Ready, Aim, Fire... On Mitt Romney

January 17, 2012

As the candidates took the place on stage in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Romney prepared his poised, respectful composure to address the South Carolina population before the primary. However, the other candidates came prepared to do nothing but focus their attacks upon him. Rivals compiled numerous attacks on his job-creation record, wealth, even his character. It was obvious that the other candidates used this debate not as a way to spread their own ideals, or elicit the flaws in the current president or their other competitors, but to solely bring down Romney. 

The attacks specifically elicited Romney's taxes returns that he is refusing to release. As a primary tactic, he has claimed to reconsider this move, but not until April. The other candidates have pressured Romney to release his returns sooner, hoping that they will reveal information on his own company. Perry argued that Romney needed to release hie returns now for "as Republicans, we can not fire our nominee in September. We need to know now". Gingrich, who has been the leader on the attack of Romney's tax return, continued the attack by stating that he was "fulfilling a duty to the party so it knew its nominee's vulnerabilities before making a final choice about who should face Mr.Obama in the general election." Gingrich went even further to question Romney's ability and influence were he to become president. 

Romney however, was not phased by this firing of questions. He did lose his composure, nor make any mistakes. Instead, he continue to portray the character that has made him the front runner. Romney not only defended his decision on the tax returns, but also managed to devote more attention to his own content then the candidates standing next to him. Romney made it clear to the audience that his record was clear for everyone to see and that he was proud of what he had done. In addition, he advocated for his ability to understand economics in American society. Romney stated, "I think if people want to have someone who understand how the economy works, having worked in the real economy, then I'm the guy that can best post up against Barack Obama." 

Despite the attempts to ruin the appeasability of Romney to Republican voters, Romney continues to hold on to advantages in important Southern states, such as South Carolina and Florida. In addition to his appearance in the debate, Romney also gained support after former candidate, Jon Hunstman, pulled out of the race and endorsed Romney. As it has been seen in South Carolina, Romney , even under attack, continues to plow through the primary, gaining support as he goes. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/us/politics/forceful-attack-against-romney-in-republican-debate.html?scp=2&sq=january+17+2012&st=ny