Below are some of the more memorable quotes (or slight variations thereof) from the Republican debate held at Drake University in Des Moines on December 10, 2011:

“Only reason you’re not a career politician is because you lost to Teddy Kennedy in 1994.”—-Newt Gingrich to Mitt Romney

“Newt, you probably got some of our taxpayer money”—-Ron Paul on Newt Gingrich working for Freddie Mac

Candidates will have “trouble competing with me on consistency”—-Ron Paul on who is the most consistent conservative

“If you look at ‘Newt Romney’”—-Michele Bachmann linking the policy views of Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney

“I know Newt Gingrich.  Newt Gingrich is a friend of mine.  We are not clones.”—-Mitt Romney pointing out that he differs in many ways from Newt Gingrich

“A vow to God is even stronger than a handshake in Texas”—-Rick Perry on whether marital infidelity is a sign of a serious character flaw

“A lot of what you said just isn’t true. Period.”—-Newt Gingrich’s response to Michele Bachmann’s characterization of “Newt Romney”

“A $10,000 bet?” Mitt Romney challenging Rick Perry to a bet on whether his book explicitly states his support for a federal individual mandate on healthcare (Rick Perry’s response: “I don’t gamble.”)

“I didn’t grow up poor.  And if somebody is looking for someone who grew up with that background, it isn’t me.”—-Mitt Romney on the last time he personally faced financial strain.

“Terry, you probably have some programs here that…”—-Rick Perry on leaving regulations governing healthy behavior to the states.  Governor Terry Branstad is heard shouting back, “We’re the healthiest state in the nation.”

“You don’t get a lot of true stories.  But that is a true story.”—-Rick Santorum talking about his start in politics.

“Congressman Paul got me really intrigued about the Federal Reserve.”—-Rick Perry talking about a candidate he has admired or learned something from.

“Governor Branstad is my role model.”—-Newt Gingrich talking about someone he has admired or learned something from

“Win, win, win”—-Michele Bachmann describing how she has borrowed a page from Herman Cain’s “9-9-9” policy as a way to describe her campaign strategy moving forward.

Reflections on the Des Moines debate