Posted on 09/22/2011 9:10:58 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Mitt Romney is an incredibly vulnerable Republican candidate, from his numerous policy reversals to his championing of the Massachusetts health care law that served as the basis from Obamacare. But for him to lose, somebody else has to beat him. And like Tim Pawlenty before him, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is blowing his chances to exploit Romney’s weaknesses.
The defining moment in this debate may well have been the point at which Perry went on the attack against Romney for being a flip flopper. As I noted earlier, there’s a long file to choose from. And Perry had clearly rehearsed such an attack – you can tell he was starting to go through the list of issues Romney had reversed on, and even used the “for it before he was against” phrasing, a not-so-subtle reference to the infamous Massachusetts flip flopper, Sen. John Kerry. But the exchange came toward the end of the debate, and as has been his habit, Perry began to fade as the debate wore on. During this particular answer, he wrestled for words and stammered. He couldn’t finish his sentences. If you weren’t a political junkie who knew all of the background, you’d have no idea what Perry was mumbling about. And Romney's smooth response made him come off as more steady and reassuring, even though on substance, Perry should have owned him.
The rest of the debate was hit or miss for Perry. But when he received an admittedly difficult question about what he would do if he got a 3 a.m. phone call informing him that Pakistan’s nukes had been taken over by Islamists, he struggled. He ended up giving an incoherent answer that was more of an information dump of random stuff he had been briefed on about the region. It was not very reassuring for those of us who are waiting to see if Perry can prove his dissenters wrong and come off as someone substantive, capable of beating President Obama, and of running the country competently.
Romney remains vulnerable. And unlike Pawlenty, Perry is starting from a stronger position in the polls, so he certainly has a good chance of ultimately winning. However, he’s going to have to step up his game by showing a better grasp of the issues, more stamina in these debates, and by being able to take apart Romney’s endless contradictions. In short, Perry has not blown it, but he is blowing it.
Appear Slick Rick never left the DNC/Socialist party, amigo.
The new "Slickster" is just another crony liberal hiding in the GOP.
I’ve been a longtime reader of this site and finally decided to register and post because the “heartless” comment got me so riled up. I just can’t believe this guy is our frontrunner, he just insulted me on national television! I sure as heck hope that another option presents itself before the primaries start up.
You are way underrating the impact of debates on the base and on voter intensity.
Go back and take a second look at Santorum in this debate and the last one.
"Those boys are our only hope".
"No. There is another".
Well, at least we're not "vigilantes", yet...
I’m afraid I’ll have to agree, Perry is blowing it, bigtime. I can’t stand Romney, but Romney is eating Perry alive in the debates.
Sheesh what is it with the Republicans?? They saw what happened when they ran a RINO last time. Romney and Perry are a little better than McCain but we still need a real conservative. Palin has been smart to wait this out it was a huge field and it needs to be dwindled down fast.
I have to agree with that, and I'm surprised by it.
I agree. Perry’s been a huge disappointment in these debates. I cannot believe it didn’t occur to him to improve his responses since they keep asking him the same questions. That was my #1 complaint with GWB. I was always shouting “say this instead!” He never figured out how to talk in front of a camera, so we were the ones left to argue with libs. It got old fast.
It’s too bad. I like the guy, and I think he’s got some potential. I could even overlook the gardisal, in-state tuition problems just to have someone hand Obama his a$$. But he’s either got to step up his game or get out of the way. He sounded stupid last night.
Santorum was good.
In Texas, the governor is basically a figurehead. He has no real power so doesn't need much substance, just sit there and look pretty which Perry has the skills for. That said, he's dropping like a lead ball in Texas. The only reason he won the last election was the only other choice was Kay Bailey Hutchison. Conservatives came out to vote against KBH rather than for Perry. It was a hold your nose election. If he doesn't get the GOP nod for '12, the wolves will come in for the kill and he'll be out of office here next time. His only chance for another term is lazy voting for name recognition.
Because that's his voting block.
Of the “establishment” candidates, Santorum would be easiest for me to vote for. He handled the gays in the military question beautifully.
Very well put - our guys should absolutely reject those “what would you do if” questions for the very reasons you stated. This has bugged me a long time.
What makes it worse is those shallow not very smart journalists who ask such questions think they are being so smart when they are really being rather dumb. No one can possibly answer a situation that will have thousands of variables when you only give them a single variable in your question .
Interesting. I think Santorum comes across as punkish - even though some of his words were good.
He gave Perry some openings on that immigration exchange - but Perry couldn’t take advantage of them.
I’m hoping to see Cain rise in the polls.
I’ve been an outspoken Perry supporter since before he got in the race. If I am going to be honest, I would have to say he disappointed me. He was unprepared and tried to wing it - and it showed. This was an important debate for him and he should have done his homework.
I hear you, but I live in PA and was annoyed with Santorum for years because he supported Arlen Specter.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.