About the worst of it came early, when Romney was questioned about his involvement in laying off workers at companies acquired by Bain Capital, a private equity firm he steered.
The former Massachusetts governor, who often touts his business and corporate experience as he makes his second bid for the White House, was also targeted early in the showdown by former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who said that "business experience doesn't necessarily match up with being the commander in chief of this country. The commander in chief of this country isn't a CEO."
Debate in New Hampshire
With three days to go until New Hampshire's primary, the second contest in the primary and caucus calendar, Romney holds a large lead over his rivals in the latest polls in the Granite State. He also holds a double digit advantage over the rest of the Republican presidential candidates in a new CNN/Time/ORC International survey in South Carolina, which holds its primary 11 days after New Hampshire.
The ABC News/WMUR-TV showdown was the first debate in three and a half weeks, a lifetime in this campaign cycle. Since the last debate in Iowa in mid-December, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's has seen his poll numbers plunge, while Santorum, once an afterthought in the battle for the nomination, has seen his numbers surge. But a rise in the polls brings more scrutiny.
Santorum, who came in an extremely close second to Romney in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses, fired back, saying "it's a ridiculous charge, Ron. I'm a conservative, not a libertarian. I believe in some government."
The action became deeply personal when Paul repeated his charge that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was a "chicken hawk" who avoided military service. Paul said Gingrich had obtained several deferments to stay at home with his family.
Gingrich, the one-time front-runner in the polls, snapped back, pointing out that "I wasn't eligible for the draft. I wasn't eligible for the draft."
He also cited his father's military service and accused Paul of having a "long history of saying things that are false."
Gingrich finished a disappointing fourth in the Iowa caucuses. Texas Gov. Rick Perry finished fifth.
Perry made news at the debate, saying he would support sending troops back into Iraq. U.S. forces completed their pullout from Iraq last month after eight years of war. But Perry predicted that neighboring Iran would reenter Iraq without American troops there to defend the country.
It was one of the few times the candidate differentiated himself from his rivals, none of whom have suggested sending U.S. forces back into Iraq. Nearly eight out of 10 Americans said they approved of the U.S. pullout from Iraq, according to a CNN/ORC International poll conducted last month.
Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman was also on the stage at the ABC News/WMUR-TV debate. Huntsman, who served under President Barack Obama as ambassador to China, said "I think I understand better than anyone on this stage, the complex national security implications that we will face going forward with what is, we all know, the most complex and challenging relationship of the twenty first century, that of China."
Tuesday's primary is widely thought to be a make-or-break moment for Huntsman. He's spent virtually all of his time campaigning in New Hampshire, and is counting on a strong showing to continue his longshot bid for the White House.
The showdown is the first of two debates this weekend. The six candidates face off again Sunday morning in Concord, New Hampshire, on NBC's "Meet the Press."
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The Iowa caucuses are an electoral event in which residents of the U.S. state of Iowa meet in precinct caucuses in all of Iowa's 1,774 precincts and elect delegates to the corresponding county conventions. There are 99 counties in Iowa and thus 99 conventions.
These county conventions then select delegates for both Iowa's Congressional District Convention and the State Convention, which eventually choose the delegates for the presidential nominating conventions (The Iowa caucuses are noteworthy for the amount of media attention they receive during U.S. presidential election years.
Since 1972, the Iowa caucuses have been the first major electoral event of the nominating process for President of the United States. Although only about 1% of the nation's delegates are chosen by the Iowa State Convention (25 Republican delegates in 2012, assigned proportionately), the Iowa caucuses have served as an early indication of which candidates for president might win the nomination of their political party at that party's national convention, and which ones could drop out for lack of support.
