INDIANOLA, Iowa – Gov. Rick Perry is privately being coached to come across as more presidential – cautious in his comments, deliberate in defending his Texas record – while building on his fast start in the race for the nomination by trying to consolidate support across the Republican spectrum, from the tea party and evangelicals to the party establishment.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts is steeling for a long and combative fight for the nomination, dropping his front-runner's strategy and preparing to confront Perry.

Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is working to shatter the notion that the race is becoming a two-person contest, scaling back her campaign appearances to study Perry's spending record in Texas in an effort to inject skepticism about his candidacy among tea party supporters.

The Republican field is entering a pivotal stage as candidates increasingly move beyond criticizing President Barack Obama and start to run against one another. The outcome of three debates in the next three weeks will influence fundraising, shape strategy and set perceptions as the candidates hurtle toward the start of voting early next year.

For Romney, rivals are fixated on the health care bill he signed as Massachusetts governor and his 1994 Senate race against Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, where the two shared views on many issues, which are at odds with his positions today.

For Perry, rivals are already reminding voters of his time as a Democrat – he switched parties two decades ago – and his record as Texas governor. In 2007, he tried to require girls to receive mandatory vaccinations against a virus that can lead to cervical cancer, which enraged many conservatives who saw it as an unwarranted intrusion by government and a bow to sexual promiscuity.

In both parties, there is now a sense that the president's political frailty, underscored by the report on Friday that showed zero net job creation in August and new projections that unemployment will remain elevated until Election Day, is even greater than it appeared at the start of the summer, injecting additional energy and urgency to the Republican primary race.

While many Democrats once hoped that perceived deficiencies among the Republican contenders could provide a lifeline to Obama, the prospect of losing the presidency is no longer summarily dismissed by his advisers.

With so much at stake, the lineup of candidates remains unsettled, with Sarah Palin signaling during a weekend swing through Iowa and New Hampshire that she might run.

"There's room for more," Palin said, arriving to greet supporters at an Iowa restaurant Friday evening, when asked if she was content with the Republican field.

At the same time, there remain questions within the party about whether the candidates are moving too far right in pursuit of their most ideologically committed voters and about how to balance principles against the assumption that winning the White House requires the ability to appeal to centrist voters. Recently, former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah has attracted attention by making the case for moderation.

"Republicans have to nominate someone better than the person they want to defeat," said Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and 2008 presidential candidate. "If they get so adamant that they will only support a candidate that believes everything on their checklist, they will re-elect Obama."

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