Debate Gets Personal and Gets Under Mitt Romney's Skin

Comparing their states' economic policies, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry each tried to claim the conservative high ground at Tuesday night's CNN Debate in Las Vegas.

But both carried baggage of liberalism -- Romney with Romneycare and Perry as Al Gore's former campaign chairman in Texas -- that left the audience unsure as to who was more "authentic."

The audience in Mormon-heavy Las Vegas gave Romney the edge throughout the sometimes-feisty evening, but the former Massachusetts governor sustained some of the heaviest criticism he has received in the debates thus far. And unlike Herman Cain, who used humor to deflect a series of early attacks, Romney appeared combative and, at times, rude as he tried to counter Rick Perry and Rick Santorum.

In the end, Newt Gingrich concluded, "Bickering is not the road to the White House."