The 90-minute debate at St. Anselm College, aired on ABC, came just three days before the New Hampshire primary that could shape the rest of the contest for the Republican presidential nomination.
Romney, who was declared the winner of the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, now leads in statewide surveys in New Hampshire and South Carolina, which holds the following primary on Jan. 21. He seemed at times to assume he already had won the nomination, repeatedly using his questions to direct fire not at his rivals but at President Obama for what he called uncertain and even dangerous leadership.
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At one point, he did turn to former Utah governor Jon Huntsman to nick him for serving as Obama's ambassador to China, prompting Huntsman to respond with a few words in Mandarin before attacking Romney's trade position toward China.
The six-man field will have a quick chance for a rematch: The next debate was scheduled to begin just 10 hours after this one ended, on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday morning.
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The sharpest exchange came as Paul, the congressman from Texas, repeated his criticism of Gingrich as a "chicken hawk" who voted to send Americans to war in Iraq and Afghanistan but received a deferment himself during the Vietnam conflict.
"I think people who don't serve when they could and they get three or four or even five deferments, they have no right to send our kids off to war, and not be even against the wars that we have," Paul said. "I'm trying to stop the wars, but at least, you know, I went when they called me up."
Gingrich, his jaw clenched and his voice tightening, denied asking for a deferment and accused Paul of having "a long history of saying things that are inaccurate and false."
"I was married with a child," the former House speaker said. "It was never a question" of being drafted, emotionally noting his father's service in Vietnam.
To which Paul replied: "When I was drafted, I was married and had two kids, and I went," serving in the 1960s as a flight surgeon in the Air Force.
Paul also faced off against Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who challenged Romney for the top spot in Iowa. In a recent ad, Paul refers to Santorum as "corrupt" for the money he made from consulting after losing his Senate seat.
"I mean, he's a big government, big-spending individual," Paul said. "Because, you know, he preached to the fact he wanted a balanced budget amendment but voted to raise the debt to five times. So he is a big-government person."
Santorum called the corruption accusation "a ridiculous charge," saying the evidence Paul cites is from a group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a group he says targets conservatives.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who seemed to suggest he would drop his campaign after a disappointing finish in Iowa, didn't speak until the 17-minute mark. Then, he interjected that the prickly exchanges were evidence that the nation needed an "outsider" like him as president.
Not on stage: Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who ended her campaign after finishing sixth in Iowa.
While the debate had tense moments, it also had an odd ones that drew laughter — including when moderator George Stephanopoulos of ABC asked Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, whether he would support a state's ability to ban contraception.
"I don't know whether a state has a right to ban contraception. No state wants to," Romney said with apparent amusement and exasperation. "No state wants to do (it) and asking me whether they could do it or not is kind of a silly thing, I think." Later, he said: "Contraception, it's working just fine. Just leave it alone."
Huntsman chided the moderators for allowing the contraception conversation to drag on.
"I'm a married man. I've been married for 28 years. I have seven kids," Huntsman said in response to a question about civil unions, which he supports. "Glad we're off the contraception discussion," adding: "Fifteen minutes' worth, by the way."
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