Wednesday night’s debate was the much anticipated debut of newly crowned Republican front runner Rick Perry. From the beginning, two things became obvious. First, it is not only the press but the rest of the Republican field that views Perry as the frontrunner, evident by the constant barrage of criticism from the other candidates. Second, the main competition, for better or for worse, is and will continue to be between Perry and Mitt Romney.
From the get go, Romney and Perry engaged in a political pissing/spitting contest about their records as governors and their plans for job creation. Perry touted his record as the 4th ranked job creator among governors in the United States and Texas’ record as the top job creating state during the current recession. He then criticized Romney’s record as the 47th ranked job creator among US governors during his tenure.
Romney responded by explaining the difficulties the state of Massachusetts faced at the start of his term and the positive steps he took as governor, creating jobs at a faster rate than the national average. He also touted his private sector experience in creating and optimizing companies around the world. He then pointed out that a large percentage of the jobs created in Texas are the result of their surplus of natural resources, not Perry’s policies or leadership, and that Texas has the highest rate in the country of jobs at or below the minimum wage.
Jon Huntsman, the former governor of Utah and perennial voice of reason, chimed in that Utah was the 1st ranked job creating state during his tenure, but that did not detract from the Romney/Perry rivalry.
By the end of the debate, the hierarchy of candidates became much more clarified. Romney and Perry maintained and even solidified their position as the top tier of candidates. Considering the setting and the crowd, they both presented strong arguments in favor of conservative positions on jobs, immigration, health care and defense. They were both winners of the debate and will now attempt to spin the results more in their own favors using it as a springboard to future debates and appearances in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and around the country.
Michelle Bachmann and Ron Paul presented strong arguments but failed to make a statement in terms of policy positions or memorable rhetorical flourishes. Both, in my opinion, did more harm than good. Paul further reduced himself to the periphery by arguing that the FDA, TSA and Air Traffic Control are unnecessary government agencies. Bachmann was simply outshined in her conservative, Tea-Party message by Perry who is now funneling her support to his own campaign.
Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich are most likely on the verge of dropping out of the race. They simply do not have the financial and electoral support to continue the rigorous process of campaigning for elected office. Gingrich, by making multiple attempts to claim unity among the candidates and defend against supposed efforts by the media to divide them, gave off the impression that he was above criticizing his fellow candidates and ready to get behind the eventual nominee. This is not the attitude a real player in the Republican primary should have.
The two remaining candidates, Jon Huntsman and Hermain Cain, are both polling in the low single digits but made positive strides on Wednesday night. Cain articulated coherent policy positions (whether or not they would be beneficial or passable is another story) and Huntsman continued to position himself as holding the rational middle ground. Unlike some of the other candidates, however, Huntsman sounded more presidential; he did not stoop to the personal attacks and criticisms like the other candidates did and he made real, useful references to his past experiences as Ambassador and government official in four presidential administrations. Because of the financial support both maintain, they are likely to remain in the race at least through the New Hampshire primary and have the potential to gain support in the next few months.
Very little was said in the debate that was at all novel. It was simply part of the process of whittling down the field and creating a coherent message for the coming months. Tonight is the Democrats’ turn, with President Obama giving his jobs speech, but it’s also opening night for the NFL…
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