Texas governor Rick Perry was interviewed by Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday this morning.
Leave it to Chris Wallace to zero in on the toughest questions, and for Rick Perry it was questioning his debating skills. After brushing off Chris’s first question about debating by saying that debate skills don’t make a great president, Chris followed up with, “What I’ve heard, and e-mails I’ve got from a lot of conservative voters is they say, ‘Okay, maybe he’s not the greatest debater, but we need somebody next fall when there are going to be these three big debates, 100 million people watching each time, who’s going to be able to get up on that stage with Barack Obama and make the case against him. And they worry, based on your performance, you’re not that man.”
And here is Governor Perry’s answer:
“Well, I’m not, uh, worried a bit that I’ll be able to stand on the stage with Barack Obama and draw a very bright line, a real contrast, between an individual who’s lost 2 1/2 million jobs for this country. Someone who is signalling to our opponents when we’re gonna pull out of a particular war zone. An individual who has taken, uh, an experience, uh experiment with the American economy and turned it into an absolute Frankenstein experience. Oh, I think I’m gonna be able to stand on that stage and draw a clear contrast with Broe-ack, Barack Obama.”
I included in this quote Rick Perry’s stumbled words. It may not be fair, because I haven’t done that with other quotes on this blog. But his body language, his leaning back, seemingly defensive body posture, and the look on his face, conveyed to me that, contrary to what his words were saying, that he was not completely confident that he could do this. And I think his verbal stumbles, particularly with Pres. Obama’s name, are partly attributable to that lack of confidence. Maybe I’m being too harsh on him. I’m not opposed to his candidacy. I think he’d make a good president. But I worry about him.
Michele Bachmann remains my clear favorite. I have not seen an interview of hers that she has not aced. I just sent her some more money this week, and I would encourage all those who like her to do the same.
