On the Trail: Aug. 30

The GOP field continues to compete for attention.

Barack Obama - Fresh from a week’s vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, President Obama is gearing up for Congress’ return to Washington next week. He has named labor economist Alan Krueger to be his top economist and will welcome lawmakers with a series of immediate steps he says they can take to spur job creation and the economy, which will be unveiled in a major jobs speech in September. How they will respond is anyone’s guess, but it will send a message to voters that he finally gets it.(Photo: AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

1 / 8

Barack Obama - Fresh from a week’s vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, President Obama is gearing up for Congress’ return to Washington next week. He has named labor economist Alan Krueger to be his top economist and will welcome lawmakers with a series of immediate steps he says they can take to spur job creation and the economy, which will be unveiled in a major jobs speech in September. How they will respond is anyone’s guess, but it will send a message to voters that he finally gets it.(Photo: AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Michele Bachmann - Rep. Michele Bachmann, who has been trailing behind Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the polls, said at a weekend campaign stop in Florida that, as president, she would turn the economy around within one quarter. The Minnesota lawmaker says she would cut corporate taxes and eliminate capital gains and inheritance taxes to help accomplish this goal, The New York Times reports.(Photo: AP Photo/Rick Wilson)

2 / 8

Michele Bachmann - Rep. Michele Bachmann, who has been trailing behind Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the polls, said at a weekend campaign stop in Florida that, as president, she would turn the economy around within one quarter. The Minnesota lawmaker says she would cut corporate taxes and eliminate capital gains and inheritance taxes to help accomplish this goal, The New York Times reports.(Photo: AP Photo/Rick Wilson)

Herman Cain - Herman Cain won a GOP straw poll in his home state of Georgia on Aug. 27, edging out Ron Paul and Mitt Romney, who was a distant fifth. Still, his campaign has not caught fire nationwide and may, in fact, be cooling down. In a recent Gallup poll of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, Cain came in at the bottom, with just four percent.(Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

3 / 8

Herman Cain - Herman Cain won a GOP straw poll in his home state of Georgia on Aug. 27, edging out Ron Paul and Mitt Romney, who was a distant fifth. Still, his campaign has not caught fire nationwide and may, in fact, be cooling down. In a recent Gallup poll of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, Cain came in at the bottom, with just four percent.(Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Newt Gingrich - Newt Gingrich’s determination to continue his presidential bid, despite many bumps along the campaign trail, may be paying off. Following his performance at the most recent GOP primary debate, during which he offered economic solutions, the campaign has gotten a boost in online donations, according to U.S. News & World Report. As one GOP analyst told the publication, "He moved out of the irrelevant category and now he has some standing.”(Photo: AP Photo/Jim Cole)

4 / 8

Newt Gingrich - Newt Gingrich’s determination to continue his presidential bid, despite many bumps along the campaign trail, may be paying off. Following his performance at the most recent GOP primary debate, during which he offered economic solutions, the campaign has gotten a boost in online donations, according to U.S. News & World Report. As one GOP analyst told the publication, "He moved out of the irrelevant category and now he has some standing.”(Photo: AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Rick Perry - Texas Gov. Rick Perry has a penchant for making controversial claims, some of which he’s had to backtrack on. But when it comes to Social Security, he’s sticking to his guns. Perry said in Iowa over the weekend that the federal insurance program that aids the elderly and disabled is akin to a Ponzi scheme. “It is a Ponzi scheme for these young people,” he said. “The idea that they’re working and paying into Social Security today, that the current program is going to be there for them, is a lie.”(Photo: AP Photo/Eric Gay)

5 / 8

Rick Perry - Texas Gov. Rick Perry has a penchant for making controversial claims, some of which he’s had to backtrack on. But when it comes to Social Security, he’s sticking to his guns. Perry said in Iowa over the weekend that the federal insurance program that aids the elderly and disabled is akin to a Ponzi scheme. “It is a Ponzi scheme for these young people,” he said. “The idea that they’re working and paying into Social Security today, that the current program is going to be there for them, is a lie.”(Photo: AP Photo/Eric Gay)

ADVERTISEMENT
Ron Paul - If Texas Rep. Ron Paul makes it to the White House, he would likely try to abolish the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which he believes is a disaster of an agency. In an interview on Fox News Sunday, as President Obama praised its response to Hurricane Irene, Paul said, “It’s a system of bureaucratic centralized economic planning that is a policy that is deeply flawed. They contribute to deficit financing and, quite frankly, they don’t have a penny in the bank.”(Photo: AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

6 / 8

Ron Paul - If Texas Rep. Ron Paul makes it to the White House, he would likely try to abolish the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which he believes is a disaster of an agency. In an interview on Fox News Sunday, as President Obama praised its response to Hurricane Irene, Paul said, “It’s a system of bureaucratic centralized economic planning that is a policy that is deeply flawed. They contribute to deficit financing and, quite frankly, they don’t have a penny in the bank.”(Photo: AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Mitt Romney - With Rick Perry threatening his perceived frontrunner status, Mitt Romney may need to rethink his campaign strategy. In a recent Gallup poll, Perry surpassed him by 29 percent to 17 percent in a survey of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.(Photo: AP Photo/Jim Cole)

7 / 8

Mitt Romney - With Rick Perry threatening his perceived frontrunner status, Mitt Romney may need to rethink his campaign strategy. In a recent Gallup poll, Perry surpassed him by 29 percent to 17 percent in a survey of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.(Photo: AP Photo/Jim Cole)

 Rick Santorum - Rick Santorum has built a career on his extremely conservative social values and has been a very vocal opponent of gay marriage. Now the former Pennsylvania senator is saying that the gay community has “gone out on a jihad” against him. At a recent South Carolina campaign stop, he said. “So the gay community said, 'He's comparing gay sex to incest and polygamy, how dare he do this,' and they have gone out on a, I would argue, jihad against Rick Santorum since then.”(Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

8 / 8

 Rick Santorum - Rick Santorum has built a career on his extremely conservative social values and has been a very vocal opponent of gay marriage. Now the former Pennsylvania senator is saying that the gay community has “gone out on a jihad” against him. At a recent South Carolina campaign stop, he said. “So the gay community said, 'He's comparing gay sex to incest and polygamy, how dare he do this,' and they have gone out on a, I would argue, jihad against Rick Santorum since then.”(Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)