squared off in New Hampshire one last time ahead of the state's primaries, hitting each other on everything ranging from temperament to foreign policy. 
 
 The debate, hosted by ABC News, the Independent Journal Review and WMUR in Manchester, New Hampshire included seven presidential hopefuls, welcoming back Donald Trump to the stage after he skipped out on the last GOP debate. 
 
 Here are the best lines of the debate: 
 
 ON DONALD TRUMP’S TEMPERAMENT 
 
 DONALD TRUMP: “I think I have the best temperament.” 
 
 TED CRUZ: “I am convinced, every individual standing on this stage, would make a much better commander in chief than Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.” 
 
 ON BEN CARSON’S "CAMPAIGN BREAK" 
 
 TED CRUZ: “I reached him the next day and apologized," Cruz said of his campaign staff sending a note that Carson was "taking time off" from campaigning and “making a big announcement next week.” 
 
 "He asked me then, he said, Ted, would you make this apologize in public? I said, yes, I will. And I did so.” 
 
 BEN CARSON: “The bottom line is, we can see what happened, everybody can see what happened and you can make your own judgment.” 
 
 .@tedcruz apologizes to @realBenCarson for sending memo saying he was dropping out of campaign #GOPDebate https://t.co/2Ic4zQd2sC — ABC News (@ABC) February 7, 2016 
 
 ON MARCO RUBIO USING CANNED RESPONSES 
 
 “This is what Washington, D.C. does. The drive-by shot at the beginning with incorrect and incomplete information and then the memorized 25-second speech that is exactly what his advisers game him,” Chris Christie said about GOP rival Marco Rubio. 
 
 “When the worst natural disaster in your state's history hits you, they expect you to rebuild their state which is what I’ve done," he continued. "None of that stuff happens on the floor of the United States senate. It's a fine job, I'm glad you ran for it, but it does not prepare you for president of the United States.” 
 
 Rubio fired back, “Chris, your state got hit by a massive snowstorm two weeks ago. You didn't even want to go back. They had to shame you into going back.” 
 
 Christie interjected, “There it is. There it is. The memorized 25-second speech.” 
 
 ON NORTH KOREA 
 
 DONALD TRUMP: “I think we have a president who, as a president, is totally incompetent and he doesn't know what he's doing. I think he has no idea what he's doing. And our country is going to hell.” 
 
 ON IMMIGRATION 
 
 TED CRUZ: “We’re going to build a wall. We’re going to triple the border patrol. We’re going to increase -- and actually, since Donald enjoyed that, I will simply say, I’ve got somebody in mind to build it.” 
 
 ON HEALTH CARE 
 
 DONALD TRUMP: “I think everybody on this stage would have to agree, you're not going to let people die, sitting in the middle of a street in any city in this country.” 
 
 TED CRUZ: “What should we do on health care? If I'm elected president, we will repeal every word of Obama care.” 
 
 ON EMINENT DOMAIN 
 
 JEB BUSH: “What Donald Trump did was use eminent domain to try to take the property of an elderly woman on the strip in Atlantic City.” 
 
 “Jeb wants to be a tough guy tonight. I didn't take the property,” Trump said. 
 
 Bush responded, “How tough it is to take property from an elderly woman.” 
 
 ON BEING A CONSERVATIVE 
 
 DONALD TRUMP: “I view the word conservative as a derivative of the word "conserve." We want to conserve our money. We want to conserve our wealth. We want to conserve, we want to be smart...We want to conserve our country. We want to save our country.” 
 
 ON THE ECONOMY 
 
 JEB BUSH: “ I’d like to see more millionaires. I think we need to grow more millionaires we need to create a prosperity society where people can rise up.” 
 
 ON THE WAR ON ISIS 
 
 TED CRUZ: “We should use overwhelming force, kill the enemy, and then get the heck out.” 
 
 .@realDonaldTrump on ISIS: "4 years ago, I said bomb the oil and take the oil... I still say the same." #GOPDebate https://t.co/q34oJluvpk — ABC News (@ABC) February 7, 2016 
 
 “I want to say something about this, because I'm not here just to add beauty to the stage,” Carson quipped. 
 
 ON WATERBOARDING AND ENHANCED INTERROGATION 
 
 DONALD TRUMP: “I would bring back waterboarding and I would bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding.” 
 
 MARCO RUBIO: “Guantanamo is being emptied by this president. We should be putting people into Guantanamo, not emptying it out and we shouldn't be releasing these killers who are rejoining the battlefield.” 
 
 ON EXECUTIVE ORDERS 
 
 TED CRUZ: “I have pledged, on day one, I will rescind every single illegal and unconstitutional executive action Barack Obama has done.” 
 
 DONALD TRUMP: “You have to get people in, grab them, hug them, kiss them and get the deal done.” 
 
 JOHN KASICH: “ We have to solve problems in America by coming together, Republicans and Democrats, Americans first, party and ideology second.” 
 
 ON THE HEROIN EPIDEMIC 
 
 .@tedcruz on heroin epidemic: "This is an epidemic. We need leadership to solve it." #GOPDebate https://t.co/juLaiM5lcE — ABC News (@ABC) February 7, 2016 
 
 ON THE POLICE 
 
 DONALD TRUMP: “The police are absolutely mistreated and misunderstood...the police in this country have done an unbelievable job of keeping law and order.” 
 
 .@realDonaldTrump: "The police in this country have done an unbelievable job of keeping law and order." #GOPDebate https://t.co/RF01lYrk9D — ABC News (@ABC) February 7, 2016 
 
 ON WOMEN SIGNING UP FOR THE DRAFT 
 
 .@ChrisChristie on women: "Anything they can dream... they can do. That's the way we raise our daughters" #GOPDebate https://t.co/D7X5FohQmt — ABC News (@ABC) February 7, 2016 
 
 ON VETERANS 
 
 BEN CARSON: “You know, 14-percent decrease in the number of people applying for voluntary military service, and I think part of it is because of the way we treat our veterans. You know, we wouldn't be a free country if it wasn't for them.” 
 
 Get real-time updates as this story unfolds. To start, just "star" this story in ABC News' phone app. Download ABC News for iPhone here or ABC News for Android here. ||||| Republican presidential candidates argued over lack of experience, waterboarding and even the Super Bowl at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., three days before the New Hampshire primary. Here are the key moments in less than three minutes. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post) 
 
 Republican presidential candidates argued over lack of experience, waterboarding and even the Super Bowl at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., three days before the New Hampshire primary. Here are the key moments in less than three minutes. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post) 
 
 It was a tough night for front-runners in New Hampshire and a good night for governors. 
 
 Marco Rubio hit a wall named Chris Christie. Donald Trump couldn’t put down an aggressive Jeb Bush. And Ted Cruz had to issue a public apology to Ben Carson. 
 
 Christie was the relentless prosecutor. Bush was knowledgeable and, in contrast to some earlier performances, tough and direct. Ohio Gov. John Kasich carved out space as a candidate ready and willing to work across party lines. 
 
 Given the timing and the state of the Republican nomination contest, few debates have had the potential to shape the order of finish in a primary campaign more than Saturday night’s forum at Saint Anselm College. Trump holds a big lead. But the competition underneath him is fierce, and the outcome Tuesday likely to be consequential. Those with the most to lose were the ones who tried to make the most out of their time on stage. 
 
 No one had a rockier night than Rubio, the senator from Florida whose strong third-place finish in Iowa made him the candidate on the rise in the Republican presidential race. But under a blistering attack from Christie, who characterized him as a politician with no notable accomplishments who had run away from the immigration reform bill he had co-sponsored, Rubio faltered. 
 
 1 of 27 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × GOP presidential candidates face off during the ABC News debate in New Hampshire View Photos Seven Republicans shared the stage for the final debate before the crucial New Hampshire primary. Caption Seven Republicans shared the stage for the final debate before the crucial New Hampshire primary. Feb. 6, 2016 Presidential candidate Donald Trump takes the stage for the ABC News Republican debate at St. Anselm's College Institute of Politics in Manchester, N.H. Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. 
 
 Rubio knew the attacks were coming, but instead of answering them directly, he sought to change the subject. Once, twice, three times he offered a quick counterpunch and then slid off the criticisms to turn to an attack on President Obama, repeating his language almost word for word and drawing boos from the audience. 
 
 When he accused Christie of having to be shamed into going back to New Jersey to deal with the recent snowstorm, Christie came roaring back. “That’s what Washington, D.C., does,” Christie said. “The drive-by shot at the beginning with incorrect and incomplete information and then the memorized 25-second speech that is exactly what his advisers gave him.” 
 
 What was most striking was the fact that Rubio played directly into the criticism that, while he is a gifted and natural communicator, he is overly scripted and returns to his standard stump speech as quickly as he can. 
 
 The strategy has worked for him in past debates, but repetition got the better of him on Saturday. Rubio wanted to debate Obama and Hillary Clinton, warning time and again that the president has deliberately led the country in the wrong direction and that Clinton would extend those policies. Those kinds of attacks bring cheers at his campaign rallies but were far less effective during Saturday’s debate. 
 
 In the later stages of the debate, Rubio seemed to regain his footing both on foreign policy and on a question about abortion in which he talked about the balance between a woman’s right to make her own decisions and the right of an unborn child to live. 
 
 Even when Bush drew a distinction with Rubio over whether there should be exceptions for rape, incest and life of the woman, which Bush favors, Rubio said he would sign a bill as president that included those exceptions but that he still stood by his personal convictions. Rubio said he would rather lose an election than be wrong on the issue. 
 
 Trump struggled when the subject of eminent domain, a hot-button issue for many conservatives who dislike government, was introduced. The billionaire builder initially offered a ringing defense of the practice of government taking private property for such projects as roads and bridges. 
 
 The candidate introductions at the ABC News GOP debate in New Hampshire did not go smoothly. (Phoebe Connelly,Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post) 
 
 Bush countered, initially agreeing that eminent domain is necessary for the public good but then attacking Trump for attempting to use the practice to take property from an elderly woman in Atlantic City, N.J., for the purpose of a parking lot for one of his casinos. 
 
 Trump reverted to attacks he has long leveled at Bush — that he lacks strength or energy. “He wants to be a tough guy,” Trump said dismissively. 
 
 But Bush came right back at him: “How tough is it to take away a property from an elderly woman?” he said sarcastically. 
 
 When Trump told Bush to keep quiet, the audience let out another round of boos, to which Trump said, “That’s all his donors and special interests.” 
 
 Cruz, who won the Iowa caucuses, had two difficult moments at the start of the evening. The first came over criticism Cruz leveled at Trump earlier in the week, saying, “I don’t know anyone who would be comfortable with someone who behaves this way having his finger on the button.” 
 
 Trump was given the first word and defended himself. He reminded everyone that he had opposed the war in Iraq, adding, “I’m not the one with the trigger.” 
 
 “Other people up here, believe me, would be a lot faster,” he said. 
 
 When Cruz was asked to explain why he thought Trump lacked the temperament to be president, he ducked. “The assessment the voters are making here in New Hampshire and across the country is they are evaluating each and every one of us,” he said. 
 
 Reminded by ABC News anchor David Muir that he had not explained why he had made the earlier comment, Cruz ducked again. 
 
 Trump responded: “He didn’t answer your question. And that’s what’s going to happen with our enemies and the people we compete against. . . . People back down with Trump. And that’s what I like, and that’s what the country is going to like.” 
 
 That didn’t end the early hazing for Cruz. He was asked why his advisers had called Iowa volunteers on the night of the caucuses to say that Carson might be quitting the race and to encourage voters to back the senator from Texas. 
 
 Cruz blamed the problem on what he said was a misleading news report on CNN that he said was not corrected for several hours. But he also apologized to Carson and said he had done so the day after the caucuses. 
 
 Carson, in his typically quiet way, accepted the apology but not the explanation. “In fact, the timeline indicates that initial tweet from CNN was followed by another one within one minute that clarified that I was not dropping out,” he said. 
 
 More than in other previous debates, this one turned into governors against the others. The three share common experiences, and when they talk about one another, it’s clear there is mutual respect, though they are in a battle in which they cannot all survive. And whether by design or accident, the three seemed to reinforce one another in taking down the candidates who finished first, second and third in Iowa. 
 
 Christie delivered one of the strongest performances of the campaign, clearly determined to knock down Rubio, whom he described this past week as “a boy in the bubble.” Fighting for his political life, he was merciless in attacking Rubio for lacking the courage to fight for the immigration reform legislation that passed the Senate but faltered in the House. 
 
 Rubio countered by attacking Christie’s record in New Jersey, noting that the state has gone through repeated credit downgrades during his two terms. The audience seemed to side with Christie. Whether voters will do the same is the test for the next three days. 
 
 Kasich was the happy warrior, a governor who stressed jobs, the economy and dealing realistically with issues, not on the basis of pure ideology. Bush has tried for many months to make his record in Florida the centerpiece of his candidacy. Only now in these closing days has he appeared more comfortable as a candidate. 
 
 Saturday’s debate here offered a last opportunity for candidates to make a persuasive argument before a primary election likely to winnow the field of realistic hopefuls to four at most. 
 
 The New Hampshire electorate is famously fickle for upending front-runners and defying conventional wisdom and turning its back on winners in Iowa. A more charitable description is that this is a state where voters keep their options open as long as possible. 
 
 While it’s true that many voters have been locked in for weeks or months, a sizable number are spending these last few days shopping and pondering. They are at every rally on this final weekend, looking for that connection that tips them firmly in one direction or another. 
 
 That makes pollsters nervous and campaigns hopeful. The candidates know lightning can strike, and they grasp for every sign that it is happening to them. In the days after Iowa, there has been some movement in the polls but nothing definitive yet. 
 
 What makes this year’s GOP primary distinctive from past campaigns is the number of candidates on this final weekend who still think they have a chance to move on to succeeding rounds of primaries and caucuses. Saturday’s debate underscored both the sense of possibility and the sense of urgency that surrounds the last days of campaigning here. ||||| Getty 11 most explosive moments of the GOP debate Bush bashes Trump, Christie and Rubio brawl, and other notable attacks. 
 
 MANCHESTER, N.H. — Marco Rubio, still riding momentum out of a strong finish in Iowa, found himself facing a torrent of attacks on Saturday in the final debate before New Hampshire voters head to the polls on Tuesday. Going after Rubio could be the last best chance for candidates like Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Chris Christie to position themselves for a last-minute surge — and to chip away at Donald Trump’s imposing lead in polling. Here are the most memorable moments of the night: 
 
 1. Bush bashes Trump on eminent domain 
 
 Story Continued Below 
 
 Trump delivered a forceful defense of eminent domain, which he said has led to the construction of roads, schools and pipelines. But Bush didn’t want to sit quietly. 
 
 “What Donald Trump did was use eminent domain to try to take the property of an elderly woman on the strip in Atlantic City,” he said, accusing Trump of trying to turn it into “a limousine parking lot for his casinos.” 
 
 That’s when Trump unleashed on Bush. “He wants to be a tough guy,” Trump said. 
 
 Bush started to interrupt but Trump cut him off decisively. 
 
 “Let me talk; quiet,” Trump said, holding a finger to his lips to shush Bush. 
 
 2. Christie and Rubio brawl 
 
 Christie had a mission when moderators gave him an opening to criticize Rubio: to knock him off balance. Rubio had just called out Christie for presiding over nine credit downgrades in New Jersey and pivoted to a talking-point-laden speech criticizing President Barack Obama. Then Christie got hot. 
 
 “That’s what Washington, D.C., does,” he said, glowering toward Rubio, accusing him of making a poorly sourced attack and then relying on a “memorized 25-second speech his advisers gave him.” 
 
 “See, Marco, the thing is this, when you’re president of the United States, when you’re a governor, they expect you to plow the snow … to rebuild their state, which is what I’ve done. None of that happens on the floor of the United States Senate.” 
 
 Rubio struck back, nicking Christie for waffling before he decided to head back to New Jersey from the campaign trail to handle an impending blizzard that pummeled the East Coast. 
 
 “They had to shame you into going back,” he said. 
 
 Rubio accused Christie of having to be dragged back to New Jersey under pressure to handle the storm. Christie retorted, “Is that one of the skills you get as a United States senator? ESP?” 
 
 3. Carson not ready to let go of Cruz attack 
 
 Ted Cruz did his best to turn the page on a simmering feud over his team’s decision to spread a false rumor that Ben Carson would be dropping out of the presidential race just as the Iowa caucuses were getting underway last Monday. 
 
 “I will say that I was very disappointed that members of his team thought so little of me, that they thought that after having hundreds, if not thousands of volunteers … one even died — to think that I would just walk away 10 minutes before the caucus and say, ‘Forget about you guys,’” Carson said. 
 
 Cruz said his team’s move was predicated on an ambiguous CNN report. “I apologized to him then, and I do so now,” he said. 
 
 But Carson wasn’t buying it. “The bottom line is, we can see what happened. Everybody can see what happened, and you can make your own judgment,” he said. 
 
 4. “He didn’t answer your question” 
 
 When moderators asked Cruz to defend his recent argument that Trump is ill-prepared to become president, he demurred, noting that the voters of New Hampshire will decide, and he segued into a broader speech on his approach to foreign threats. 
 
 Trump noted the pivot and argued that it’s proof opponents can’t stand up to him. 
 
 “If you noticed, he didn’t answer your question,” he said. “We’re gonna win with Trump, and people back down with Trump.” 
 
 5. TrumpCare 
 
 Trump’s health care policies have been hard to pin down, but on Saturday, he embraced a relatively standard GOP plan: allowing people to purchase health plans across state lines and rely on health savings accounts. He also said his plan would be “free enterprise.” But he adds a twist — his plan, which he has yet to detail, would ensure that no one is left “dying on the street” without coverage. 
 
 “There will be a certain number of people that will be on the street dying. As a Republican, I don’t want that to happen,” he said. “We’re going to take care of people dying on the street. … You’re not gonna let people die sitting in the middle of a street in any city in this country.” 
 
 6. Trump takes on the audience 
 
 After his spat with Bush, Trump drew boos from the audience for his repeated shushing of the former Florida governor. But Trump was ready — and even welcomed the boos. 
 
 “That’s all his donors and special interests,” he said, drawing even louder and more intense jeers. 
 
 “The RNC told us, we have all donors in the audience,” he said. “The reason they’re not loving me is I don’t want their money. I’m going to do the right thing for the American public.” 
 
 7. Botched opener 
 
 The debate, hosted by ABC News, began in the most uncomfortable and awkward way possible when Carson stepped to the edge of the stage expecting to be announced. While he waited on camera, other candidates were introduced and stepped past him. Then Trump stepped out but missed his cue to come onto the stage, standing alongside Carson while other candidates continued to step out. Bush stepped past Trump and gave him a tap on the shoulder. Then, as Carson and Trump came out, the moderators forgot to introduce Ohio Gov. Kasich. 
 
 8. Waterboarding and torture 
 
 Cruz embraced the notion Saturday that waterboarding is not torture and suggested he’d bring it back in a limited way. “Under the definition of torture, no it’s not,” he said. “Under the law, torture is excruciating pain that is equivalent to losing organs or systems.” 
 
 Cruz said waterboarding can be effective in high-level interrogations. “Bad things happen when enhanced interrogation is employed at lower levels,” he said. 
 
 Trump said he’d consider a more robust form of interrogation techniques. “I’d bring back waterboarding, and I’d bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding,” he said. 
 
 Rubio, on the other hand, said candidates shouldn’t be discussing techniques in a “widespread way.” 
 
 “It allows terrorists and others to practice how to evade us,” he said. 
 
 9. Trump on deal making 
 
 Trump presents himself as the best deal maker in the Republican field, but he said he’d make deals with Congress only if it agrees to his terms — and he pointed to Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill as an example. 
 
 “With Congress you have to get everybody in a room. You have to get them to agree with what you want,” he said. “You have to get people in. Grab ‘em, hug ‘em, kiss ‘em and get the deal done. But it’s got to be the deal that you want.” 
 
 10. Women and the draft 
 
 Christie, Rubio and Bush agreed that if a draft were ever instituted, women should be required to sign up for selective service. 
 
 “I do believe that selective service should be open for men and women in case a draft is ever instituted,” Rubio said. 
 
 Bush concurred, though he said he doesn’t expect a draft to be reinstituted. 
 
 11. Trump twists the knife on Cruz 
 
 After Cruz mentioned his Iowa win during his closing statement, Trump delivered a sucker punch. 
 
 “That’s because you got Ben Carson’s votes,” he said, referencing the false rumor spread by Cruz’s team. 
 
 Cruz had no chance to respond to the barb, which came just after CNN issued a blistering statement accusing Cruz of misleading voters about its reporting on Carson’s decision to take a day off the campaign trail. 
 
 
 
 Authors: ||||| When is it bad to be a frontrunner? During a presidential debate three days before the New Hampshire primary, evidently. At Saturday night’s forum in Manchester, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump all hit rough patches, while three often-overshadowed governors—Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, and John Kasich—delivered some of their strongest moments of the campaign so far. 
 
 Rubio, surging nationwide and in New Hampshire, believed he had a target pinned to his back coming in, and he was right. Christie was the hatchet man, coming after Rubio in the earliest moments of the debate and never letting up. (At one point, Christie even pivoted from responding to an attack by John Kasich to slam Rubio.) Christie jabbed that Rubio, as a senator, doesn’t have the executive experience needed to be president, citing Barack Obama as a cautionary tale. Rubio was ready with an answer to that: “This notion that Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing?” he said. “He knows exactly what he's doing.” Rubio isn’t the only candidate to suggest that Obama is more evil genius than bumbling fool—Ted Cruz has done the same—but the crowd wasn’t buying it. Maybe Rubio’s phrasing was just too clever. 
 
 But when Christie mocked the idea, Rubio started repeating it—paving the way for Christie’s most devastating line, an accusation that Rubio just repeats talking points: “There it is, the memorized 25-second speech.” Rubio has a tendency to revert to his stump speech during debates, a technique that earned him high marks in past debates. But Christie’s line was devastating. Rubio responded by, um, repeating the same line about Obama almost verbatim several more times within the next few minutes. 
 
 Rubio also hit a tough spot when discussing comprehensive immigration reform. The Gang of Eight bill, which he backed and then backed away from, has always been one of his greatest political vulnerabilities, but it caused him particular discomfort tonight. Rubio has been forced to admit that he helped push the bill while also acknowledging that it is deeply unpopular with Republican voters, so he says now that the border has to be secure before reform happens. That requires him to contort himself into nonsensical statements: “The legislation passed, but it has no support." Here again, Christie jumped on Rubio for failing to deliver on a policy he pushed. “I fought, and I fought, and I fought, and I won,” the New Jersey governor said. 
 
 Moderator Martha Raddatz prodded Rubio on his claim that ISIS is the most dangerous group to face the U.S., asking whether that means the U.S. should spend as much fighting ISIS as it did the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Late in the debate, Bush and Christie tag-teamed to criticize Rubio for saying that he opposed abortion even in the case of rape, incest, or the mother’s life, a position they say is too extreme and would turn off voters. 
 
 Ted Cruz won an upset victory in Iowa, but hasn’t seen nearly as much loft as he’d hoped, and New Hampshire is less-friendly territory for him. He also had a tough debate. Early on, the moderators asked him about rumors spread by his staffers on the night of the Iowa caucus that Ben Carson was on the verge of dropping out. Cruz apologized to Carson on stage, and he blamed the rumor on a CNN report. Carson, in perhaps his only display of killer instinct in any debate, nailed Cruz. He accepted the apology, invoked Reagan’s 11th commandment—“Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican”—then pointed out that Cruz’s claims about what CNN reported were wrong. (CNN eagerly did the same.) 
 
 Cruz stumbled again later when asked about ISIS. He has called for “carpet-bombing,” a tactic that most experts think wouldn’t do much against ISIS, a diffuse, geographically scattered force. Cruz has no good answer to that question, and Raddatz kept asking it again, showing the flaws in his tough talk about terror. The real question for Cruz is what level of collateral damage he’s willing to accept among innocent people held hostage by ISIS, and he doesn’t want to answer it. Cruz also couldn’t explain how he intended to deport the nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country. Pressed on his deportation plan, he mainly just ticked off ways to secure the border. 
 
 Cruz’s best moment came during a discussion of opiate addiction, as he told the story of his half-sister Miriam, who died of a drug overdose. The Texas senator is such a polished debater than he often leaves emotion behind, and this was a raw, genuine moment. (It would have been stronger if the concluding policy proposal for fighting addiction had been something more than simply securing the border.) 
 
 Trump, in his return to the debate stage after boycotting the last meeting, didn’t have a great night either. In one of the debate’s more interesting moments, he was asked about past praise for eminent domain, a tactic he’s used to gain land for his development projects. Trump argued that eminent domain is an essential tool for building roads, bridges, and hospitals—true, but utterly beside the point, since he was using it for his own private gain. Bush leapt in to point out the inconsistency, irking Trump, who sniped, “Let me talk. Quiet." The crowd booed lustily—which Trump claimed was the result of a hall full of GOP insiders and special interests, which naturally only elicited more boos. (Trump might not be wrong about that.) It was one of Bush’s most effective moments in any debate so far. 
 
 Discussing healthcare, Trump said, “We're gonna take care of people who are dying on the street.... I think everyone on this stage would agree: You're not gonna let people die." That’s an interesting mirror image of the 2011 Tea Party debate, where members of the audience cheered the idea of letting uninsured people die. But otherwise, Trump was often a non-factor. 
 
 Viewers might have known that Ben Carson was in for a rough night from the start of the debate, when the retired neurosurgeon either forgot or refused to leave the wings as candidates were introduced and his name was called. Carson was often quiet for long stretches, and when he did speak, it was often borderline incoherent, whether he was discussing Libya policy or the Zika virus. 
 
 One reason that Carson was so often quiet, perhaps, was that the debate was surprisingly focused on foreign policy. In addition to the ISIS questions, the candidates weighed in on reports of a North Korean missile launch. Cruz said he couldn’t say whether he would have preemptively attacked the launch site without having seen the intelligence the president had. (Raddatz, strangely, tried to make him answer anyway. It was a rare off moment in an otherwise stellar performance from Raddatz, who is cementing her status as the nation’s premiere debate moderator. Co-host David Muir could take some tips from her.) Jeb Bush, in an echo of his brother’s eponymous doctrine, endorsed a preemptive strike. Kasich also suggested prodding Japan toward striking North Korea, which would be a violation of the country’s U.S.-backed post-World War II constitution. 
 
 Later in the debate, the moderators asked whether waterboarding is torture, as almost every legal authority holds, and whether they would employ it. Cruz, Trump, and Rubio all said they could imagine situations in which they would waterboard people; Trump, in fact, said he would do "a hell of a lot worse,” arguing that ISIS’s “medieval” approach demanded that the U.S. adopt similarly medieval responses. Bush, however, demurred. 
 
 What does it all mean? Saturday night’s debate was the revenge of the establishment governors—Christie, Bush, and Kasich. Those three have been battling for a “lane” in the nomination battle—against each other, for the one spot (at most) for someone like them; against Rubio, still trying to lock up the establishment support; and against the outsiders Cruz and Trump. Can the debate change their fortunes? It wasn’t a great night for the Trump-Rubio-Cruz triumvirate leading the polls, but will that stall Rubio’s rise? Will it accelerate Trump’s slide? And will it vault any of the governors into the top tier? We’ll find out Tuesday. 
 
 —David Graham 
 
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 10:51 PM 
 
 Conor Friedersdorf This debate didn’t seem very consequential to me. Everyone on TV is saying that Marco Rubio did terrible. That wasn’t my takeaway. If anyone helped himself I would guess Jon Kasich, if only because he seemed to get more speaking time tonight than normal. I can imagine the Donald Trump exchange on eminent domain hurting him, especially if it’s packaged into television attack ads. And it seems perfectly suited for that. 
 
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 10:44 PM 
 
 Molly Ball Trump: Cruz won because he cheated, by the way. (Boo!) We don't win anymore. CHINA. Trade. We will win, and we will win, and we will win. 
 
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 10:44 PM 
 
 Molly Ball Cruz: When have any of you stood up to Washington? I won Iowa despite being against their precious ethanol. Let's get back to the Constitution 
 
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 10:43 PM 
 
 Conor Friedersdorf Marco Rubio mentions his kids. The camera flashes to them, reminding everyone in the audience how awful it would be to have their parent run for president. 
 
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 10:43 PM 
 
 Molly Ball Rubio: I will unite the party and unite the country and defeat Hillary to make America great again. ||||| Donald Trump was booed loudly during the Republican debate when he claimed the audience was stacked with Jeb Bush's donors and special interests. 
 
 "That's all of his donors and special interests out there," Trump said as the crowd began heckling him. 
 
 The crowd first booed Trump seconds earlier when the billionaire ordered Bush to "quiet," raising his finger to his lips. 
 
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 The two had been sparing over eminent domain. But Trump then turned his attention to the audience and accused the Republican National Committee (RNC) of filling it with donors. 
 
 "Let me just tell you, we needed [debate] tickets," Trump said. "You can't get them. 
 
 "You know who has the tickets? I'm talking about to the television audience. Donors, special interests, the people that are putting up the money." 
 
 The boos rose even louder as Trump continued insulting the crowd. 
 
 "The RNC told us," Trump said. "We have all donors in the audience. 
 
 "And the reason they're not loving me is I don't want their money ... I don't want their money, I don't need their money and I'm the only one up here that can say that." 
 
 The RNC reportedly hit back at Trump's claim, saying that only 75 donors were in attendance in an audience of 1,000. ||||| Republican presidential candidate, businessman Donald Trump shakes hands with Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Republican presidential candidate, Ohio Gov. John Kasich walk past after a Republican presidential... (Associated Press) 
 
 MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — There have been no higher stakes on a Republican debate stage in the 2016 campaign for president than there were Saturday night. 
 
 Seven GOP Republican hopefuls faced off just three days before a make-or-break New Hampshire primary that some of them are not likely to survive. 
 
 Coming off a strong Iowa finish, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio tripped up early under attack from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who are jockeying for the same Republican voters. 
 
 At the same time, the candidates on the still-crowded stage seemed unwilling to mix it up with Donald Trump, the national front-runner for months who needs a win in New Hampshire on Tuesday to avoid starting the 2016 race with two consecutive losses. 
 
 And then there was Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the champion college debater who shared a deeply personal moment during an otherwise forgettable night while trying to build on his victory in the Iowa caucuses. 
 
 Here are some takeaways from Saturday night's GOP debate: 
 
 ___ 
 
 RUBIO STUCK IN A LOOP 
 
 Rubio experienced his worst moment in a presidential debate at the worst time, stumbling badly when forced to answer the fundamental question posed by rivals of his candidacy: whether he has the experience necessary to lead the nation. 
 
 As a first-term senator with no executive experience, Rubio's resume is remarkably similar to Barack Obama before he became president. Rubio tried to turn the question around by charging that Obama "knows exactly what he's doing" by "undertaking a systematic effort to change this country." 
 
 The answer was quickly challenged by Christie: "I like Marco Rubio, and he's a smart person and a good guy, but he simply does not have the experience to be president of the United States." 
 
 A clearly rattled Rubio responded by delivering the same line about Obama not once, but twice. And Christie made sure New Hampshire voters knew it: "There it is. The memorized 25-second speech. There it is, everybody." 
 
 It was a cringe-worthy moment for Rubio three days before a New Hampshire contest in which he hopes to knock Christie, Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich from the race. Even if it doesn't significantly change the contest in New Hampshire, the moment raises questions about Rubio's readiness to take on Democrat Hillary Clinton in a general election debate. 
 
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 CHRISTIE PULLS NO PUNCHES 
 
 He is barely registering in recent preference polls, but the New Jersey governor was the toughest candidate on the debate stage Saturday night. And that's no small feat with the tough-talking Trump at center stage. 
 
 At seemingly every turn, Christie zeroed in on Rubio, pelting him with zingers about his inexperience and record in Washington. Calling out Rubio on his missed votes in the Senate, Christie charged, "That's not leadership. That's truancy." 
 
 And when Rubio didn't answer a moderator's question about why he backpedaled on an immigration proposal he'd helped write when it appeared to become politically unpopular, Christie called him out. 
 
 "The question was, did he fight for his legislation. It's abundantly clear that it he didn't." Then he twisted the knife: "That's not what leadership is. That's what Congress is." 
 
 It was a performance Christie badly needed as he teeters on the edge of irrelevancy in the crowded Republican contest. Is it too little too late to rescue his campaign? 
 
 ___ 
 
 TRUMP LEFT ALONE ... MOSTLY 
 
 Trump's rivals barely laid a glove on the frequent New Hampshire poll leader. 
 
 The decision to withhold fire was evident right from the start, when Cruz declined to repeat his assertion this week that Trump didn't have the temperament to be commander in chief. Cruz dodged, saying everyone on the stage would be better leader of the U.S. military than Obama and Democratic contenders Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. 
 
 Pressed by a moderator whether he stood by his words that Trump was too volatile to be president, Cruz said simply, "I think that is an assessment the voters are going to make." Trump noted that Cruz refused to answer the question. 
 
 Bush was the only one who took it directly to Trump. After the billionaire real-estate developer defended the use of eminent domain as a necessary tool of government, Bush said the businessman was "downright wrong" when his company tried to use eminent domain to build an Atlantic City casino. 
 
 Trump scoffed, saying Bush "wants to be a tough guy." 
 
 Bush fired back, "How tough is it to take property from an elderly woman?" 
 
 It was the only moment in which Trump flashed any of the rhetorical jabs he's become known for on Twitter. For the most part, Trump was content to lay back and let those chasing him in the preference polls fight amongst themselves. 
 
 ___ 
 
 A COMFORTABLE CRUZ 
 
 The champion college debater wasn't much of a factor after a rough start to the debate, when he was asked about Trump's temperament and allegations his campaign team engaged in "deceitful behavior" by suggesting in the moments before the Iowa caucuses started that retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson was leaving the race. 
 
 "When this transpired, I apologized to him then and I do so now," Cruz said. "Ben, I'm sorry." 
 
 Cruz returned to prominence when asked about substance abuse, and gave an answer that will be hard for some voters to forget. 
 
 The Texas senator shared the deeply personal story of his sister's overdose death. He told New Hampshire voters, and a national television audience, that he and his father pulled his older sister out of a crack house. They pleaded with her to straighten out for the good of her son. But she didn't listen. 
 
 "She died," Cruz said. 
 
 It was a very human moment for a candidate sometimes criticized for not being likable. 
 
 And it was in line with his tone all night long, as he consistently rose above the mud-slinging, despite his near-daily attacks on his rivals on the campaign trail. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Follow Steve Peoples and Julie Bykowicz on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/sppeoples and http://twitter.com/bykowicz
– The Republicans wrapped up their last debate before New Hampshire votes on Tuesday, a particularly feisty affair in which Marco Rubio took the biggest hits. One theme emerging is that it was a good night for governors but not for frontrunners: Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "Marco Rubio hit a wall named Chris Christie. Donald Trump couldn’t put down an aggressive Jeb Bush. And Ted Cruz had to issue a public apology to Ben Carson." On the flip side, "Christie was the relentless prosecutor. Bush was knowledgeable and, in contrast to some earlier performances, tough and direct. Ohio Gov. John Kasich carved out space as a candidate ready and willing to work across party lines." David Graham at the Atlantic has a similar take: "Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump all hit rough patches, while three often-overshadowed governors—Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, and John Kasich—delivered some of their strongest moments of the campaign so far." Christie hit Rubio the hardest, but Bush and Trump also took their shots at him. The New York Times focuses on the Rubio onslaught. The AP takes note of Cruz's "very human moment" in talking about his sister's fatal drug overdose. The New Hampshire audience didn't like Trump, and the feeling was mutual. The Hill recounts the booing. A CNN media writer says Cruz lied about the network's reporting. Politico rounds up the "most explosive moments." ABC News offers up the "best lines" of the night. Don't miss the disastrous introductions.