Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks to local residents during a campaign stop at the Java Lounge coffee shop, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011, in Williamsburg, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks to local residents during a campaign stop at the Java Lounge coffee shop, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011, in Williamsburg, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during the Republican Presidential Forum on Manufacturing, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011, in Pella, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks during a town hall meeting with employees at Pioneer Hi-Bred, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011, in Johnston, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks during the Republican Presidential Forum on Manufacturing, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011, in Pella, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., makes an economic policy address, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011, at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? Herman Cain's presidential rivals focused Friday on anything but the decade-old sexual harassment allegations dogging the Georgia businessman's campaign.
No one, it seemed, was eager to weigh in on Cain and the furor that has consumed the race for the GOP nomination over the past week. Five of Cain's opponents were in Iowa to court Republicans at a GOP dinner in the state that holds the race's leadoff caucuses in just two months.
Before the event, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum outlined his social agenda during a morning speech to supporters and later visited a gun show. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas planned an afternoon town hall. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry were arriving just before the dinner.
As the day began, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, campaigning in Iowa, told NBC's "Today" show "you won't find any surprises with me" but otherwise refused to talk publicly about the allegations against the Georgia businessman. She focused, instead, on talking about the economy and taxes.
Back in Washington, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney delivered a speech about cutting spending in an appearance before Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group aligned with the tea party. He made no mention of Cain even though he spoke just minutes before the Georgia businessman took the stage.
Neither Romney nor Cain was attending the Iowa dinner, though both are competing in the state.
As the controversy entered its fifth day, none of Cain's rivals rushed to criticize or defend him against allegations of sexual harassment made in the 1990s by at least two women who worked with him when he was head of the National Restaurant Association. Two reportedly received financial settlements.
However, earlier in the week, a Santorum adviser suggested the public didn't know all the facts, and Cain should allow the trade group to release his accusers from confidentiality agreements. And Gingrich decried media coverage of the allegations and said Cain's tax plans deserve more attention.
Over the past five days, Cain has repeatedly denied wrongdoing even as he gave conflicting accounts about what ? if anything ? he knew about the alleged incidents as well as whether he knew about the financial settlements.
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