2012 Election
Mitt Romney is still the leader in New Hampshire by a margin of more than 25 points, and he's the only candidate with an approval rating above 50 percent. He and Newt Gingrich are tied in terms of who voters think would do best in a debate against President Barack Obama, and they're also the only candidates whom a majority of voters consider "presidential." Reuters

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney defended the Wall Street bailout on Tuesday night during the GOP presidential debate from New Hampshire.

The 2008 bailout is a contentious topic among conservatives and the Tea Party, but Romney Wall Street needed it not only to keep the dollar's value from dipping, but also to make sure that we didn't all lose our jobs.

Romney also said the bailouts were mismanaged and that he supported George W. Bush administration's decision to make sure you don't lose the country and you don't lose the financial system.

We could have had a complete meltdown, Romney said. Action had to be taken. Was it perfect? No. Was it well implemented? Not particularly.

Romney said his opposition to the bailouts was with the auto industry.

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