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.
That, and his moronic comment in the CNN debate wherein he said "it doesn't make any difference what the sound of your last name is" show what a clown Perry really is.
It's one thing for Obama and the democRATs to play the race card but Perry has no problem playing it against conservatives. One would have to be blind or liberal to believe he won't do more of the same once in the White House.
No Perry, no way.
This coming from someone with a pro-Newt signature.
One of my first thoughts after the debate was, that the beltway people were toasting after seeing Perry come to the crash and burn. Sure, he’s not out but he is no conservative. Newt is great, brillant but he worries me that he will fall right back into his old patterns of giving his liberla friends some of the power-to be fair crap and allow them to set the issues.
That gives us candidate Romney for 2012. It also likely gives us a right-wing third party candidate who amasses enough votes to send the Kenyan back for a second term.
Not exactly what I was hoping for just a few short weeks ago.
I’m a native Texan. Those of us who know him best, know he’s a light-weight. HE WILL NOT BE THE GOP NOMINEE.
lol
seriously, none of this matters.
100’s of millions will be spent by these candidates before this is all over, and they will get to clarify every position till people can recite their position back to them before it's over.
I live in Texas. I have friends that know GWB and Perry both - and they say the same thing about both of them. Talk to them in private, one on one, and they are lucid, direct, and make sense. Get them under TV lights with microphones shoved in their faces and they start stammering and fumbling around.
I remember sitting with a friend of mine that knows GWB very well. We were watching TV and they showed a clip of one of GWB’s famous aaaa, eer, stumbling bumbling answers. My friend nearly jumped out of chair and yelled, “who is that guy, if he talked like that in private I would have never given him a dime.”
The secret to Reagan was not his brain power, it was his ability to look straight into the camera, keep his thoughts together, and answer in a way that the average Joe on the street could understand. This is only my opinion, but while we have some smart people, and we even have a few reasonably conservative people, from a communication standpoint we don't even have a half a Reagan running. And as far as Perry's politics go (or any of the other candidates for that matter) if you can't communicate your ideas, it hardly makes any difference what your ideas are.
By all rights 2012 should be a cake walk for the Republicans. But the poor communicators we have are going to let it become a horse race - and one that could be lost.
and those of us who have eyes can see who else is actually running and know none of them can beat him.
Perry isn’t running against your imagination, he is running against those other people on that stage. And once you take a long look at the others.... you realize real quick that unless something amazing happens Perry’s got this.
Really? I'd bet that those who measure television audiences would beg to differ.
GOP Debate Massively Boosts MSNBC; Cable News Ratings for Wednesday, September 11, 211
George W Bush won two terms, and so will Perry faults and all.
The GOP has screwed itself again.
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Well, what are you gonna do when good people like Sen. Jim DeMint and former Gov. Sarah Palin or even a bare-knuckles fighter like Chris Christie, refuse to get into the race? You play with the hand you’re dealt.
Just wait before long Perry will start in on the self depracating humor about how poor a debator he is, the expectations will start to lower and then BAM! he will hit a home run heard round the world in 30 second sound bites.
Perry’s defense of subsidizing illegals tuition reminds me of George Bush’s ‘nativist’ accusations towards us when we were opposing his amnesty bill. None of these folks is our sentimental ideal of an emerging Reagan. I will vote for a three-legged skunk in order to be rid of Obama and pray that the Tea Party contingent in the House can help minimize fuzzy thinking.
George W Bush won two terms, and so will Perry faults and all.
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O.K., TexasFreeper; lay down the crack pipe.......
Perry never followed up on his accusation that Romney wobbles on the 2nd Amendmend issue. Why did he not?
Very important issue for many Americans. Perry lost ground in many ways tonight, also on the immigration issue. He sounds less conservative than he makes himself out to be.
yawn.
5.4 million out of 300 million+
1.8% of the population, mostly partisans rooting their particular candidate on.
It's called ADS folks.
Perry will have 100’s of millions to spend destroying Romney in ads, be patient.
I’m from Boston and was speaking with a few friends ( all conservatives ) and potential nominees and we really do not know how Perry is thought of in Texas.
I have seen some very damning comments from some of your fellow Texans on FR. Can you give me any idea how well Perry is thought of?
>Look at all the people he fooled.<
.
Don’t you think that the color of his skin had something to do with it?
I understand the implications of the trait he assigned to himself, and it was indeed a “compassionate conservative” moment. But I wouldn’t take it personally.
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