Mitt Romney defends record on ‘tough situations’

Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney appeared rattled after being challenged by his rivals in a televised debate over his failure to disclose tax returns and the millions of dollars spent by his supporters on negative ads.


The debate on Tuesday night, at times raucous, came only days before the potentially decisive South Carolina primary, possibly the last state in which Romney's main opponents can feasibly stop his run for the Republican nomination.


Although Romney enjoys an 8% poll lead over his nearest rival, Newt Gingrich, his uncomfortable performance watched by millions of viewers, many of them from South Carolina, may have cost him votes.


The number of candidates in the debate, the 16th so far, has been reduced to five, following the departure of Jon Huntsman earlier in the day. The main task of Gingrich and Santorum was to rein back Romney and both succeeded, leaving him at times looking hesitant, uncertain, irritated and overly defensive.


If Gingrich, the clear winner on the night, was to wound Romney again on Thursday night in Charleston, South Carolina, in the final debate before the primary, the outcome may yet be in the balance.


The debate was conducted against a noisy background, with 3,000 partisan Republicans in the hall, booing and heckling, saving applause for their favourites, mainly Gingrich and former senator Rick Santorum. Romney, viewed as too moderate in right-leaning South Carolina, appeared to have failed to fill the hall with his supporters.


The Bay State governor has come under increasing fire since winning in Iowa and New Hampshire, and he spent the debate defending his stance on gun control, decrying third-party negative ads, and even indicated he’d release his tax returns after Texas Gov. Rick Perry and debate moderators pressed him on the issue.


“I have nothing in them that suggests there’s any problem and I’m happy to do so,” he said.


The issue of Super PAC ads loomed large. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania grilled Romney over whether prisoners should be allowed to vote after a pro-Romney Super PAC ran ads blasting Santorum on the issue.


“This is actually my time. Answer the question,” Santorum said as the former Bay State governor delayed answering. Romney finally said, “I don’t think people who committed violent crimes should be allowed to vote again.”


Romney said he supports taking down the ads if they’re inaccurate, adding that a recent Gingrich ad is “probably the biggest hoax since bigfoot.”


The high-stakes debate — sponsored by Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the South Carolina Republican Party — came hours after Romney’s campaign picked up further momentum as former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman backed out of the presidential race and threw his support to Romney.


Former U.S. Speaker Newt Gingrich has conceded that Romney will likely win the nomination if he can win in the Palmetto State.