Perry Punches Himself Out

There appears to be widespread agreement that Rick Perry’s performance in Tuesday’s debate in Las Vegas was his best yet. Thank heavens I missed the last couple of GOP debates then, because I thought Perry’s performance was dreadful. At no point did one look at him and think Hmmm, that guy could be President of the United States. That doesn’t mean he cannot win the Republican nomination, merely that Perry needs to find some way of “connecting” with voters that doesn’t involve defeating Mitt Romney in an actual debate. Because on this evidence (sorry Jonathan) that ain’t gonna happen.

Even the ballyhooed tiff on illegal immigrants actually demonstrated Perry’s problems with this format. The question, in case you’d forgotten, was actually about healthcare and there was Perry suddenly swinging away at Romney about hiring illegal immigrants? What the hell was that about and where did it come from? The answer, I hazard, is something like this: