Republican presidential candidates gear up for Iowa straw poll

Ahead of Saturday’s Iowa straw poll, Republican candidates vying for the 2012 presidential nomination have followed up their debate performances Thursday with eager campaigning at the Iowa State Fair to try and set themselves apart from the pack.

A number of candidates spent the morning after the debate on the hustings at the Iowa State Fair, kissing babies and eating pork chops for the cameras.

At the debate Thursday night in Ames, Iowa, eight Republican candidates — Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman and Newt Gingrich — lashed out at each other as they jostled for position in the race for the White House.

Rick Perry and Sarah Palin were notably absent from the debate, which took place at Iowa State University.

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney defended his record as an investment banker whose businesses often cut jobs, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich lashed out at queries about turmoil in his own campaign, calling such questions "Mickey Mouse.”

Candidate Herman Cain, meanwhile, capped his debate performance with a quote traced to a Donna Summer song.

In what U.S. media widely described as one of the weirder moments of the debate, Cain recited what he said was an inspirational quote: "A poet once said, 'life can be a challenge, life can seem impossible, but it's never easy when there's so much on the line.'"

These words have since been attributed to disco queen Donna Summer, from her song "The Power of One," which she recorded as the theme song for Pokémon: The Movie 2000.

At the Iowa State Fair a day after the debate, Cain, a former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, told reporters he is running for president because of a “deficiency of leadership” in Washington.

Michele Bachmann faced a broad-sided attack at Thursday's debate for her policy stances, and she was forced to defend her friendship with Sarah Palin, who has yet to declare her candidacy.

Texas Governor Rick Perry was also a presence at the debate despite his physical absence, having not yet formally announced his candidacy. He is expected to do so in a speech on Saturday.

Perry has been left off the ballot for Saturday's Iowa straw poll.