(Image Source: NBC)

BY: ALYSSA CARTEE AND VICTORIA CRAIG

With back-to-back debates this weekend -- just days before the New Hampshire primary, GOP presidential candidates quit playing nice. During Saturday night’s ABC debate, Texas Governor Rick Perry sparked a response from more than five thousand people on Twitter with his remarks on the war in Iraq, according to ABC.

“I would send troops back to Iraq. I think we start talking with the Iraqi individuals there, the idea that we allow the Iranians to come back into Iraq and take over that country with all of the treasure in both blood and money that we spent in Iraq because this president wants to cow tow to his liberal leftist base moved out those men and women.”

Although Perry’s comments on the war attracted attention, Fox News says overall, the debate lacked heat when compared to Sunday morning’s NBC/Facebook debate.

“Last night’s exchange was pretty tame in comparison. We thought that Mitt Romney might become the pin cushion, that didn’t happen. This morning it seems like any digs the candidates missed out on -- they got them in this morning.”

For weeks, it’s been Romney’s star that’s shined brightest in New Hampshire. But as Politico reports, Sunday morning, the GOP’s four other candidates gave him a run for his money.

“Even the mild-mannered Huntsman went out of his way to seek out a moment of contrast with Romney ...Yet if Romney was pushed back on his heels once or twice, there was no sign in the debate of the kind of crushing, self-destructive moment that’s likely to prompt a major shift of momentum in the race."

During the debate, Newt Gingrich targeted Romney’s former policies -- citing them as decidedly familiar, and positioned himself as the best competition to run against Obama.

“And I think that a bold Regan conservative with a very strong economic plan is a lot more likely to succeed in that campaign than a relatively timid Massachusetts moderate who even the Wall Street Journal said it was so timid it resembled Obama."

Gay rights was another hot topic in the debates. Romney stood by his comments as governor to stand up for equal rights, while the oft-criticized Santorum side-stepped the question.

“When was the last time you spoke out for increasing gay rights?”
Romney:  “Right now.”
Santorum:  “I would be a voice in speaking out for making sure that every person in America -- gay or straight -- is treated with respect and dignity.”

And nasty attack ads of the past few weeks were also discussed. During the debate, Gingrich confronted Romney about a few.

“I wish you would calmly and directly state it is your former staff running the PAC. It is your millionaire friends giving to the PAC and you know some of the ads aren’t true. Just say that. It’s straight forward.”
“Well of course it’s former staff of mine. And of course they are people who support me. … And with regards to their ads, I haven’t seen them.”

The morning debate did have its lighter moments.  Perry made a point to correct his now-famous...uhm...uhm... flub...

“What are the three areas that you would make some reductions that people would feel some pain? I will tell ya. It would be those beaurocrats at the department of commerce and energy and education that we’re going to do away with.”
“And that’s your final answer?”

Although Romney seemed to be the punching bag in Sunday’s debate, The Hill reports, if he was bothered by the attacks, he didn’t show it.

“Romney shirked the fire of his rivals with confidence and a cool composition, his feathers seemingly unruffled. But the sharp and meticulous attacks of his opponents — most notably Gingrich, Huntsman and Rick Santorum — allowed them to make plain that whatever the outcome in New Hampshire, the fight is not over.”

Although the debate was a chance for the candidates to shore up their supporters, a writer for PolicyMic says conservative voters are still very unsure which of the Republican candidates best fits the bill.

“Voters are being asked to choose between extreme social, economic, and foreign policy agendas or platforms that very much tend to lean to the left. There is no pure conservative among the pack who stands a chance at winning.”

Ready or not, New Hampshire voters will head to the polls to cast their ballots for the GOP nominee on Tuesday.