In the fight to determine who will face President Obama in the 2012 election, Republican candidates will square off again this Thursday in Ames, Iowa, days before the straw poll. It will be the first debate since the latest campaign finance reports have been filed, showing Mitt Romney with a substantial financial lead over his competitors.

Although FOX News, the cable channel sponsoring and airing the debate, has not officially announced which candidates will take the stage on Thursday, we expect to see:

• Michele Bachmann, U.S. representative from Minnesota
• Herman Cain, former executive of Godfather's Pizza and former ...