And while Perry gamely tried to recover in the final portion of the debate, the thought of having to do it all over again in two days in what promises to be a little-watched, but still perilous Saturday debate on foreign policy has to be absolutely shattering.
Had smooth-talking Mitt Romney or New toms shoes sale 2011 Gingrich been the freezer, you could imagine how they might be able to turn it into a joke – make light of themselves for the next couple of days and then move on – but for Perry, whose previous debate performances have ranged from dire to barely adequate, it is an awful blow.
Perry has had tremendous success as Texas governor and is hailed by many in his home state as a wise leader, but a man caricatured by his detractors as another dumb conservative and a redneck can’t afford to provide the most jarring debate moment since Adm. James Stockdale’s questions of Oct. 13, 1992: “Who am I? Why am I here?”
Perry told “FOX & Friends” this morning that he’s pressing on and won’t quit, but he has to be wondering how much longer he has to endure this agony and when he’ll be allowed to go home.
Surely Davy Crockett’s line from his 1834 Tennessee congressional bid is running through Perry’s mind: “You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.”
Herman Cain didn’t have to talk much about the scandal he is now dragging around with him, but neither did he seem to rise to the occasion of what should have been his strong suit: a debate on the economy in Michigan hosted by CNBC. He showed some chops when talking about European sovereign debt, but “Nine-Nine-Nine” is starting to seem like a crutch.
And his line about “Princess Nancy” Pelosi may have been an applause getter when he was still giving paid speeches to conservative groups and hosting a radio show, but isn’t the kind of thing that a man facing allegations of workplace sexual harassment wants to say. Pelosi may have earned the barb with her cut-flower, jet-set lifestyle and imperial reign as speaker, but that’s not how presidents talk about opposition leaders.
Whether Cain fades fast or gradually will depend on the potency of the charges against him and the credibility of his accusers, but he is certainly fading and was definitely not in command on Wednesday.
Romney turned in an almost perfectly modulated performance. His barking and overweening responses in the previous debate, a bear baiting arranged by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, were gone and Romney was back at cruising altitude. Romney faced no attacks and therefore wasn’t tempted to get snippy with anyone.
Except for his weird calls for a trade war with China (which seem to be part of an even weirder feud with fellow moderate Mormon Jon Huntsman), Romney sounded every bit the president straight out of central casting.
But Romney was outshone by the ever-puckish Newt Gingrich, who has now perfected his running critique of the debates themselves. It’s like “Mystery Science Theater 3,000.” Gingrich points out absurdities in real time.
Maria Bartiromo offered up the perfect perforated leather toms question for Gingrich: “You have all said that you will repeal President Obama's health care legislation. Down the line, 30 seconds, if you repeal Obamacare, what's the answer?”
