who has character, shown that character over their career, who has integrity and i hope each of these people i don t want to be critical of the people on the stage. any one of these people would do a better job than our president and i will endorse our nominee, i believe in the principles that made america such a great nation. this is a time when we re faced with not just a nation that is extraordinarily secure and a very, very calm world but facing a danger world and we have a president now who unbelievably has decided to shrink the size of the military. who unbelievably said for the first time since fdr we ll no longer have the capacity to fight two wars at a time. this president must be replaced. i want to bring in josh. i want to stay on the topic of commander in chief and put you in charge of the most powerful forces in the world. dr. paul was a flight surgeon, governor perry a pilot. there are 25 million veterans in the country. 3 million currently serving active duty so th
world and we have a president now who unbelievably has decided to shrink the size of the military. who unbelievably has said for the first time since fdr we re going to no longer have the capacity to fight two wars at a time. this president must be replaced. i want to bring in josh now. i want to stay on the topic of commander in chief. that puts you in charge of the most powerful forces in the world. only two of you on stage have served in the military. dr. paul and governor perry. there are 25 million veterans in this country. 3 million currently serving active duty. so this question is very relevant to a large number of voters out there. and the question goes to you, governor perry. do you believe having worn a uniform and been part of a unit better prepares you for the job of commander in chief than those on the stage who haven t served? i think it brings a very clear knowledge about what it requires for those that are on the front lines. but also having been the governor of
once again dirks ann sawyer, george stephanopoulos and wmur-tv s josh mcelveen. back in manchester, governor romney, back to you. senator santorum has been clear in his belief the supreme court was wrong when it decided a right to privacy was embedded in the constitution. he believes states have the right to ban contraception. i should add that he said he s not recommending that states do that i want to be clear. absolutely. giving you your due tenth amendment i want to get to that core question. governor romney, do you believe that states have the right to ban contraception or is that trumped by a constitutional right to privacy? george, this is an unusual topic that you re raising. states have a right to ban contraception? i can t imagine a state banning contraception. i can t imagine the circumstances where a state would want to do so supreme court had to rule or a legislator of a state, i would totally and completely oppose any effort to
romney as he tries to close in and seal the nomination. can rick santorum build on his stunning iowa success? is time running out for these candidates to catch the front-runner? save their campaigns? we ve got some tough decisions to make. we are going to take america back. believe me, this moment sum going to continue. the voting has begun. the stakes couldn t be any higher. n tonight, we put them all to the test. so what s next in this campaign season filled with so many dramatic surprises? this is the abc news republican presidential debate. your voice. your vote. now joining us tonight from new hampshire s own wmur, political director josh mckelvin. good evening to all of you.
back. believe me, this momentum is going to continue. the voting has begun. the stakes couldn t be any higher. n tonight, we put them all to the test. so what s next in this campaign season filled with so many dramatic surprises? this is the abc news republican presidential debate. your voice. your vote. now joining us tonight from new hampshire s own wmur, political director josh mckelvin. good evening to all of you. welcome to st. anselm college and the first debate of 2012. those eight votes in iowa vote counts. we are off and running. great to be here with you, josh. now let s introduce the candidates. former governor jon huntsman, ron paul, former governor of massachusetts, mitt romney, rick