Romney, Bachmann succeed in Iowa debate

By Glen Johnson, Globe Staff

The eight leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination met last night for a debate that largely produced two winners: Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann.

Romney achieved his goals by coming to Iowa, keeping his cholesterol count down at the State Fair, and leaving the debate hall in Ames after repeatedly and relentlessly delivering his economic critique of President Obama during a two-hour span.

He largely avoided the descent into a social morass engineered by the moderators, the Fox News Channel and Washington Examiner, while rivals such as Jon Huntsman, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich got dragged right in.

Romney deflected expected criticism of his record as governor of Massachusetts and as a businessman at Bain Capital. It was the outgrowth of having run for president previously, as well as putting enough distance between those past accomplishments and his current endeavor to diffuse the attacks he faced.

Bachmann, meanwhile, underscored that there was no fluke in the positive performance she turned in during the first GOP debate in New Hampshire two months ago.

Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace sicced the Minnesota congressman and another candidate, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, on each other and, in the process, gave a national airing to what had largely been an intrastate feud before last night.

So much for “Minnesota nice.”

Bachmann and Pawlenty trashed each other’s accomplishments, accused one another of a lack of leadership, and, standing side-by-side on stage, did little to hide their contempt for the other.

Bachmann, especially, emerged as a sympathetic figure when asked about her prior comment that she “submitted” to her husband’s desire to study tax law against her own inclination. She defined submission as support for one another, and noted her long marriage, large family, and the sanctuary it provided to numerous foster children.

In the process, she took a question rooted in her own out-of-the-mainstream comment and turned it into an all-American, apple-pie answer.

She is aiming to win the Iowa Straw Poll tomorrow, which could all but kill Pawlenty’s bid for the GOP nomination.

He had counted on an Iowa caucus win next winter to set him on his way, but now he finds his fellow Minnesotan ready to dash that hope mid-summer. Even if he survives until January, Romney will be waiting in New Hampshire - as formidable as ever.

Pawlenty’s best hope may rest with two non-candidates.

Sarah Palin could compete for many of the same voters as Bachmann but, to date, the former Alaska governor has been unwilling to give up her lucrative post-government life. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Rick Perry is set to announce his own candidacy tomorrow.

The Republican’s record is current and reads a lot like Romney’s.

In a debate, Perry may be able to challenge the former Massachusetts leader like virtually no one else could last night.