Tempers Fray As Romney And Santorum Clash

Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum clashed on stage in Arizona during what could be one of the final debates of the Republican nomination battle.

The two were primed for a fight following Mr Santorum's recent surge.

After a hat-trick of wins in the Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri primary contests, the former Pennsylvania senator is ahead of Mr Romney, the previous front-runner, in the polls.

Both men tried to land blows on each other in a fractious debate just five days ahead of crucial primaries in Arizona and Michigan.

Mr Santorum is within striking distance of the former Massachusetts Governor in Arizona, and some polls place him ahead in Michigan, Mr Romney's home state.

Early on in the debate, Mr Santorum accused Mr Romney of being unprincipled when it came to federal government bailouts.

He said: "He supported the folks on Wall Street and bailed out Wall Street... was all for it... and when it came to the auto workers and the folks in Detroit, he said 'No'.

"That to me is not a principled, consistent position."

Mr Romney responded sarcastically with "nice try, but let's look at the facts".

He defended his stance, for which he has been criticised in recent weeks, arguing that "managed bankruptcy" for some parts of the car industry would have been more helpful.

It got personal when the two traded accusations over voting records.

Mr Santorum said: "You're misrepresenting the facts... you don't know what you're talking about."

Senator Santorum also targeted Governor Romney again on the state healthcare law he passed in Massachusetts.

He said: "Romneycare was the model for Obamacare and the government takeover of healthcare."

Mr Romney rejected that accusation, and went on to defend his record in charge of the state, calling himself a "severely conservative governor" who balanced the budget year after year.

Mr Santorum asked him not to "go bragging" about balancing the budget, because he had an obligation to do that anyway.

Some of the social issues dominating the campaign in recent weeks were also discussed, with both men attacking President Obama over a plan to force religious institutions to provide health insurance that would cover employees' contraception.

The men agreed that it was an attack on religious freedom.

All four candidates involved in the debate attacked Mr Obama's handling of Iran.

Newt Gingrich suggested that Israel would have a right to launch a pre-emptive strike on the country if it believed its own survival were at stake.

Perhaps the bluntest insult of the night came from Ron Paul.

The Texas congressman called Mr Santorum a "fake" conservative.

But those hoping for a defining campaign moment were disappointed, with the candidates often becoming entangled in complicated arguments about legislation, policy and voting records.

Mr Gingrich had done well in past debates, often using them to propel him forwards in the polls, but was quieter than usual this time out.

Near the end of the debate, all four men were asked to define themselves using only one word.

Ron Paul said "consistent", Rick Santorum said "courage", Mitt Romney said "resolute" and Newt Gingrich said "cheerful", which got the biggest laugh of the night.