Debate Score: Perry For the Win

Pajamas Media ^ | 10-18-2011 | Bryan Preston - OP/ED

[SamAdams76]

Here are my grades and takeaways from tonight's debate, focusing on the top three:

CAIN (B+) - Overall Cain handled himself extremely well under fire. His finest moment was when he stated that the OWS crowd should occupy the Obama White House instead of Wall Street. I feel he stumbled during the answer about trading prisoners for hostages but I feel he amended for that in the spin room after the debate. Still making rookie mistakes but seems to be learning fast. He'll have to if he's going to win this nomination. For now, Cain should take satisfaction that he came out of this evening's debate mostly unscathed.

ROMNEY (D-) - Overall Romney came across awful during this debate. While he scored some points on Perry, he came across as immature and childish. His strongest moment was when he attacked Perry on immigration by stating that Texas had a 60% growth in illegal immigration because Perry was handing out $100,000 in-state tuition credits to them. His weak moments are too numerous to mention and he had that creepily annoying stare and smile throughout.

PERRY (C-) - Despite scoring a C-, this was Perry's best debate so far. Evidently he sampled some of the Venetian java before taking the stage (that casino coffee is strong). Like Romney however, Perry came across as childish, it almost seems like he and Romney were going to start talking about how their father was going to beat up the other's father. Perry's strongest moment was when he talked about de-funding the United Nations. His weakest moments was when he went after Romney for hiring illegal aliens to mow his grass when in fact, Romney contracted the work out and was not aware that the contractor had hired illegal aliens (and fired them when he found out). Perry also got lots of boos from the audience - never a good thing, even though it was a Romney crowd.

GINGRICH (A) - Yet another solid performance by Newt Gingrich who is clearly the statesman of this slate of candidates. Hopefully he will continue to stay in the race as he helps to keep the other candidates focused on beating Obama rather than beat up on themselves.

BACHMANN (A+) - Bachmann was clearly the star of the night. She sported a new look that made me think of the Love Boat for some reason (I now have a craving for a Mai Tai) but in the debate, she was on her game with not a single weak moment.

SANTORUM (C) - Santorum made some good points during the debate but was a big turnoff with his snottiness and self-indulgent narratives on how he was the only candidate in the room that beat a Democrat back in 1994, yada, yada, yada.

PAUL (C-) - Another typical performance by Ron Paul. Agree with 90% of what he says but the other 10% makes me want to run from the room.

HUNTSMAN (A+) - This was Jon Huntsman's best performance yet! He didn't appear on stage but apparently he was out in the casino confusing the hell out of the blackjack dealers. Last I heard, he was at the craps table posting bets on the "Pass" line.

[Bainbridge]

Playing the southern card, huh? Conservatives are supposed to be interested in following rules: even ones for verbs.

[Turborules]

Perry was melodramatic on a simple I gotcha at Mitt about a Landscaping company that hired a few illegals...dang here in CA Landscaping would halt dead in the weed blowers

[TexMom7]

I could be wrong but I thought I heard Perry say he was against it.????

[NYCslicker]

Good.

We need to broaden the tax base and make sure all households pay something.

Right now over 50% pay no tax. Why would they even care about taxes if they pay no tax?

[marty60]

BTW, didn’t Cain say in the last debate that his loaf of bread would only be taxed Once.

Bachmann just told the american People the truth.

It probably shocks people like santorium,Bachmann, Paul, and gingrich that have ACTUALLY been in Congress to hear these naive assertions. Now that they have got over the shock, they have started to explain how rediculous Cain’s plan really is.

[Loyal Sedition]

Nevada is probably second in the nation for the number of Mitt-bots present.

I saw how Mitt was able to marshall them a few years ago, creepy!
The Mormons (Source of most Mitt-bots) may, or may not, be a “Cult”, but they certainly WILL want some sort of pay-back for their support.

Just like O’Bummer and the unions.

Just say NO to Romney!

[Reagan Man]

Anyone turning into the debate tonight would have seen some great points being made, but no single candidate standing out from the field.

Yes, imo Perry's best performance. Anytime the phony and fraud Romney is slapped down by a conservative, I like it and I'm not afraid to admit it.

Cain's entire strategy remains centered around his 999 tax plan. So much so that Cain is quickly becoming a one issue candidate. Cain is also a candidate without any governing or legislative record to judge him on and that is a huge problem that will not be going away. Cain is a political neophyte in the spirit of Ross Perot.

[Rannug]

And yours is the best attitude I have seen on FR. Too many here have stated that if their candidate is not nominated, they will stay home and not vote. What a bunch of bull.

Anyone but owebama.

[brytlea]

I did think Newt was amazing.

[smoothsailing]

LOL!

[Sudetenland]

I disagree in that they were booing not on substance but on chldish, intellectually dishonest attacks that Perry made against Mitt. They booed Mitt when he lied about getting the "mandate" idea from Newt and Newt "whooped him upside the head" for it.

For me, Perry was almost inarticulate in some of his responses. He was churlish and childish--in fact the little spat between him and Mitt made them both look petty and unpresidential.

Overall, I thought Perry just stunk it up except for his strong advocacy for domestic energy production and his explanation of the best means of securing our border.

When he is challenged on his record in Texas, he needs to be able to not take it personally--he gets too angry when he is challenged like that. He needs to be able to say to Mitt, "When you created the jobs in your state, the economy was still growing, when we created jobs in Texas--almost half the jobs that were created in the nation--it was during the Obama/Democrat disaster." He just doesn't think quickly enough on his feet. The same criticism I have had of him since the first debate.

He will be hammered in the press again and he will continue his slide--it's not fair, debates shouldn't be the deciding factor in whose most qualified to be President, but they are especially so in these early rounds and Perry will not be nominated because of his poor performances.

[hinckley buzzard]

Yes, pandering to “the Moms out there” didn’t win any affection from me.

[mplsconservative]

Mitt won.

I know Mitt won my confidence tonight that he is a slimy, lying and arrogant RINO.

[mark3681]

“Perry looked at best, mean spirited, but mostly just dumb.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself. He looked like Jethro Clampett (sp?) in a suit.

[kevao]

Damn, was there a second debate tonight that I missed?

[org.whodat]

No, but unlike you my second major was in accounting, and I know a little about it. And the plan does not make a damn, it is changing the system that makes a damn. All the little nitpicking you perry people come up with is just that nitpicking, go get in the invisible fence business.

[marty60]

Government Regs, nanny stte involvement in private property and business owner’s rights are hardly TAX issues.

Try Department of Interior, EPA, Dept. of Energy, BLM,FDA, etc.

[NYCslicker]

“Salesman’s Creed: ‘Blind them with brilliance, and baffle them with bullsh!t’ !

Cain is a pro.”

Cain IS a pro.

Perry’s creed must be: “Baffle them with my own lethargy, and blind them by acting angry and make others look good by trying to talk over others and not following the debate rules.”

Perry polled close to 3% in Florida recently. Wow. Guess he better go back to the Salesman’s Creed instead LOL!

[brytlea]

Was it my TV or was his makeup just really that bad?