WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Another week, another Republican presidential debate.

The candidates competing for the Republican nomination to take on President Barack Obama go at it again on Tuesday night in Las Vegas in their eighth televised debate — the fifth since early September.

By John Whitesides and Ros Krasny

HANOVER, N.H. (Reuters) – Republican front-runner Mitt Romney largely ignored his presidential rivals at a debate on Tuesday, casting himself as the candidate most suited to rescue the economy and lead the party back to the White House.

At an economic debate that featured harsh criticism of the federal government from his rivals, the former Massachusetts governor touted his real-world experience, defended corporate bailouts and rarely broke a sweat.

HANOVER, New Hampshire (Reuters) – Republican presidential contenders blamed the federal government on Tuesday for the struggling economy and harshly criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke during the early stages of a 2012 debate.

Several of the Republicans seeking the nomination to unseat President Barack Obama in 2012 said government policies had led to the economic slowdown and refused to place blame on Wall Street or corporations.

HANOVER, New Hampshire (Reuters) – Republican Rick Perry hopes to end a string of poor performances and campaign rival Mitt Romney looks to consolidate his newly regained front-runner status at a presidential debate on Tuesday.

The debate will be Herman Cain’s first moment in the national political spotlight since gaining momentum with his surprise Florida straw poll win last month, and the former pizza executive is sure to face new scrutiny.

, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Republican presidential
hopeful Jon Huntsman called on Monday for a new era of U.S.
global engagement based on strong economic partnerships and a
leading role in what he said would be a new “Pacific Century.”

Huntsman, a former U.S. envoy to China who bills himself as
the most experienced foreign policy hand in the Republican
race, said the United States should erase the old Cold War-era
maps designed to contain communism and focus on building new
relationships.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican Rick Perry, hoping to revive his struggling presidential bid, promised social conservatives on Friday that he would protect the family and restore the economy by getting the federal government out of their way.

The Texas governor, who has seen his lead in polls in the 2012 race disappear in recent weeks, also defended his border policies that have been under attack by some conservatives and said “there is no homeland security without border security.”

WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Their views on the economy
are relentlessly bleak, but America’s so-called Walmart Moms –
the much-coveted working-class female voters whose support can
swing an election — do not blame President Barack Obama and
have not given up on him.

In voter focus groups conducted on Wednesday night in the
political battleground states of Florida, New Hampshire and
Iowa, the young mothers used words like disappointing,
mediocre, wishy-washy and indifferent to describe Obama.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After months of turmoil and uncertainty, the Republican 2012 presidential race finally appears to have a settled field of candidates — with Mitt Romney solidifying his perch at the top of the pack.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s decision not to seek the presidency ends the “will-he-or-won’t-he” phase of the campaign, when a parade of Republicans rejected pleas to run from party insiders unhappy with the field.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – For Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry, already struggling to prove he is ready for prime time, new questions about the racially insensitive name of his family’s hunting camp come at the worst possible time.

When he needs to be proving he has the political skills and substance needed to take on President Barack Obama, Perry instead must spend valuable campaign time assuring voters he is not a racist — hardly the message of a winning candidate.