ROCHESTER, Michigan (Reuters) ? Herman Cain defended his character in a debate of Republican presidential contenders on Wednesday, saying Americans "deserve better" than the controversy over sexual harassment allegations against him.
Cain, the former head of Godfather's Pizza, has kept his spot near the front of the Republican race despite accusations by four women, which he has denied.
He said the controversy had not dented voter enthusiasm for his campaign to face President Barack Obama in the November 2012 election.
"The American people deserve better than someone being tried in the court of public opinion based on unfounded accusations," Cain said in the debate at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.
"They don't care about character assassination, they care about leadership and getting the country going," he said to cheers from the audience.
The controversy, lingering for more than a week, has taken Cain off his campaign message and eroded favorable voter perceptions but he is still Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts who leads the Republican pack.
Cain's difficulties could open the door for one of the other candidates battling for the allegiance of conservatives in the hopes of becoming the clear alternative to the more moderate Romney.
The question from a moderator about the allegations drew boos from the audience at the debate, which was focused on economic issues. Romney was cheered when he declined to wade in when asked if he would hire an executive facing similar allegations.
The Republican hopefuls also denounced government bailouts for corporations and other countries and said they would not come to the financial rescue of Italy.
"It doesn't make any difference whether it's Wall Street or some corporate entity or some European country -- if you are too big to fail, you are too big," Texas Governor Rick Perry said.
Romney, whose father was a former Michigan governor and a former auto executive, defended his opposition to the 2009 auto industry bailout that helped revive Michigan-based General Motors and Chrysler.
"It was the wrong way to go," he said, adding he preferred letting the companies go into a structured bankruptcy.
Democrats hope the auto industry issue will be a potent one for Obama if he meets Romney in the 2012 election. All of the other Republican contenders also opposed the bailout.
The economic struggles in Michigan, which has seen its manufacturing base hit hard by the economic downturn, will serve as a backdrop to the debate.
The unemployment rate of 11.1 percent in Michigan is the third-highest in the country and well above the 9 percent national rate.
(Editing by John O'Callaghan)
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