Could it really be that the Republican Party — in a year when they are facing one of the most vulnerable Presidents in recent years — could nominate an ongoing political train wreck named Rick Perry? The latest CRASSSSSSSSSSH we hear is THIS STORY that suggests that Perry, whose poll numbers have zoomed south as debates have revealed him to be an unenergetic, ill-prepared, lethargic or hyperactive candidate (pick which one you want since they all fit depending on the debate), is considering not participating in all the upcoming debates. Of course there is an official cover story that even a head of lettuce at Vons supermarket in San Diego knows is something that’s in another part of the grocery store: baloney.
Rick Perry, who made clear during his Bill O’Reilly interview last night that he finds the debate formats geared toward promoting a fight, is going to the No. 9 one after that – but is a question mark for some of the glut of face-offs after that.
Perry spokesman Mark Miner said the issue is using time wisely, and noted their campaign is not alone in that.
I doubt you’ll find a mass defection in debates. It’ll be Perry who’ll hope he can gain the nomination by unleashing a sea of millions of dollars worth of negative campaign ads, or carefully packaged speeches, or appearances on Rush, Sean and Fox News — without having to react to a question from a moderator, another candidate, or go beyond a rehearsed talking point or attack. And then there is another pitfall he is facing: he does not come across as likable or charismatic in debates.
How will this go over? I’m betting many conservatives will not buy it — or appreciate it. Here’s part of Ed Morrissey’s post on Hot Air:
How many debates would Perry miss if he decided to take a pass on the rest? There are two more the following week, one in the important primary state of South Carolina (November 12th) and another in Washington DC hosted by the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute (November 15th). Which of those two would Perry like to snub? Don’t forget that the Heritage/AEI will focus exclusively on foreign policy, and will be broadcast by CNN. If Perry doesn’t take part in that debate, what will that say about his readiness to discuss those issues?
It doesn’t get much better in December, where the GOP will have four debates. The first is in Arizona on CNN (December 1st), but the next three are in … Iowa, which is where the primaries-around-the-corner start. Does he blow off one or more of those debates? If so, would anyone in Iowa take him seriously — and what exactly would Perry’s path to the nomination be if he comes in lower than, say, second place in Iowa?
Factor in his falling poll numbers, and a decision to back away from debates seems even more curious. Perry needs some serious face time to re-energize his campaign, and he’s not going to get that by pulling a Jon Huntsman and staying off the stage. If he wants to make a point about protesting the number of debates that have been scheduled, that might be worth protesting — except that he’s attended fewer debates than almost everyone else on stage at this point, and his campaign isn’t making that case, at least not at the moment.
This looks like a strategy designed to keep Perry from doing more damage to himself, and that won’t impress many primary voters. In order to fight for conservative principles, one has to first show up to the fight.
The bigger issue is whether he has the guts to show up at debates, face though questions, engage other candidates and show that he can do more than make commercials and deliver speeches written by well-paid speech writers.
Again: could the GOP actually nominate someone who is now taking on so much baggage that TSA is about to inspect him?
Unlike many other GOP candidates, Perry’s performances so far suggest that he is not qualified to be a commentator on Fox News, let alone a Presidential candidate.
On the other hand, perhaps his spokesman is just kidding around, joking — sort of the way Perry says he kidded around about raising the birther issue against Barack Obama.
If so, Perry and his staffers might stick to their day jobs and leave the comedy to Jay Leno, David Letterman and Democrats who insist the economy is really, really getting better.
And if this is not, in fact, what is likely to happen, then another serious political issue will be raised: it would indicate the Perry campaign simply cannot allow itself to stay on message and is making Perry himself an issue — not his candidacy.
If Obama is “The One” then with each day and each news cycle Perry is suggesting he is most assuredly Not The One.
The copyrighted cartoon by John Cole, The Scranton Times-Tribune, is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
UPDATE: In all fairness to Gov. Perry, he does have his fans. Ruben Navarrette, Jr. argues that Mitt Romney’s attack on Perry’s immigration policies has greatly angered Latino conservatives and that if the GOP wants Latino conservatives to support the ticket they should nominate Perry.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.