On the Trail: Week of July 15

GOP candidates take swipes at each other and Obama.

Herman Cain - Former Godfather’s Pizza CEO, Herman Cain, continues to gain ground on the campaign trail. In addition to greater name recognition, Cain beat former Massachusetts governor and GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney in The Washington Times/Conservative Leadership Conference straw poll in Henderson, Nevada, on Saturday.(Photo: Steve Pope/Getty Images)

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Herman Cain - Former Godfather’s Pizza CEO, Herman Cain, continues to gain ground on the campaign trail. In addition to greater name recognition, Cain beat former Massachusetts governor and GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney in The Washington Times/Conservative Leadership Conference straw poll in Henderson, Nevada, on Saturday.(Photo: Steve Pope/Getty Images)

Tim Pawlenty - Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty dissed fellow presidential candidate Michele Bachman on NBC's Meet the Press. "We're looking for someone who can lead a large enterprise in a public setting and drive it to conclusion. I have done that; she hasn't." Bachmann's response: "People can count on me as a fighter; I am proud of my record of fighting with resolve, and without apology, for our free markets, for sane fiscal policies and in opposition to the advancement of the big government left." (Photo: Brian Snyder/Landov)

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Tim Pawlenty - Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty dissed fellow presidential candidate Michele Bachman on NBC's Meet the Press. "We're looking for someone who can lead a large enterprise in a public setting and drive it to conclusion. I have done that; she hasn't." Bachmann's response: "People can count on me as a fighter; I am proud of my record of fighting with resolve, and without apology, for our free markets, for sane fiscal policies and in opposition to the advancement of the big government left." (Photo: Brian Snyder/Landov)

Michele Bachmann - Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann faced criticism this week for signing a controversial marriage pledge that claimed Black children were better off during slavery than they are now that President Obama is in office. It was dropped after the news broke, causing a political storm. Bachmann, however, claims that the passage wasn’t in the document that she signed and that she "abhors" slavery under any circumstances. Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich and Tim Pawlenty announced this week that they won't be signing the pledge.(Photo: Jim Gehrz/AP Photo)

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Michele Bachmann - Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann faced criticism this week for signing a controversial marriage pledge that claimed Black children were better off during slavery than they are now that President Obama is in office. It was dropped after the news broke, causing a political storm. Bachmann, however, claims that the passage wasn’t in the document that she signed and that she "abhors" slavery under any circumstances. Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich and Tim Pawlenty announced this week that they won't be signing the pledge.(Photo: Jim Gehrz/AP Photo)

Mitt Romney - Mitt Romney announced this week that he wouldn't be signing the pledge.(Photo: EPA/JUSTIN LANE /LANDOV)

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Mitt Romney - Mitt Romney announced this week that he wouldn't be signing the pledge.(Photo: EPA/JUSTIN LANE /LANDOV)

Newt Gingrich - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is now running a different kind of campaign. Instead of consultants, he's using volunteers from his home state of Georgia to phone voters and is holding free Google+ videoconferences on different issues, the Quad-City Times reports. A leaner, downsized campaign "gets you down to a pace of you and the voters, where you and the voters are connecting and there's not a lot of clutter in between," Gingrich said.

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Newt Gingrich - Though Newt Gingrich's campaign may be at death's doorstep, that isn’t stopping him from slamming a proposal by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for a limited debt ceiling increase deal, calling it "an irresponsible surrender."(Photo: David McNew/Getty Images)

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President Obama - President Obama raised a jaw-dropping $86 million during the presidential election cycle's second quarter, including $38 million that will be shared with the Democratic National Committee. It’s also more than the $35 million that the GOP field raised collectively. Here's how they did: Mitt Romney, $18.25 million; Ron Paul, $4.5 million; Tim Pawlenty $4.1 million; Jon Huntsman, $4.1 million; Herman Cain, $2.5 million; and Newt Gingrich, $2 million.(Photo: AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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President Obama - President Obama raised a jaw-dropping $86 million during the presidential election cycle's second quarter, including $38 million that will be shared with the Democratic National Committee. It’s also more than the $35 million that the GOP field raised collectively. Here's how they did: Mitt Romney, $18.25 million; Ron Paul, $4.5 million; Tim Pawlenty $4.1 million; Jon Huntsman, $4.1 million; Herman Cain, $2.5 million; and Newt Gingrich, $2 million.(Photo: AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sarah Palin - Former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is still flirting with the idea of entering the race. And, she says, if she does decide to jump in, she could win.(Photo: AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

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Sarah Palin - Former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is still flirting with the idea of entering the race. And, she says, if she does decide to jump in, she could win.(Photo: AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Ron Paul - Revolution PAC, a political action committee formed to support Rep. Ron Paul's presidential bid, has announced plans to launch a fundraising "superbomb" on Sept. 19 that aims to raise as much money as possible in one day. The Texas Republican has made recent gains in the polls, coming in third in a USA Today/Gallup survey at 14 percent, behind Mitt Romney (24 percent) and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (17 percent), who is expected to announce a presidential bid this weekend.(REUTERS /BRIAN FRANK /LANDOV)

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Ron Paul - Texas Republican Ron Paul has decided to retire from his House seat in Congress to focus on his bid for the GOP's presidential nomination instead of running for both offices as he has in the past. "I think that you have more credibility if you run for only one office at a time," the 75-year-old said Tuesday. "I believe I can continue to do what I have been doing outside of Congress. I was ready for a change."(Photo: REUTERS /BRIAN FRANK /LANDOV)

Jon Huntsman - Jon Huntsman is trying to gain some much-needed traction on the campaign trail by targeting fellow Mormon Mitt Romney. This week his campaign slammed the former Massachusetts governor's bragging about his record on job creation, saying that during Romney's tenure the state ranked 47 out of 50 in that area. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Jon Huntsman - Jon Huntsman is trying to gain some much-needed traction on the campaign trail by targeting fellow Mormon Mitt Romney. This week his campaign slammed the former Massachusetts governor's bragging about his record on job creation, saying that during Romney's tenure the state ranked 47 out of 50 in that area. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)