Perry Beatdown

Rick Perry had a really bad night two nights ago at the debate.  He looked flustered, and sometimes even bewildered.  It seemed like he only had a few cribbed notes, and he was trying to fit them in no matter what came up, or what question was asked of him. 

There is a very short timeframe for him to get his act in gear.  The fact that he has had three debates now to cement his frontrunner status, and still hasn't means that he very likely will lose it, and will have to do much better to fight to get it back.

It also means that there is an opening for someone else to swoop in and pull a "Rick Perry".

It looks like that someone else could possibly be either Chris Christie, or Sarah Palin.  Palin has huge unfavorables, and is only starting to honestly look into joining the race because she has recently pulled even with Obama in national polls.  She has a strong core of followers, and is an expert retail politician.  Her unfavorables are her albatross, but other then that, she has great name recognition, and has already been thoroughly vetted.  On top of all that, she has forgotten more then most Republican politicians will ever learn about how to deal with the modern media.

Chris Christie is still a big question mark.  He is incredibly popular with the base, and has proven to be exceptionally effective in office, but has not been vetted, and is unknown to the national public.  And to be honest, there are some things in his past that Republican primary voters might not be as in love with as they think they are right now. 

Either one of these, and possibly others might jump in now that Perry has faltered.  He needs to tighten up his game, avoid future gaffes, and prove that he can handle pressure.  People don't want a leader who seems uncertain.   Doesn't mean he has to rush to judgements, just that he has to be in control of the situation, and thoughtfully consider before he responds.  If this is outside his abilities, then his candidacy will flare out in weeks. 

I am personally starting to really like Newt Gingrich.  All the political insiders say that he doesn't have a chance, and I tend to agree only on the grounds that he just isn't that good of a campaigner.  He takes too many breaks, and is not good at the kind of retail shaking hands and kissing babies that presidential primaries require.  I do love his style, and substance; also I think he would be the kind of force on the hill that could drive the sort of substantial change that our country needs to reverse the course of 80 years of left wing dogma, and get us back on the course to success.