"If that's your view of effective leadership, please stop. You are killing us," Pawlenty said. "The American people are going to demand more."
Bachmann shot back that Pawlenty's record as governor of Minnesota sounds "a lot more like Barack Obama, if you ask me," citing his support for environmental policies that would cap the emission of greenhouse gases and for a mandate that individuals buy health insurance.
"I have a very consistent record of fighting against Barack Obama," she said. "That is what qualifies me as a fighter and a representative of the people. People are looking for a champion."
Bachmann turned a strong performance in the last debate, two months ago in New Hampshire, into momentum in Iowa, rising to the top of the field in polls. That has made her a target of media attention and of her rivals, particularly Pawlenty, who has spent $1 million to organize for the straw poll, a symbolic test of campaign strength that he is looking to use to gain traction for his campaign.
Pawlenty, who is aiming at the same base of religious and fiscal conservatives as Bachmann, seemed to falter after he failed to press an attack against Mitt Romney in the New Hampshire debate.
Romney, as the front-runner, probably benefited from the conflict Thursday night between Pawlenty and Bachmann; few shots were taken at him. He said he would not have signed the recent debt-limit deal if he had been president.
"I'm not going to eat President Obama's dog food," Romney said, adding that the president had no love for or understanding of the free-enterprise system. Later, he said of Obama: "We have a man as leader who is out of his depth . . . he hasn't lived in the real economy."
