Romney unscathed from debate attacks

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Mitt Romney was put on defense out of the box at Monday night's Republican presidential primary debate -- answering questions about his record at private venture firm, Bain Capital; distancing himself from super PAC ads against fellow candidates; defending his record as Massachusetts governor, and dodging demands that he release his tax records.
But Romney fired back against the onslaught, saying he is proud of his record in business and as governor.
"We were fortunate to have an unemployment rate by the time I left office of 4.7 percent. Sounds pretty good today," Romney said. "And I was also proud of the fact that we balanced the budget every year I was in office. We reduced taxes 19 times, put in place a rainy day fund of over $2 billion by the time I left."


We need to satisfy the country that whoever we nominate has a record that can stand up to Barack Obama in a very effective way," said Gingrich, the former House speaker, defending his questions about Romney's work at a private equity firm that critics say slashed jobs and plundered companies.


"There was a pattern in some companies, a handful of them, of leaving them with enormous debt and then within a year or two or three having them go broke. I think that is something he ought to answer," he said.


Romney's firm, Bain Capital, has become a flashpoint in the campaign in recent weeks, although the candidates have eased off their criticism on the campaign trail at the urging of some Republicans.


Romney defended his record at Bain, saying he invested in more than 100 businesses and had a mixed but overall successful record of job creation.


"If people want to have someone who understands how the economy works, having worked in the real economy, then I'm the guy who can best post up against Barack Obama," Romney said.


Perry, the Texas governor, and Gingrich also have been challenging Romney to release his tax returns. Perry confronted him directly during the debate of 1 hour and 50 minutes.


"I hope you'll put your tax records out there this week so the people of South Carolina can take a look and decide if, you know, we've got a flawed candidate or not," Perry said.


Romney did not firmly commit to releasing his records but said historically candidates have released them around April. "That's probably what I'll do," he said.