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View Photo Gallery — ?Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul take the stage for the 16th debate of the campaign.
Text SizePrintE-mailReprints By Philip Rucker and Rosalind S. Helderman, NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — In an electric debate here Thursday night, the four remaining Republican presidential candidates clashed sharply over who has the temperament, character and know-how to lead the party into a general election as they clamored to take advantage of the race’s changing dynamic.
Newt Gingrich said it was “despicable” of the news media to raise questions about a previous marriage. A feisty Rick Santorum offered himself as the only true conservative in the race and accused his two main rivals for “playing footsie with the left.”
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The South Carolina GOP debate in under 60 seconds.Graphic
INTERACTIVE TRANSCRIPT: Compare the GOP candidates’ answers on key issues.More on this StoryRead more from PostPoliticsThe Fix: Debate winners and losersRead the GOP debate transcriptNewt Gingrich releases 2010 tax returnView all Items in this StoryGingrich responds to ex-wife's commentsSouth Carolina debate: What you missedFinal Four: The Fix's debate live-blogGOP candidates face off in CharlestonGloves come off in final S.C. debateFront-runner Mitt Romney again became defensive under pressure to release his tax returns, saying that he would not apologize for being successful in America and that he would release his returns in April.
And Rep. Ron Paul lamented that he sometimes became an afterthought.
On a day in which Texas Gov. Rick Perry withdrew from the race, Santorum sought to deny Gingrich the mantle of the conservative alternative to Romney, attacking him for his big ideas and accusing him of a lack of follow-through.
“Grandiosity has never been a problem with Newt Gingrich,” said Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania. “Newt’s a friend. I love him. But at times, you’ve just got, you know, sort of that, you know, worrisome moment that something’s going to pop. And we can’t afford that in a nominee.”
The debate got off to a combative start as the moderator, CNN’s John King, asked Gingrich to respond to interviews in which his second wife, Marianne, said he asked her to agree to an open marriage while he was having an affair.
A defiant Gingrich said “the story is false” and lashed out at what he described as “the destructive, vicious, negative nature” of the media.
“Every person in here has had someone close to them go through painful things,” Gingrich said. “To take an ex-wife and make it, two days before the primary, a significant question for a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine.”
‘Why not release it?’
This Republican debate carried an unusual sense of urgency for the three men trying to stop Romney’s march to the nomination.
The former Massachusetts governor faced tough questions about releasing his tax returns and tried to beat back accusations of slashing jobs during his tenure at the private-equity firm Bain Capital.
“I’m going to stand and defend capitalism across this country throughout this campaign,” Romney said. “I know we’re going to get hit hard from President Obama, but we’re going to stuff it down his throat and point out it is capitalism and freedom that makes America strong.”
Gingrich released his tax returns Thursday night just as the debate was about to begin, increasing pressure on Romney to do the same. Romney again appeared uncomfortable discussing the issue. He promised to release this year’s return when it is filed in April, along with records from some previous years. But when asked whether he would follow the model of his father, George, who released 12 years’ worth of records when running for president in 1968, Romney replied simply: “Maybe.”
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