Cain atop the Republican heap in several polls despite sexual harassment claims
Romney calls Iran Obama's 'greatest failure' and urged pre-emptive action
Gingrich: 'You take whatever steps are necessary to break their capacity'
Cain endorses waterboarding, calling it 'enhanced interrogation', not torture
Rick Perry says his foreign aid budget will start at 'zero dollars'
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:06 PM on 13th November 2011
In spite of multiple sexual harassment claims, most U.S. polls have Herman Cain at the top of the Republican heap, but can he keep it going?
An AARP poll Friday night shows the former pizza boss over GOP rival Mitt Romney, 25 per cent to 22 per cent in Iowa.
In South Carolina, he edges the former Massachusetts governor 28 per cent to 27 per cent.
Cain is reportedly a close second in the next crucial state, Florida - where the former Godfather's Pizza CEO enjoys strong Tea Party support.
Charles Bullock, a political scientist at the University of Georgia, told the New York Daily News: 'No one believed he’d get as far as he has and yet he’s still in this thing.'
He added: 'A lot of voters see him as being authentic and a straight-talker. He's not a politician, and that’s a strength right now.'
A CBS poll has Cain and Romney in a three-way tie with Newt Gingrich, who’s gaining ground thanks to two solid debate appearances this week.
Last night, Romney and Gingrich both used the presidential debate on foreign policy to back a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to stop the country obtaining nuclear weapons.
Romney said that if 'crippling sanctions' failed, war would be an option because it is 'unacceptable' for Iran to become a nuclear power, while ex-House Speaker Gingrich argued the United States should covertly 'take out their scientists,' and 'break up their systems'.
'If we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon. And if you elect Mitt Romney, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,' vowed Romney.
The Republican presidential hopefuls were unanimously critical of Barack Obama during the sparring session, but they disagreed over the right course in Afghanistan and the use of waterboarding.
On waterboarding, Cain and Rep Michele Bachmann both said they would reinstate the technique designed to simulate drowning.
High-flying Cain went one step further, adding that he would leave it up to military leaders - rather than their civilian superiors - to decide what forms of interrogation amount to torture, which he said he opposes.
As for the war in Afghanistan, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman and Representative Ron Paul of Texas both said it was time for U.S. troops to come home after a combat mission of 10 years duration.
While the Republicans were talking about foreign policy, President Obama was on the world stage, as America's diplomat in chief.
After meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Hawaii, he said the two men intend to 'shape a common response' to new allegations that Iran has been covertly trying to build a nuclear bomb.
The issue is fraught because the regime in Tehran is harshly anti-Israel, a nation the United States has pledged to defend.
If the presidential trip gave the Republicans pause, they didn't show it in a 90-minute debate.
'There are a number of ways to be smart about Iran, and a few ways to be stupid. The administration skipped all the ways to be smart,' said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
The debate occurred less than two months before the formal selection of national convention delegates begins on January 3 in the Iowa caucuses, with the race remarkably unsettled.
Romney has been at or near the top of the public opinion polls for months, while a succession of rivals vying to emerge as his principal challenger has risen and fallen in turn.
The latest soundings show Cain the current leader in that sweepstakes, although Gingrich has risen significantly in national polls in recent weeks as Perry has fallen back.
And while the subject matter of defense and foreign policy didn't readily lend itself to a discussion of the principal campaign controversies, the race has had plenty of them in the past two weeks.
Cain has stoutly denied any and all charges of sexual harassment - four women have leveled accusations - while Perry embarked on an apology tour after failing in a debate Wednesday night to remember the name of the third of three Cabinet-level departments he wants to abolish.
The debate at Wofford College was crisp, and any attempts to score points off a rival lacked the personal antagonism of earlier encounters.
The tone was set at the outset, when the Republicans were asked if they would support a pre-emptive strike to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Gingrich quickly agreed with Romney, saying that if all other steps failed, 'you have to take whatever steps are necessary' to prevent the Islamic regime from gaining a nuclear weapon.
Former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania agreed. Noting that a mysterious computer virus had caused disruption inside Iran's nuclear labs, and that Iranian scientists have been killed in recent months, he said, 'I hope that the U.S. has been involved' in those and other covert actions.
Paul wanted no part of a military strike. 'It's not worthwhile to go to war,' he said. He added said that if America's security is threatened the president must ask Congress for a formal declaration of war before taking military action.
Perry responded without answering the question. 'This country can sanction the Iranian central bank right now and shut down that country's economy, and that's what the president needs to do,' he said.
The United States has long had sanctions in place against Iran, and Obama's news conference in Hawaii suggested there will soon be more.
The war in Afghanistan produced the same range of responses as the question relating to Iran's nuclear ambitions - unanimous criticism of the president but differences among the Republicans seeking to take his place.
Huntsman, who served as Obama's first ambassador to China, said it was time to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan, a land where their boots first touched the soil a decade ago. 'I say it's time to come home. I say this nation has achieved its key objectives,' he said.
Romney and Perry said they would side with military commanders on the ground about when to withdraw troops. They criticized Obama for 'telegraphing' the nation's intentions.
Yet Romney backed a timetable of a complete withdrawal by the end of 2014, the same that Obama has cited.
Obama's would-be successors differed on waterboarding, as well, the interrogation technique that former President George W. Bush authorized and Obama has banned.
While Cain and Bachmann both said they would reinstate the technique, Huntsman said use of the procedure diminishes U.S. standing in the world and Paul said it is illegal.
Romney wasn't asked directly, but said he would 'use whatever means necessary to protect America.'
Perry said: 'This is war. That's what happens in war. I'm for using the techniques, not torture, but using those techniques that we know will extract the information to save young Americans' lives - and will be for it until I die.'
IRAN
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney warned that only his administration could prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
'If we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon,' Romney said. 'And if we elect Mitt Romney, if you'd like me as the next president, they will not have a nuclear weapon.'
Herman Cain said he supports regime change in Iran, but stopped short of threatening military action. He favours moving warships to the region to deter Iran and would support the resistance to Tehran to overthrow the regime.
Texas Governor Rick Perry said America should sanction the Iranian central bank to 'shut down that country's economy. And that's what the president needs to do.'
And rival Ron Paul, a congressman from Texas, says any use of force against Iran would require approval from Congress.
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PERRY'S GAFFE
Perry poked fun at himself again for forgetting about the Department of Energy during the last debate when he tried to name the three agencies he'd cut.
On this night, Perry said he was glad that moderator Scott Pelley of CBS News remembered to ask him about the Energy Department. The moderator said he's had some time to think about it.
'Me too,' Perry cracked back, drawing laughs from the knowing audience.
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DON'T BAIT NEWT
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich — who is rising in polls — refused to take the bait when asked to evaluate former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who leads the GOP field in polls.
'No,' Gingrich said.
When the moderator noted that Gingrich had been willing to criticise Romney the night before, Gingrich responded: 'Yesterday, I was on a national radio show.'
He took a pass on this night, adding: 'We're here tonight talking about how every one of us is better than President Obama.'
Gingrich called Romney 'a friend who's a great businessman' and 'a great improvement over Obama.'
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HOME STATE SENATORS
Toward the end of the debate, South Carolina's junior and senior U.S. senator took over the questioning — and used the opportunity to raise their pet issues.
Senator Lindsay Graham pressed the candidates on the prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as well as on interrogation techniques and military tribunals — topics he's long worked on in the Senate.
Senetor Jim DeMint asked the candidates what programs they'd cut to bring down the debt — perhaps the top issue among fans of the tea party.
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WHAT YOU DIDN'T SEE ON TV
As the debate began, someone shouted: 'The military loves Ron Paul!'
Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor who left office in disgrace after acknowledging an affair with an Argentine woman, was on hand.
Gingrich got a strong reaction from the crowd with one word: 'No.' He refused to criticise Romney in front of this audience as he did earlier this week in questioning Romney's ability to think outside the box.
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