Google/Fox Debate: Of Perry and Piñatas

Story of the Night: Perry cannot touch Romney, but everyone can hit Perry

Per his own expression, there’s no doubt that Rick Perry feels like a piñata. But at least a pinata is attacked by blind folded people, and usually they miss.

In Perry’s case, the swings are coming from people who not only have their eyes open, but are very practiced at swinging the bat…and a heavy bat it is. Battered by his own words, words memorialized in print under his own name, Perry found himself battered for his absolutist criticism of Social Security, his “compassionate conservatism” on immigration, and his questionable executive action at Governor on the HPV vaccine.

Any piñata would be demolished and bereft of candy, by now.

Repeatedly, during the debate, the other candidates seized on every opportunity to remind him that he was, as is becoming increasingly clear, unelectable in a general election.

First, take this exchange between himself and Mitt Romney on Social Security: midway through the first hour, Mike Wallace threw out the first piece of bait, offering Perry a chance to respond to Romney’s criticism on Social Security. Perry promised that it will be there for those who have paid into it, but didn’t really respond to his suggestion of completely passing it back to the states. Romney, with characteristic wit and humor, reminded him.

There’s a Rick Perry out there that is saying — and almost to quote, it says that the federal government shouldn’t be in the pension business, that it’s unconstitutional.

Unconstitutional and it should be returned to the states.

So you better find that Rick Perry and get him to stop saying that.

Romney chuckled, and so did the audience, and it was clear that the point Romney’s, as well as was the audience.

Perry’s night didn’t get any better from there. Sensing a lost cause, Perry tried to shift from Social Security to health care, attacking Romney for Massachusett’s health care system, accusing Romney of leading the way for the Affordable Health Care Act (aka “Obamacare”).

ROMNEY: Governor Perry, we were talking about Social Security, but if you want to talk about health care, I’m happy to do that.

He went on to detail how he had said, explicitly, that the plan in Massachusetts was in no way good plan for the country, that he had never suggested so it his book, and that he stood by the book.

Applause, and the point to Romney again. Like teflon, Romney wasn’t going to allow Perry’s blundering attacks to strike home.

This went on all night. And, yes, there were other candidates involved. Despite Romney and Perry dominating the camera (as they have since Perry entered the race), Fox’s moderators tried to bring in the other candidates. Without fail, they often took the opportunity to take shots at the front-runner, some with devastating effect.

Rick Santorum, running perpetually as the “don’t forget about me” candidate, had perhaps the best moment of the night when he followed up on a line of criticism on Texas’ policy of allowing illegal immigrants to attend universities at in-state tuition levels. Romney reminded Perry that this meant that over four years illegal immigrants would pay $100,000 less than legal immigrants, American citizens and other out-of-state students, all here legally (according to Wallace, 16,000 illegal immigrants took advantage of this last year. Doing the math, that’s a $1,600,000,000 credit).

Perry didn’t seem to get what the big deal was, suggesting that his opponents were heartless and didn’t want illegal immigrants to go to school or college. Not so, said Santorum:

SANTORUM: Governor Perry, no one is suggesting up here that the students that are illegal in this country shouldn’t be able to go to a college and university. I think you are sort of making this leap that, unless we subsidize this, the taxpayers subsidize it, they won’t be able to go.

Well, most folks who want go to the state of Texas or any other state out-of-state have to pay the full load. The point is, why are we subsidizing?

Not that they can’t go. They can go. They just have to borrow money, find other sources to be able to go.

And why should they be given preferential treatment as an illegal in this country? That’s what we’re saying.

Perry looked hammered. Someone had pee’d in his canteen, and it was written all over his face. He tried to regroup and strengthen his position on immigration by condescendingly asking Santorum if had ever even been to the border, then proceeded to try to talk over him when Santorum responded that, yes, he had, and many times. To make things worse, the audience was giving no quarter, and the cheers for those who pounded Perry grew throughout the night.

He may walk out the front runner, still, but he missed any opportunity to move the ball forward, and indeed probably ceded much of the ground to Romney.

Further, Perry seems to have a loose grasp of the facts. PolitiFact, fact checking Perry through the night, found his claims against Romney to be, in order, “Mostly False,” “Mostly False,” “Pants on Fire False,” and “False.” In contrast, his main sparring partner, Romney, earned in his responses to Perry “Mostly True” and “True.” If Perry is going to keep up his lead and slow Romney’s gain, he will need to stop distorting the facts.

Other candidates?

But enough about Governor Rick Perry. Let’s talk run through the other soon-to-be-former-candidates-for-President:

Bachmann: Iowa was clearly the high point in her campaign, and her argument that “voters will select anyone but Obama even a far right conservative” fell flat.
Cain: humorous, confident, and clearly comfortable, he’s showing more that he may not win the election, but he could be the running-mate of choice.
Gingrich: were it not for his resume, Gingrich might be the diplomat in chief. Look for him in the cabinet of whoever wins this thing.
Huntsman: Utah’s former governor did not have his best night, yet, but he did well on foreign policy. At times he rambled, at others he was petty. Needs to mature.
Paul: Love him or hate him, this Texan is articulate, intelligent, and has a ready answer. His response about abortion reverberates with liberals and conservatives alike.
Johnson: his first appearance at a debate, and while a bit frumpy, there is no doubt: if he is elected President, he intends to submit a balanced budget in 2013. Also, he climbed Everest.
Romney: clearly the winner of the debate, his casual “Nice try” to Perry’s blunderbuss attacks easily deflected any damage. He has articulate plans, knows his material, and is a veteran campaigner.
Santorum: His best moments were taking on Perry on immigration; his worst was responding to a question from a gay soldier about “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”
Perry: He’s already had enough blog space here.