Two debate moments have defined the Republican presidential primary race so far. One sent a campaign into a slow death spiral, the other solidified a new entrant as the frontrunner.
The first moment came in June at the New Hampshire Republican debate when former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty failed to back up his “Obamneycare” charge with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on stage with him. The exchange made Pawlenty look weak and his poll and fundraising numbers only fell after that point.
The second moment came last night when Politico’s John Harris challenged Texas Gov. Rick Perry to defend the statements he made about Social Security in his book, Fed Up! Unlike Pawlenty, Perry did not back down. He even repeated the charge from his book that the program is “a Ponzi scheme … and it’s not right.”
For Republican primary voters who are looking for a candidate who is not afraid to take on our most sacred entitlement programs, someone who will have the courage to stare down Democrats and help pass a Paul Ryan-like entitlement reform plan, Perry proved he can be that candidate last night. No other candidate has proved that yet.
Debate Reactions
The Washington Examiner‘s Byron York: “There was a lot of talk before the debate about whether Perry could win simply by showing up and doing pretty well … Well, Perry showed up and did pretty well. But in his positions and statements on Social Security and immigration, his campaign faces mortal danger.”
The Washington Examiner‘s Michael Barone: “My overall take is that Rick Perry, in his first presidential debate ever, did not perform commensurately with his recent lead in the polls, but did not do badly either; Mitt Romney was smooth and sometimes even interesting.
The Washington Examiner‘s Phil Klein: “When the dust settles on presidential debates, they are usually remembered for one defining moment, and in this case, that was undeniably the exchange between the race’s two frontrunners on Social Security. … The exchange, more than any other moment in the debate, epitomized the contrast between Perry and Romney’s approaches to the campaign. Romney is the establishment candidate who is trying to win on the basis of being the most “reasonable” and electable, whereas Perry wants to come across as somebody who will stick to his conservative principles and tell it like it is.”
The Corner‘s John Pitney: In September 1980, the DNC circulated old newspaper clippings quoting Reagan as saying that the program should be voluntary. … And Democrats thought that one of the Gipper’s debate comments provided them with even more material: “The Social Security system was based on a false premise, with regard to how fast the number of workers would increase and how fast the number of retirees would increase.” Reagan, of course, won big. And he carried the over-60 vote by a 13-point margin.”
The Corner‘s Stanley Kurtz: “This was a very successful debate debut for Rick Perry. It confirms his position as the leader of the field. … Perry didn’t back off of his “monstrous lie” and “Ponzi scheme” remarks, and that just might win him the nomination. … Are there risks? Of course. But Perry’s onto something when he says that Americans know our entitlements are in trouble. Increasingly, they do. And the public awareness of this problem is growing week by week.”
The Corner‘s Ramesh Ponnuru: “Perry did well enough, but he was surprisingly badly prepared for predictable questions about global warming and even his Texas record. He was confident and aggressive, but he lost altitude during the evening. … On the merits, I think Romney won. But he is now the underdog, and he did not win by enough to make a difference.”
The Washington Post‘s Jen Rubin: “Karl Rove and Dick Cheney put the Social Security issue front and center. … Perry, remarkably, didn’t have a pithy answer and refused to disclaim the remarks in his controversial book. And he didn’t offer a tangible plan that would demonstrate his desire to repair and preserve Social Security.”
RedState‘s Erick Eriskson: “I don’t think Perry had as strong a performance tonight as he could have. He stumbled several times. Romney had a stronger performance — the strongest of anyone on stage in fact. But then, Romney has been in this dog and pony show since 2007. Perry is just stepping up to this level. He made no major mistakes, but could have been stronger on the HPV issue and a few other issues.”
The Washington Post‘s Michael Gerson: Perry met the basic standards of candidate competence. He was generally prepared — usually able to produce information at appropriate moments. … But Perry was hardly the reincarnation of Ronald Reagan. Perry often seemed awkward, nervous and programmed. On several questions, he left an impression of policy shallowness.”
Around the Bigs
The New York Times, Rising Fears of Recession: Declining consumer confidence has increased the likelihood that the U.S. economy will suffer another recession. “The chances that we are in something that is going to feel like a recession are close to 100 percent,” Joshua Shapiro of MFR Inc. told The Times. “Whether we reach the technical definition I think is probably close to 50-50.”
The Wall Street Journal, GOP Hopes Tariff Bill Pressures Obama: House Republicans renewed the Generalized System of Preferences program, yesterday, hoping to increase pressure on President Obama to send the South Korea, Colombia and Panama to Congress. The program provides duty-free access for more than 100 developing countries. “We’re hopeful it will force some action on the part of not just the president, but the Senate as well,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said before the House vote.
CNN, Reid pushes emergency FEMA funding while Cantor denies holding disaster aid ‘hostage’: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Wednesday he will move quickly to pass a $6 billion disaster-relief finding bill for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Reid called out Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., for wanting to pay for the disaster funding with other pay cuts: “Some of my Republican colleagues are trying to cater to the Tea Party by holding up relief efforts. For example, Rep. Cantor has suggested that we should hold up disaster relief to meet the Tea Party’s demands.”
Politico, Hill moving fast on spending bills: the chances of a October 1st government shutdown are falling fast as Democrats and Republicans appear to be using the August debt deal as the standard for 2012 appropriations bills. House Appropriations Committee Republicans appear to be stepping back from tens of billions in deep cuts to transportation, housing, labor, health and education.
The Washington Post, Gaddafi’s chemical weapons spark renewed worries: New documents indicate that Moammar Gaddafi shipped gas masks and chemical-weapons suits to his remaining strongholds before Tripoli fell. Rebels worry that holdouts are preparing to use some of the 11 tons of unaccounted for mustard gas in the country.
Righty Playbook
In The Wall Street Journal, Stanford professor Michael Boskin looks at the hard numbers behind Obama’s economic record and concludes: “President Obama constantly reminds us, with some justification, that he was dealt a difficult hand. But the evidence is overwhelming that he played it poorly. His big government spending, debt and regulation fix has clearly failed.”
Verum Serum identifies five definition of Pnzi scheme that seem to apply to Social Security.
RedState‘s Erick Erickson questions why Romney supporters are so eager to defend Social security all of a sudden: “Are we all so damn scared of Rick Perry that suddenly we’re going to abandon the fight for real reform of social security and try to make Perry look like a fringe candidate when, in fact, his position has been the mainstream of the GOP for decades?”
Lefty Playbook:
Al Gore bemoans Obama’s cave on ozone regulations: “Instead of relying on science, President Obama appears to have bowed to pressure from polluters who did not want to bear the cost of implementing new restrictions on their harmful pollution.”
Firedoglake
‘s David Dayen worries about reports that Obama will embrace a higher Medicare eligibility age in his deficit-reduction speech next week.
The Washington Post‘s Greg Sargent say’s Obama’s biggest problem is that people don’t think government can fix the economy.
