Orlando - Republican Rick Perry headed into a US presidential debate on Thursday looking to put more distance between himself and rival Mitt Romney and rebound from two uneven performances with his competitors.
Perry, Romney and six other candidates take the stage in the third in a series of debates aimed at helping Republicans decide who they want as their nominee to face Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 2012 election.
So far Perry, the Texas governor and Tea Party movement favourite, holds the front-running position but his lead is considered fragile over Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and the choice of many mainstream Republicans.
“We believe in the conservative principles that made our country great. Our founders didn't need a nanny state to carve out the greatest civilisation known to man,” Perry told a Faith and Freedom Coalition Rally before the debate.
Republicans increasingly see a good chance to oust Obama from the White House with the US economy struggling to rebound from 9.1 percent unemployment and chronic debt and deficits.
But a 391-point drop in the stock market on the very day of the debate was likely to increase pressure on the candidates to explain how they would rebuild the economy if elected. Foreign policy and social issues were expected to get a full airing as well.
The two-hour debate, sponsored by Fox News and Google, begins at 9pm.
The market turmoil may provide fodder for Romney to tout his career as a business executive.
“I've spent my life in the private sector. I'm a business guy,” Romney told the faith rally.
Perry has delighted Tea Party movement conservatives, but he has raised eyebrows among moderate voters by denouncing the Social Security programme as a “Ponzi scheme” and condemning Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as “almost treasonous.”
This has given Romney an opening to attack Perry as out of the mainstream and the issue could come up again with Florida's large percentage of elderly voters wary of any changes to the government retirement programme.
The two men are expected to clash anew over Social Security, healthcare and jobs. A USA Today/Gallup poll on Wednesday found Perry leading Romney 31 percent to 24 percent among Republican likely voters.
“I think I am that person who can clearly delineate the differences. We don't need to nominate 'Obama-lite’. We don't need to nominate someone who's going to blur the lines between President Obama and our nominee,” Perry said.
Analysts say the race is wide open.
“I continue to think that the Republican race is remarkably fluid and Republican primary voters are still in a shopping mode,” said Ari Fleischer, a former press secretary to president George W. Bush. “There's no doubt that there are two leading contenders. But their leads are built on sand, not stone.”
The debate may be significant for candidates who have appeared to be fading in recent weeks, including Minnesota US Representative Michele Bachmann, who has been hurt most by Perry's rise, and former US ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, a moderate who has failed to catch fire. - Reuters