Inside the issues of the first GOP debate

On presidential qualifications

JEB BUSH: "Maybe the bar is even higher for me. … I'm my own man."

CHRIS CHRISTIE: "I am darn proud of how we brought our state back."

TED CRUZ: If you want a president to agree with politicians, "then I ain't your guy."

MARCO RUBIO: "This election cannot be a résumé competition. … [If it is] then Hillary Clinton's going to" be elected.

On the U.S.-Mexico border

CRUZ: Leaders "don't want to enforce the immigration laws. … I have never supported amnesty."

SCOTT WALKER: "I believe we need to secure the border. … Enforce the law, no amnesty."

BUSH: "There should be a path to earn legal status for those who are here."

JOHN KASICH: "We all have different ways of getting there."

DONALD TRUMP: "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be talking about illegal immigration."

On stopping ISIL

WALKER: "We are leading from behind under the Obama-Clinton doctrine."

BUSH: "Obama became president and he abandoned Iraq. … [ISIL] was created because of
the void."

CRUZ: "We need" a president "who makes clear: If you join …[ISIL] then you are signing your death warrant."

On an independent candidacy

TRUMP: "I cannot say, 'I have to respect the person, who is not me.' … I will not make the pledge."

On less government

MIKE HUCKABEE: "We have a Wall Street-to-Washington axis of power … and the result is federal government keeps getting bigger."

CARSON: "We need a significantly changed taxation system and the one I've advocated is based on tithing."

On abortion

WALKER: "Unlike Hillary Clinton, who has a radical position ... I defunded Planned Parenthood."

BUSH: "I defunded Planned Parenthood. I created a culture of life."

RUBIO: "All human life at every stage of its development is worthy of protection."

On foreign policy

CARSON: "We have weakened ourselves militarily. … Our friends can't trust us anymore."

HUCKABEE: "The disaster is that we've forgotten why we have a military. We've decimated our military."

PAUL: "We ought to quit sending [foreign aid] to countries that hate us."

CRUZ: "Our enemies are stronger. … We need a new commander in chief that will stand up to
our enemies."

TRUMP: "We have people in Washington that don't know what they're doing."

On jobs and the economy

TRUMP: "I employ thousands of people and I'm very proud. … This country needs somebody
like me."

BUSH: "We need to … fix a convoluted tax code … get rid of Obamacare and replace it."

RUBIO: "We need to even out the tax code for smaller businesses."