Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney turned in the strongest debate performances while Governor Perry had a cringe-inducing mistake, according to Sen. Jim Demint, R-S.C., although he doubts the debate gaffe is a mortal wound to Perry’s campaign.
Asked on CBS, “did you cringe when you saw [Perry’s gaffe]?” Demint answered, “Yes, I did,” adding that “normally that [gaffe] would not be a problem, but obviously he had some problems in the previous debates.”
Demint refused to call the mistake a campaign-killing error. “It wasnt good, but I dont want to pronounce the end of his campaign at this point,” he said. “There’s still time for candidates to change positions — I’m not talking about policy positions, but positions in the race.” He also said that “we’ve got three or four candidates vying for the top position and they’re all good.”
Based on last night’s debate, however, Demint indicated that Gingrich or Romney appeared most capable of winning a debate with President Obama. “I think I’d have to say that Newt Gingrich [and] Mitt Romney excelled in a lot of ways, they had clarity on a lot of policies,” although he quickly added that “this thing has changed week to week and we may see some different standouts on Saturday. That’s why I’ve decided not to endorse [a presidential candidate].”
You can see Demint’s full interview below.
