Michele Bachmann scores a hit in first Republican presidential debate

Michele Bachmann seizes spotlight in first debate between Republican presidential hopefuls in New Hampshirestepped out of the shadow of Sarah Palin in the Republican presidential contenders debate in New Hampshire, wooing Republican primary voters with a mix of populism and sharp attack.
It was Bachmann's first outing as a candidate, and she dramatically chose her first statement in the debate to announce she had filed official paperwork to run for the presidency.
But it was Bachmann's steely assertion of conservative values, including her fostering of 23 children as well as having five of her own, that won her a warm reception.
Declaring Barack Obama to be "a one-term president", Bachmann laid out her firm opposition to Obama's healthcare reforms. "You can take it to the bank," she said of her vow to repeal the reforms if elected president.
Bachmann remains, however, far less well known to American voters than the frontrunner Mitt Romney, who gave a solid performance, as did all the candidates in a debate format that rarely challenged them.
One rare note of disagreement came when Tim Pawlenty, a former governor of Minnesota, was nudged into discussing his recent description of healthcare reforms as "Obamneycare", conflating Obama and Romney's respective programmes.
Obama has pointedly said that the healthcare reforms instituted by Romney as governor of Massachusetts were a "blueprint" for the reforms at a national level – a source of criticism aimed at Romney by many Republicans.
Most of the debate was taken up with social issues and the economy, with the candidates united in blaming the Obama administration for the economy's woes and offering the same prescriptions of tax cuts, lower regulations and ripping up the government-funded Medicare and Medicaid programmes.
On social themes, there was little to distinguish the candidates, with agreement on gay rights and abortion, and most backing a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
The only dissenting voice came from the veteran libertarian Ron Paul, who offered cuts to military spending alongside other government programmes, and stoutly maintained that the US military had no place in Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya.
On gay marriage, Paul said that the government had no role in marriage of any kind.
The debate was the first to take place in the key early voting state of New Hampshire, where the first primary is scheduled to take place in February 2012.
The Republican field remains in flux, with former Utah governor Jon Huntsman expected to enter the race later this month and increased speculation about Sarah Palin and Texas governor Rick Perry launching bids to win the nomination.