I agree that Perry stumbled a bit. He looked a bit inarticulate at times. As a candidate, that is going to hurt him, as the comparison with Bush will be harder for him to shake and bake his way out. In addition, he is relying too much on the job creation in Texas claim. Perry likes to return fire, but that may not always help him, because he only looks combative, which makes him look like just another bull in the china shop. Policy wise, he took a beating on immigration. In general, being the front runner has made him a target, and he has not handled it as well as he could have.
As I wrote before, never underestimate the power of incompetence. Last debate, a mistake tripped up Bachmann. The power of incompetence may decide this nomination battle.
Analyzing it in that fashion, it looks like Romney came out on top. Romney didn't make any mistakes that I can recall. He handled all the questions competently and defended himself when he had to with respect to Romneycare. He has differentiated himself on that issue. With respect to that, he may be defusing it as a problem for his candidacy. As contrasted with Perry, when the heat was put on him, he has not burned himself in the kitchen.
But he has some new cooks crowding him. Cain, Huntsman, Johnson, and Gingrich all looked like they cook up some competition for him. Even Bachmann may be recovering a bit from her fall.
If there are more debates, the field will settle out and the leader will emerge. But it is still too early to pick from this menu. Not everybody trusts Romney, but people will hold their noses and vote for him if necessary. If not the nominee, questions about Perry may still need to be answered. It looks like the other candidates will get their chance to provide an answer, because everybody still looks like the Galloping Gourmet.
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