby Newt moved in with her mother.
? Katharine Q. Seelye
|Voter?s View: Gingrich Making Best Impression
Susan Saulny is watching the debate with Keith Hunter, an undecided voter in Urbandale, Iowa.
So far, Mr. Hunter is most impressed with Mr. Gingrich.
?I?m not one of these hard-liners who says he will never vote for Mitt Romney, but if my choice had to be immediate, it would be for Newt. He?s deep and he?s substantive and few on that stage can actually hit that level.?
Mr. Hunter chuckled at the idea of the candidates having to make personal financial sacrifices because of the recession, the topic of one question. But he thought Rick Santorum?s answer was the best, as it stressed the importance of stable, two-parent families in helping to keep children out of dire financial situations. Mr. Santorum said that having a mom and a dad is the greatest luxury, and Mr. Hunter couldn?t agree more.
?I like his very strong stance on the traditional family model,? Mr. Hunter said.
? Susan Saulny
|Gingrich Looks to Connect with Regular People
One of the tougher challenges for Mr. Gingrich might be convincing voters that he is in touch with regular people.
?When I was young, we lived in an apartment over a gas station,? Mr. Gingrich said, adding later that ?today, I?ve had several relatives in the last few years who are out of work.?
He also mentioned that his wife, Callista, runs a small company that produces movies and books.
What he didn?t mention: The $500,000 line of credit that he and his wife had at Tiffany?s, the jewelry story that stands as one of the nation?s symbols of conspicuous wealth.
? Michael D. Shear
|Romney on Personal Financial Struggles
Mr. Romney made the admission right away: ?I didn?t grow up poor.?
The answer was to a viewer?s question about the last personal struggle with finances that the candidates faced. For Mr. Romney, who is said to be worth $200 million, it was a potentially dangerous question.
Mr. Romney said that if voters are looking for someone poor to be president, they should look elsewhere.
But he said he understands the plight of people who struggle, in part because his parents made him and his siblings work while they grew up and knew the importance of frugality.
?When people lose jobs, marriages get strained, people?s health gets affected,? Mr. Romney said. ?I understand what it takes to get America working again.?
? Michael D. Shear
|Leading Candidates Differ on Immigration
Immigration remains a hot topic in the Republican Party ? and one on which the leading candidates continue to disagree.
Mr. Gingrich reiterated his belief that illegal immigrants already in this country should ? under certain strict conditions ? be allowed to earn legal residence in the country.
?That?s not amnesty,? he said, insisting that his proposal would hold back citizenship from people who have come into America illegally.
But that distinction is not enough for Mr. Romney, who said letting illegal immigrants stay in the country ? as citizens or as permanent residents ? ?will then create another magnet that draws people into our country illegally.?
Mr. Romney declined to answer a question about whether he would try to find and deport people who had come to the country illegally. Instead, he said, he would urge those people to register their presence in the country before having to leave.
Mr. Perry accused President Obama?s government of failing to secure the border and of a ?catch-and-release? program in which nonviolent offenders are allowed to stay in the country.
?They are released into the general population,? he said.
? Michael D. Shear
|Gingrich the Truth-Teller
One of Mr. Gingrich?s signal lessons to his followers was that ?language matters,? and if nothing else, he has demonstrated his skill with language tonight. After Mr. Romney declared himself not to be ?a bomb thrower,? which was the role Mr. Gingrich assigned himself in Congress, Mr. Gingrich used a few rhetorical flourishes to equate himself with former President Reagan and cast himself as a truth-teller.
?I will tell the truth, even at the risk of causing some confusion sometimes with the timid,? he said.
? Katharine Q. Seelye
|Fact Check: Fatah and Hamas
Speaker Gingrich said there is no difference between Fatah and Hamas. That is not entirely accurate: the two are separate Palestinian political parties, with different histories and approaches. Fatah is in control of the West Bank, ruling through the Palestinian Authority; the more radical Hamas holds power in Gaza, the smaller, poorer strip of land along the Mediterranean coast. The two parties are now allied, having agreed to a reconciliation agreement in April.
? Michael Barbaro
|Gingrich Stands Firm on Palestinian Comments
Given the chance to back off his comments that the Palestinians are an ?invented people,? Mr. Gingrich did anything but.
Mr. Gingrich said there is virtually no difference between Hamas and Fatah, the two leading and often competing Palestinian factions.
?These people are terrorists. They teach terrorism in their schools,? a defiant Mr. Gingrich said.
?It?s fundamentally time for someone to have the guts to stand up and say, enough lying about the Middle East,? Mr. Gingrich said.
Mr. Romney took issue with Mr. Gingrich?s characterizations, calling it ?a mistake on the speaker?s part.?
?I think we are very wise to stand with our friends, Israel, and not get out ahead of them,? Mr. Romney said, adding later that he would approach the Middle East and foreign policy generally with ?sobriety.?
?I?m not a bomb thrower, figuratively or literally,? Mr. Romney said.
? Michael D. Shear
|Voter?s View: On Gingrich and Palestine
Susan Saulny is watching the debate with an undecided voter in Urbandale, Iowa.
When Mr. Gingrich gave a full-throated defense of his statement about the Palestinian people being newly invented, adding, ?Enough lying about the Middle East,? Mr. Hunter said. ?Oh, whoa! ? I agree.?
Then when Mr. Romney and Mr. Gingrich got into a spat about whether the Palestinian comment would cause more trouble for Israel, Mr. Hunter said, ?I think Newt got the better of that exchange.?
? Susan Saulny
|Gingrich Goes to Clinton?s Playbook
Mr. Gingrich has learned a lot from watching former President Clinton, and on the touchy marriage/infidelity question, he conveyed some humility. He gave an uncharacteristically nonconfrontational answer, saying that people had every right to ask every single question about him. ?I?ve made mistakes? worked for Mr. Clinton; will it work for Mr. Gingrich?
? Katharine Q. Seelye
Mr. Santorum?s fleeting reference to listening to the GOPAC tapes may leave some viewers puzzled. They were an essential element of Mr. Gingrich?s rise to power in Congress in the 1980s and early 1990s. Mr. Gingrich made cassette tapes (remember those?) instructing young Republican candidates ? like Mr. Santorum ? in how to run for office. The candidates would listen to them as they drove around their districts, learning to think like Newt and speak like Newt and then, when they finally broke the Democratic stranglehold on Congress in 1994, to vote for Mr. Gingrich for Speaker.
? Katharine Q. Seelye
|Perry Attacks Gingrich?s Character and Marriages
Rick Perry went right after Newt Gingrich?s character, saying that ?if you cheat on your wife, you?ll cheat on your business partner.?
He did not mention any names, but it was clear that he was referring to Mr. Gingrich, who has been married three times, and admitted that he was unfaithful to his second wife.
?Not only did I make a vow to my wife, but I made a vow to God. That?s pretty heavy lifting,? he said. ?That?s even stronger than a handshake in Texas.?
Mr. Gingrich, given a chance to respond, accepted the idea that the question was an important one.
?It is a real issue. People have to look at the person to whom they are going to loan the presidency,? Mr. Gingrich said. ?They have to have a feeling that this is a person they can trust.?
In his own case, he acknowledged having made mistakes ? without directly mentioning his marriages ? and said he had ?had to go to God for forgiving.?
But he said he is now a 67-year-old grandfather and said he was encouraged by the number of people who have decided to support him.
?I?m delighted at the way people have been willing to look at who I am, look at what my record has been,? he said.
? Michael D. Shear
To audience members playing a drinking game with each reminder from Mr. Gingrich that he is a trained historian, the first chance for elbow bending was at the approximate 40-minute mark. With accusations flying that Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Romney each favored individual mandates for health care in the past, Mr. Gingrich said, ?I just want to make one point historically.? He went on to point out that in 1993, ?in fighting Hillarycare, virtually every conservative saw a mandate as a less dangerous future than the one Hillary was trying to do.?? Even the Heritage Foundation supported it. Today, of course, the individual mandate is the centerpiece of what the Republican candidates call Obamacare, which all of them want to make history.
? Trip Gabriel
|Voter?s View: Romney and Gingrich Clear Front-Runners
Susan Saulny is watching the debate with Keith Hunter, an undecided voter in Urbandale, Iowa.
?Well, I?ll be honest with you, the two people who look the best are Romney and Gingrich,? Mr. Hunter said at the first commercial break.�?I think the shots at them ring hollow, they really do. Bachmann sounds shrill. I like Rick Santorum, too, but policy-wise, I think they?re all committed to pretty much the same thing. So, it comes down to trust, and who you think has the ability to go the distance.
?I liked Rick Perry initially. I thought we were getting the second coming of Sam Houston but we got Yosemite Sam,? Mr. Hunter said. ?Every time he attacks, it?s like bringing a knife to a gun fight. He?s got a great record, he should run on it. If he concentrated on his own record and pushed it out there, he could have and would have done a lot better.?
? Susan Saulny
Mrs. Bachmann has decided to get aggressive, fast.
She accused Mr. Gingrich of being part of the problem, not the solution, suggesting that his office was on ?the Rodeo Drive of Washington D.C., K Street.?
And she created a new identity, ?Newt Romney,? to suggest that the leading Republicans are two peas-in-a-pod when it comes to the policies they would pursue.
Neither, she said, would provide much of a contrast with President Obama. Instead, Mrs. Bachmann suggested, she would be the true conservative who could face off against the president.
?If you want a difference, Michele Bachmann is the proven conservative,? she said. ?It?s not Newt Romney.?
? Michael D. Shear
|Romney Offers Perry a Bet
This was surely a first: a $10,000 bet in the middle of a presidential debate.
It came from, of all people, Mr. Romney, a man known for his frugality and a former leader of Mormon church, which frowns on gambling of all kind.
Mr. Romney made the surprising offer to Rick Perry when the Texas governor raised the issue of the changes between versions of Mr. Romney?s book.
?Rick, I?ll tell you what, ten thousand bucks?? he said to a somewhat stunned Mr. Perry. ?$10,000 bet??
Mr. Romney looked quite serious, and it was clear the line was one he had ready for just this situation. Mr. Perry was not so ready, but quickly recovered.
?I?m not in the betting business,? Mr. Perry said.
Mr. Romney seemed thrilled that Mr. Perry had declined the wager, suggesting it proved he, rather than Mr. Perry, was correct.
? Michael D. Shear and Michael Barbaro
|Voter?s View: Romney and Gingrich
Susan Saulny is watching the debate with Keith Hunter, an undecided voter in Urbandale, Iowa.
Mr. Hunter said that he is usually out putting up yard signs by this late date. A board member of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, a conservative advocacy group, he is highly engaged in local and national politics.
While he is not a Romney supporter, he did find reason to praise Mr. Romney after the host George Stephanopoulos asked the candidates who among them was the most consistent conservative.
?Oh, George!? Mr. Hunter said.
The host then sought to have Mr. Romney respond tomade previously by Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, that he, Mr. Gingrich is the more conservative of the two.
?That?s one of those gotchas where they want people to beat up on each other, and he didn?t take the bait,? Mr. Hunter said of Mr. Romney. ?I commend him for that.?
But the gloves came off with the next question, and Mr. Gingrich pounced on Mr. Romney?s record in politics, particularly an early loss to the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the Democrat of Massachusetts.
?I think he scored a point,? Mr. Hunter said. ?It was unexpected, but correct.?
Representative Michele Bachmann really got a reaction out of Mr. Hunter when she started referring to Mr. Romney and Mr. Gingrich as one person named ?Newt Romney? in an effort to link their beliefs and records.
?Newt Romney? No, that?s just not flying here,? Mr. Hunter said. ?That just rings hollow. I?ve looked at them closely before and that?s not true.?
? Susan Saulny
Fact Check: Gingrich Said He Would Support Cap and Trade
Mr. Gingrich said he never favored cap and trade to reduce pollution, but on PBS?s ?Frontline? in 2007, he said he would support it.
?I think if you have mandatory carbon caps combined with a trading system, much like we did with sulfur, and if you have a tax-incentive program for investing in the solutions, that there?s a package there that?s very, very good,? he said then. ?And frankly, it?s something I would strongly support.?
? Katharine Q. Seelye
This ?Newt/Romney? hybrid name invoked by Michele Bachmann is much like the ?Dole/Gingrich? hybrid invoked by the Democrats in 1996.
? Katharine Q. Seelye
Romney and Gingrich Clash on Experience
Mitt Romney was the first one to take after Newt Gingrich, with a little urging from the moderators.
Asked to note their differences, Mr. Romney noted that Mr. Gingrich had once called for a colony on the moon and would eliminate some child-labor laws. But he also went quickly to his main point ? Mr. Gingrich?s ties to Washington.
?I spent my life in the private sector,? Mr. Romney asserted.
But a smiling Mr. Gingrich refused to be rattled. He quickly answered Mr. Romney, point by point, saying he would be ?happy to defend the idea that America should be in space? and that kids ?ought to be able to work part time in schools.?
To the charge that he?s a creature of Washington, Mr. Gingrich generated laughs in the audience by looking at Mr. Romney and saying, ?Let?s be candid, the only reason you didn?t become a career politician is because you lost to Teddy Kennedy in 1994.?
Mr. Romney?s comeback was quick, saying he?d be a professional football player if his dreams as a kid came true.
?We don?t need folks who are lifetime Washington people to get us out of the mess that we?re in,? Mr. Romney said.
? Michael D. Shear
Bachmann and Romney on the Payroll Tax
Michele Bachmann and Mitt Romney agree on the payroll tax, sort of.
Mrs. Bachmann says she?s opposed to extending the payroll tax cut for another year, saying the idea is one of President Obama?s ?temporary gimmicks not permanent solutions.?
Mr. Romney agrees, calling the tax cut a ?little Band-Aid.? He used the opportunity to slam Mr. Obama for making ? this country a less attractive place for investing.?
But Mr. Romney said clearly in the debate tonight that he would nonetheless extend the tax cut for another year.
?I don?t want to raise taxes on people,? Mr. Romney said. ?It?s a temporary tax cut and it will help people in a very difficult time.?
? Michael D. Shear
Here?s a testament to the impact of Herman Cain, who departed the race this month amid a sexual harassment scandal.
His signature tax plan ? 9-9-9 ? was just mentioned by Michele Bachmann, who then said that she wants a ?win, win, win? plan that would repeal the tax code and replace it with something better.
One of her ideas: make sure that all people pay some income tax, no matter what their income.
?Today, 47 percent of the American people pay nothing,? she said.
? Michael D. Shear
An Early Contrast Between Romney and Gingrich
Here?s an early contrast: In an answer to how to create jobs, Newt Gingrich focused immediately on his government experience, while Mitt Romney went in the opposite direction, focusing on his business experience.
Jobs ?are not created in government. They are not created in Washington,? Mr. Romney said in a swipe at his chief rival.
Mr. Gingrich promised ?lower taxes, less regulation, an American energy plan, and actually be positive about people who create jobs.?
But he bragged first about having worked for years in Washington, first with President Ronald Reagan and later with President Bill Clinton.
It?s a theme we?re sure to see more in the next few minutes.
? Michael D. Shear
A Smaller Crowd on the Stage to Start Debate
The debate is under way. Get ready for what could be a critical two hours in the Republican presidential primary.
One thing to note: This is the smallest number of candidates on the stage since the primary season got under way. So that means that there should be more time for each candidate.
Though, as always, there will still be room for complaining about which candidates get too little time.
? Michael D. Shear
Watching the Debate With an Undecided Voter
Susan Saulny is watching the debate with an undecided voter in Urbandale, Iowa. She will be discussing the debate with him and filing to the live blog.
Keith Hunter is a 53-year-old father of two who works in the home mortgage division of a major bank in Des Moines. We?re comfortable on his sofa with a kitty named Liberty, a 14-year-old tabby whom he found on the Fourth of July.
In 2008, Mr. Hunter, who describes himself as an evangelical Christian, supported Mitt Romney. But not this time. He thinks our nation?s faith and values, as well as foreign policy and economy, are all headed in the wrong direction. He?s looking for someone who not only articulates his values, but will govern by them, too, he says.
?Mitt Romney may be the poster child for my value system, for clean living, but I find some of his personal characteristics challenging,? Mr. Hunter said. ?I think it comes down to a matter of trust. Most people in our community do not trust him.?
?I may walk in caucus night not knowing who I?m going to caucus for, or I might have my mind made up by the end of this evening,? he added. ?I just don?t know.?
? Susan Saulny
What to Watch for in Tonight?s Debate
Debates are always important in presidential elections. They seem to be even more critical this year. And there?s nothing like a debate just weeks before voting begins.
That makes the Iowa face-off tonight on ABC even more dramatic.
Do your own debate prep by reading Michael Shear?s preview of the event.
What to Watch for in Tonight?s Debate
? The New York Times
Six candidates will take the stage at�Drake University�in Des Moines. (Jon M. Huntsman Jr., still lagging in the polls, did not qualify;�Herman Cainhas dropped out.) They will debate for two hours, from 9 p.m. Eastern time, in a session sponsored by ABC and The Des Moines Register and moderated by�Diane Sawyer�and�George Stephanopoulos.
Much of the attention tonight will be on�Newt Gingrich, whose surge in the national and state-by-state polls has drastically reshaped the race in the final weeks of 2011. The interaction between Mr. Gingrich and�Mitt Romney, his chief rival, will be a featured part of the night.
But the energy of the debate may be generated by the other four candidates ? Representatives�Ron Paul�and�Michele Bachmann, Gov.�Rick Perry�of Texas and�Rick Santorum�? each of whom may be shifting into desperation mode as the election draws nearer.
? Michael D. Shear
Source: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/iowa-debate-live-blog/?partner=rss&emc=rss
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