GOP's seven make final Iowa pitch

DES MOINES ? Vote for me.

The seven major Republican presidential contenders argued in interviews with USA Today that they alone have the boldest policy prescriptions, the strongest experience and the best prospects of defeating President Barack Obama and winning back the White House for the GOP.

All described the 2012 election as critical for a nation they say has lost its way.

Days before the Iowa caucuses open a string of primaries and other contests, the contenders talked after photo opportunities and before town-hall meetings, as they sat backstage and rode in campaign buses festooned with campaign slogans.

?I want to be America?s Margaret Thatcher,? Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann declared, saying her ?titanium spine? echoes the strength of the British prime minister who aligned herself with President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. ?I will be the next Iron Lady.?

Texas Rep. Ron Paul portrayed the contest in near-apocalyptic terms: ?We desperately need a restoration of our constitutional principles and limited government.?

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he can revitalize the nation?s economy. ?If they are looking for someone who?s got the executive governing experience in creating jobs and creating an environment where men and women can have the dignity to take care of their family, there?s not anybody on that stage that even gets close to what I?ve been a part of in the state of Texas,? he said in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

To say the Iowa contest has been close and convoluted would be an understatement.

Five of the seven candidates ? former House speaker Newt Gingrich, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, Bachmann, Paul and Perry ? have led in statewide surveys at some point this year. A sixth, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, is on the rise.

Even now, Iowa voters at campaign events taking place from Dubuque in the east to Sioux City in the west say they haven?t firmly made up their minds.

?We?re definitely looking at the Republican side, because we need another big change,? said Robert Carmody, 62, standing in the back of Homer?s Bakery and Deli in Clinton, Iowa, for the chance to see Romney. He?s considering Romney or Paul.

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?I?m still looking at Mitt Romney and Newt ? one of those two,? said his wife, Suzi, 61.

In a fluid race, attacks on rivals have sharpened.

Santorum called Paul?s candidacy ?a sideshow,? saying the libertarian?s isolationist positions on foreign policy make it impossible for him to win the nomination.

Gingrich scoffed at Romney as ?a Massachusetts moderate? who has benefited from ?dishonest? attack ads aired by his backers. ?It strikes me as very unlikely that people who can?t defend their record are going to win negative campaigns in the long run,? he said. Gingrich said he has the experience in Washington needed to get things done.

Romney, touting his business background, said his opponents have too much governmental experience. ?Nothing wrong with politics,? he said. ?It?s just not the background needed to get Washington thinking outside the political box.?

Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, who has centered his campaign in New Hampshire, hit at Gingrich and Romney. ?If people?s opinion of conservatism is someone who will say anything or take any side of an issue to get elected, then Mitt?s their guy,? he said. ?If people?s opinion of conservatism is a grandiose, 40-year insider, then Newt is their guy. If they want a consistent, proven leader, then I?m their person.?

Source: http://www.app.com/article/20111230/NJNEWS/312300018/1001/NEWS&source=rss

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