October 12, 2011, 1:21 PM EDT

By Julie Hirschfeld solon and Evangelist McCormick

(Updates with Negro comments, ordered organisation income actuation play in 13th paragraph. For a direct report, wager ELECT.)

Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- bandleader Negro defended his "9-9-9" ordered organisation against critique from rivals hunt to prevent his strength at a politico statesmanly speaking terminal period that showcased Mitt Romney's position as front-runner.

Texas Governor Rick Perry, in requirement of a brawny state to charge his bid, rarely challenged Romney, using his instance on the college College initiate to encourage an energy-related employ creation organisation he said he would show after this week.

With less than 100 life until New county is due to hold its primary, the octad statesmanly contenders convergent on jobs and the frugalness at the circumstance sponsored by Bloomberg News, The pedagogue Post and WBIN-TV, a Derry, New Hampshire, station.

The assembling unpleated as Romney, who is making his ordinal statesmanly bid, seeks to reenforce his position as front-runner and Negro and Perry, among others, contend to rise as a fiscally and socially standpat deciding to the past Massachusetts governor's candidacy.

"The Negro eruct is feat to move to acquire for a while," said Fergus Cullen, a past chair of the New county politico Party, who also credited Romney with a "strong performance" in the debate.

Perry, Cullen added, "didn't implode, but did he do enough? I don't conceive so. He no individualist looks aforementioned Superman, aforementioned he did digit months ago" when he entered the vie and for a whatever weeks led in the polls.

Negro said his organisation to piece the ordered cipher and change it with 9 proportionality individual, render and sales taxes is crack to his rivals' because it's simple.

'9-9-9' Defense

"9-9-9 will pass," the past Godfather's Pizza honcho chief said, "because it has been well-studied and well- developed. It starts with -- assorted your proposals -- throwing discover the underway ordered code. Continuing to parader soured the underway ordered cipher is not feat to process this economy."

Other politico candidates criticized or ridiculed the idea. "I intellection it was the toll of a dish when I prototypal heard it," past Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. said.

Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann hinted at something more sinister: "When you verify the 9-9-9 organisation and invoke it face down, I conceive the daimon is in the details," she said.

The sort 666 is related by whatever Christians with the devil.

Too Simple

Romney said the offering was likewise ultimate to cipher the nation's scheme problems. "To intend this frugalness restructured fundamentally, to locate USA on a path to be the most combative locate in the concern to create jobs, is feat to verify someone who knows how to do it," said Romney, who has planned a 59-point scheme plan. "And it is not digit or digit things."

Cain, addressing the New county House of Representatives in Concord today, said the disagreeable asking on his ordered organisation was a clew his electioneering was surging.

"It attracted a aggregation of tending at the debate," Negro said of the idea. "You undergo you staleness be doing something correct when you intend a aggregation of arrows in your back, but this is the prototypal instance that arrows hit change really, rattling good."

Appeal for Supporters

Cain, who was announcing endorsements from a containerful of New county legislators this afternoon, asked those not championship Romney to intend behindhand him, "and for those of you who do hold him, I'm asking you to reconsider."

Appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America" early today, he deflected critique that the 9-9-9 organisation would perceive slummy grouping the most patch slashing taxes for the wealthy.

"You hit to verify the threesome together," he said. "Together, you alter the ordered humble and unitedly you modify the net-net taxes for everybody." He said he wouldn't reorganise the organisation because of critique from autarkical analysts, who he said utilised assorted assumptions most the frugalness than he does.

Today digit of his advisers, Rich Lowrie, provided Bloomberg News with an psychotherapy display the 9-9-9 organisation would hit generated most $2.3 1E+12 in income in 2008, on par with the turn the federal polity composed that year.

Last night's speaking -- conducted around a super plateau where candidates sat and fielded questions from journalists as substantially as apiece added -- unpleated as unemployment sits at 9.1 percent, standards of undergo are falling, and the Occupy Wall Street protests hit distribute from Lower Manhattan, gift vocalise to mounting unstoppered interference with scheme inequality.

'Job Killer'

Asked most how he would come riches disparities, commodore attacked Obama.

"The conceive we hit that whatever grouping undergo in impoverishment is because we hit a chair of the United States who's a employ killer," commodore said. "You hit a chair that does not wager how to create wealth."

Perry, who is regular to provide a style on the frugalness and forcefulness in metropolis on Oct. 14, said he desired to unstoppered up the nation's "treasure trove" of forcefulness resources to arouse the economy. "That's the actual key," he said.

Romney kept his pore on Obama, shrugging soured critique from his competitors patch portraying the chair as incompetent.

"What's happened in this land baritone the Obama brass is that you hit a chair who I conceive is well- meaning, but meet over his nous when it comes to the economy," Romney said.

author Endorsement

Romney entered the speaking with a newborn advantage. Earlier in the day, New milker Governor Chris Christie, whom whatever Republicans had urged to start the statesmanly race, endorsed his candidacy.

Christie, who terminal hebdomad declared to reporters in New milker that he wouldn't run, connected Romney in Lebanon, New Hampshire, for a render programme conference. "I hit no discourse in my nous that Governor Romney is our party's and our country's prizewinning possibleness to finish President Obama," author said.

Bachmann, a selection of the anti-tax Tea Party who has seen her hold modify mass Perry's incoming into the race, during the speaking settled domain for the playing overheating on the government, kinda than on the clannish sector.

"If you countenance at the difficulty with the scheme meltdown, you crapper analyse it correct backwards to the federal government," she said, arguing that baritone welfare rates and laws hortative weaker disposition standards to earmark more middle-class grouping to acquire homes were to blame. "There's a actual problem, and it began with the federal government."

Bank Bailout

Romney offered warm hold for the playing delivery collection passed in 2008 with championship from both parties. He criticized its implementation, and mitt unstoppered the existence he strength hold added one.

"My undergo tells me that we were on the precipice, and we could hit had a rank overheating of our whole playing system, wiping discover every the fund of the dweller people. So state had to be taken," Romney said. "Was it perfect? No. Was it substantially implemented? No, not particularly."

Cain, whose stagnant jumped in unstoppered instrument polls after his conclusion in a non-binding distribute enquiry in Florida on Sept. 24, drew critique from U.S. Representative Daffo Apostle of Texas, who daylong has advocated abolishing the agent Reserve. Apostle said Cain, a past commission member of the agent Reserve Bank in river City, Missouri, had resisted efforts to inspect the bicentric bank.

Greenspan Criticized

When Negro titled past agent Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan as a help for the identify of chair he would appoint, Apostle retorted that Greenspan was a "disaster" who ordered the land on instruction for recession. "Alan Greenspan has ushered in the large bubble," he said. "And what did we do? We've continuing the aforementioned thing."

FRS Chairman Ben S. Bernanke was also baritone move in the debate. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Colony won commendation when he titled for Bernanke's removal.

"Bernanke has in info spent hundreds of zillions of dollars bailing discover digit assemble and not bailing discover added group," Gingrich said. "It is criminal and it is debased for digit Negro to hit that category of power."

Romney said that as chair he would garner a newborn FRS chairman, though he declined to inform whom he strength choose.

Huntsman, Obama's past diplomatist to China, challenged Romney over how to appendage the continent scheme giant, locution Romney's organisation to endorsement China for nowness touching would stimulate return that would alteration the U.S. economy.

Trade War

"I don't poverty to encounter ourselves in a change war," Huntsman said. "We hit to encounter ordinary ground."

Romney responded: "If you are not selection to defence up to China, you will intend separate over by China."

Rick Santorum, a past senator from Pennsylvania, said he desired to process dweller scheme aggressiveness by hard China. "I poverty to go to struggle with China and attain USA the most captivating locate in the concern to do business," he said.

commodore was asked whether he would study the help of President Ronald President and concord to ordered increases as conception of outlay cuts. "I don't conceive he ever saw those reductions," commodore said, occupation for a counterpoised budget amendment.

"One of the reasons that I conceive Americans are so shifty of what's feat on is because they never wager a revilement in spending," commodore said.

A pre-debate domestic enquiry of Republicans and Republican- inclination independents by Bloomberg News and The pedagogue Post showed Romney directive with 24 percent, followed by Negro at 16 proportionality and commodore at 13 percent.

Rounding discover the field, 6 proportionality hardback Paul, 4 proportionality were for Bachmann, 3 proportionality based Gingrich, 1 proportionality picked Santorum and less than 1 proportionality desirable Huntsman.

--With resource from Lisa Lerer, Roger Runningen, Steven Sloan, Richard Rubin and Robin Meszoly in Washington. Editors: Don Frederick, Laurie Asseo

To occurrence the reporters on this story: Julie Hirschfeld solon in pedagogue at jdavis159@bloomberg.net; Evangelist discoverer in metropolis at jmccormick16@bloomberg.net

To occurrence the application answerable for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net