The Michigan debate: One candidate falls, one runs away with it
By Jennifer Rubin
WashPost
Nothing else in the debate will matter. It will always be known as the debate when it happened. Everyone who has ever been at a loss for words or stumbled in a public setting could relate. The “it” was a nightmarish stumble, a sort of epic brain freeze by Texas Gov. Rick Perry:
It was a moment so painful, the embarrassment so great, that the principle reaction among tough-as-nails reporters was pity. Fifteen minutes or so later in the debate he recalled that the third agency he was planning to eliminate was the Energy Department. But in bringing it up once more, he only underscored the flub.
Before that moment, Perry was essentially ignored, getting very few questions and reverting to his sleepy-mode. Such is the fate of a candidate in single digits in the polls. Now the question is: Will he debate again? More generally, one has to wonder if Perry’s heart is still in this race.
As for the rest of the debate, Herman Cain was asked briefly about his sexual harassment claims. He, of course, denied he ever did anything to these women. But then and throughout the debate he was glum, stern and entirely unlike the jovial character whom audience had grown to like. Certainly, this hasn’t been a fun week or so for him. But in an revealing moment, in response to a healthcare reform question, he referred to former Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as “princess Nancy.” It was precisely the sort of disrespectful image he had been fighting for more than a week. For the first time, he came across as a jerk not a charmer.
(More here.)
WashPost
Nothing else in the debate will matter. It will always be known as the debate when it happened. Everyone who has ever been at a loss for words or stumbled in a public setting could relate. The “it” was a nightmarish stumble, a sort of epic brain freeze by Texas Gov. Rick Perry:
It was a moment so painful, the embarrassment so great, that the principle reaction among tough-as-nails reporters was pity. Fifteen minutes or so later in the debate he recalled that the third agency he was planning to eliminate was the Energy Department. But in bringing it up once more, he only underscored the flub.
Before that moment, Perry was essentially ignored, getting very few questions and reverting to his sleepy-mode. Such is the fate of a candidate in single digits in the polls. Now the question is: Will he debate again? More generally, one has to wonder if Perry’s heart is still in this race.
As for the rest of the debate, Herman Cain was asked briefly about his sexual harassment claims. He, of course, denied he ever did anything to these women. But then and throughout the debate he was glum, stern and entirely unlike the jovial character whom audience had grown to like. Certainly, this hasn’t been a fun week or so for him. But in an revealing moment, in response to a healthcare reform question, he referred to former Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as “princess Nancy.” It was precisely the sort of disrespectful image he had been fighting for more than a week. For the first time, he came across as a jerk not a charmer.
(More here.)
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