The TV opinion people would have us believe that Rick Perry was on the ropes after the CNN-Tea Party debate. Being the new kid on the block and the front runner made Perry the target of round robin attack. Michele Bachmann's attack on Perry veered into the anti-vaccination domain of liberal Democrats while she stridently protested on the part of "innocent 12 year old girls" implying that the profit motive underlies Texas's and the rest of the country's public vaccination policy. Now that the dust has settled how much damage was done to Perry? A
poll, conducted by Insider Advantage for the Florida Times-Union, a day after the debate, shows Perry leading the field with 29 percent support so apparently he can take a punch. The breakdown is:
Perry: 28.7%, Romney: 19.8%, Gingrich: 9%, Bachmann: 7.8%, Cain: 6.2%, Paul:4.7%, Santorum: 1.5%, Huntsman: 1.3%.
See, this is the thing. I've only been half watching the debates. They feel somewhat like theater to me, particularly when you have liberal questioners who set up questions just to make the candidates look bad rather than actually establish positions. I almost feel like we're back before the Kennedy/Nixon era when people who listened on the radio felt Nixon won on merit and those who watched tv felt Kennedy won because Nixon was sweating.
ReplyDeleteI LIKE Rick Perry. They criticize Perry for his "frozen smile" but, from what I saw, I liked it and saw it as an attempt to stay cheerful and friendly. (Admittedly I didn't watch the whole thing.)
I don't really LIKE Romney. He seems detached and somewhat elitist, although nothing so bad as what we've got now.
Bachmann, I think, went over the edge. I like her, too, but, eh, I don't think she's going to be president. Plus I don't like the way her team treats Palin.
LOVE Herman Cain. Won't be president. COULD be a jobs czar though. Heh.
To be fair, Wolfe Blitzer did the best job of any of the moderators. Even Rush remarked on that. I don't feel sorry for Perry anymore than I have for any freshman. He's good and tough and the others will make him better. He will, I think, have to start preparing better. I think he thought Texas league was the majors but Romney and Gingrich can be as tough competitors as can Bachmann and Santorum. Yeah, Herman Cain ran second in the Gallup positive intensity poll.
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