Takeaways from the GOP debate

A look at some specifics in Republican debate

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP)

CHINA

Jon Huntsman says his opponents' policies would start a trade war with China. Huntsman, the former ambassador to China, says tough talk and new tariffs aren't the answer. And during Saturday's debate, he told Mitt Romney in Mandarin Chinese that he doesn't understand the situation. Romney favors tariffs and says China is more afraid of a trade war than America. Romney also criticized Huntsman for serving as President Barack Obama's ambassador to China, while Romney said he was helping elect Republicans back home.

AFGHANISTAN

Mitt Romney says he wants to pull troops out of Afghanistan as soon as possible but would consult commanders there before setting a date to do so. Former ambassador Jon Huntsman says it's up to the president as commander in chief to decide when troops leave. Newt Gingrich said instability in Pakistan and the threat of a nuclear Iran were more pressing issues. Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he would send troops back to Iraq to prevent Iran from taking over that country.

TAXES

Former Sen. Rick Santorum says rival Mitt Romney's tax plan is too meek to get the country's economy moving again. Romney said taxes are too high and they fund a government that is too big. But he says some taxes are necessary to pay for the core needs that only Washington can provide. Santorum, rising in the contest, says Romney is nibbling at the edges. Jon Huntsman says he would close all tax loopholes, something he alone seemed to favor. He says that would bring in trillions of dollars.

GAY MARRIAGE

Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney want gay couples to have legal rights — just not the right to marry. They oppose a New Hampshire law that allows same-sex marriage. But they say gay couples should have basic legal rights. Gingrich says marriage between a man and a woman is at the core of human civilization, and changing that could make life miserable for others.

CONTRACEPTION

Romney was asked during Saturday night's Republican debate whether privacy rights were guaranteed in the constitution. The question was about whether a state could ban contraception, noting privacy was the reason cited in the last century in a case that overturned Connecticut's ban on contraception. Romney says the question was silly, given no state currently is planning to ban contraception.

SANTORUM-PAUL

Ron Paul stood by a tough ad his campaign is airing in South Carolina calling rival Rick Santorum a big Washington spender. Paul said the former Pennsylvania senator was insufficiently conservative and "corrupt" for taking money from lobbyists. Santorum defended his record, saying he had made sure residents of his state got their fair share of federal spending.