Live Blog Saint Anselm College
Here we go ...
"I hope you'll think of this as a semi-circular dining room table," said Charlie Gibson to the candidates at the start of the debate here in Manchester.
First question on foreign policy ... Run on the Bush foreign policy or away from it?
Mike Huckabee: "We're going to do what is best for the American people. ... I'll always try to make sure that we're the strongest nation on earth, the most powerful, the most prepared."
Noted arrogance of former defense secretary Don Rumsfeld. "We don't go to war with the army that we have but we go to war with the army that we need and we make sure we have what we need before we go to war."
Fred Thompson: "Maybe the governor has rethought his comments that he made about an arrogant foreign policy. ... Presidents are not perfect, policies are not perfect. the bottom line is we are in a global war. ... We must do whatever is necessary to protect ourselves."
Rudy Giuliani: "I think you run on your foreign policy ideas. ... I think the president got the big decision of his presidency right."
"We should increase the size of our military. Bill Clinton cut the size of our military. President Bush has never made up for that. ... We need at least 10 more combat brigades. ... This president should do it now."
John McCain: "I'd also like to give President Bush a little credit." Give him credit for the U.S. not being subjected to another terrorist attack, he added. "America is not safe. America is safer." Salutes Giuliani for the way he handed 9/11.
Ron Paul: Agreed with Bush's "humble" foreign policy, the one he ran on in 2000. "But the Bush doctrine of preemptive war is not a minor change this is huge." Concerned that we are starting wars.
Mitt Romney: "The president is not arrogant. ... The president has acted out of his desire to keep America safe. And we owe him a debt of gratitude for keeping us safe" over his two terms. Must move the world of Islam to modernity.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)