On the Trail: Week of Aug. 16

The GOP contest is looking like a three-person race.

Barack Obama - President Obama hit the road Monday for a three-day bus tour of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois —three crucial battleground states — to talk with voters about how to boost the economy and job creation and strengthen the middle class. Republicans are slamming the effort, calling it a campaign trip and another sign that Obama cares more about his job than jobs for Americans.(Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Barack Obama - President Obama hit the road Monday for a three-day bus tour of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois —three crucial battleground states — to talk with voters about how to boost the economy and job creation and strengthen the middle class. Republicans are slamming the effort, calling it a campaign trip and another sign that Obama cares more about his job than jobs for Americans.(Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Photo By AP Photo/Carlos Osorio

Michele Bachmann - Rep. Michele Bachmann may have won the Ames straw poll, but with Texas Gov. Rick Perry now in the race, she may have to rethink her celebrity style. While Perry worked the room at Black Hawk County Republicans dinner, stopping at every table, the Minnesota congresswoman acted more like Madonna, having little to no interaction with the attendees before or after her speech. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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Michele Bachmann - Rep. Michele Bachmann may have won the Ames straw poll, but with Texas Gov. Rick Perry now in the race, she may have to rethink her celebrity style. While Perry worked the room at Black Hawk County Republicans dinner, stopping at every table, the Minnesota congresswoman acted more like Madonna, having little to no interaction with the attendees before or after her speech. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Herman Cain - Herman Cain is taking a weeklong "Common Sense Solutions" bus tour through Iowa that will end at the state's upcoming Ames straw poll. The Black Republican also has released an online video ad that seeks to answer the question, "Who is Herman Cain?" In the ad, Cain touts his experience as a businessman, which he says would make him a better president than a "career politician."

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Herman Cain - Herman Cain delighted Ames straw poll voters when he performed two gospel numbers on Saturday, but they weren’t feeling as much love when they cast their ballots and Cain came in at a distant fifth. The former Godfather’s Pizza exec says he’s happy being in the middle of the pack and has no intention of ending his campaign.(Photo: Rod Lamkey Jr/The Washington Times)

Newt Gingrich - Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who once led a Republican revolution, may not yet be ready to concede defeat, but sounded as though he may be leaning that way during a weekend campaign stop in Iowa. (Photo: AP Photo/Bruce Smith)

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Newt Gingrich - Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who once led a Republican revolution, may not yet be ready to concede defeat, but sounded as though he may be leaning that way during a weekend campaign stop in Iowa. (Photo: AP Photo/Bruce Smith)

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Jon Huntsman - Jon Huntsman came in second to last in the Ames poll with a sad 69 votes. But like Herman Cain and Rick Santorum, he has no plans to leave the race and is becoming more publically critical of the man they think is the one to beat, Mitt Romney. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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Ron Paul - Texas Rep. Ron Paul placed a very close second in the Ames straw poll, with about 4167 votes, just 152 fewer than Bachmann. His campaign says that he’s a top contender whose message has never changed and is “surging” with the voters.(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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Ron Paul - Texas Rep. Ron Paul placed a very close second in the Ames straw poll, with about 4167 votes, just 152 fewer than Bachmann. His campaign says that he’s a top contender whose message has never changed and is “surging” with the voters.(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Rick Perry - Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been in the GOP presidential race for a mere few days, but he’s off like a shot and suddenly one of the party’s top three contenders. He’s backpedaling on previous positions, such as a 2007 effort to require girls to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus, the principal cause of cervical cancer.(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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Rick Perry - Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been in the GOP presidential race for a mere few days, but he’s off like a shot and suddenly one of the party’s top three contenders. He’s backpedaling on previous positions, such as a 2007 effort to require girls to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus, the principal cause of cervical cancer.(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Tim Pawlenty - He’s out. After his poor showing at the Ames straw poll, Tim Pawlenty read the tea leaves and ended his presidential bid on Sunday.(Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

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Tim Pawlenty - He’s out. After his poor showing at the Ames straw poll, Tim Pawlenty read the tea leaves and ended his presidential bid on Sunday.(Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

Mitt Romney  - Mitt Romney has some deciding to do. The perceived frontrunner now faces some stiff competition from Perry. As The Washington Post reports, when Perry starts going after him, Romney “won’t know what hit him.”(Photo: AP Photo/Jim Cole)

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Mitt Romney  - Mitt Romney has some deciding to do. The perceived frontrunner now faces some stiff competition from Perry. As The Washington Post reports, when Perry starts going after him, Romney “won’t know what hit him.”(Photo: AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Rick Santorum - Rick Santorum, who says he entered the presidential race to stop government-controlled health care, told the Des Moines Register editorial board on Aug. 5 that people who are worried about medical costs should reconsider some of their "creature comforts." Recalling a woman who mentioned her monthly prescription bill, he said, "You're complaining that you're paying $200 a month and it keeps you alive? What's your cable bill? I mean, what's your cell phone bill? Because she had a cell phone. And how can you say that you complain that you have $200 to keep you alive and that's a problem? No, that's a blessing!"(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Rick Santorum - Rick Santorum took fourth place in Ames, coming in behind Pawlenty. But unlike his former rival, the former Pennsylvania senator is feeling energized, Politico reports, which was reflected in the level of donations the campaign received online overnight after the results were in. (Photo: AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)