PERRY NEEDS TO COME LOADED FOR BEAR…OR BE PREPARED TO HEAD BACK TO TEXAS

I was one of those who were really glad when Gov. Perry got into the race. So much so that in a conversation with a friend, we both agreed we were looking at out next president. Ah, what a different a couple of debates make. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a supporter, but Gov. Perry, to use Texas lingo, sure ain't makin it easy. So here we are nearly three weeks since his weak performance at the Republican presidential debate in Orlando, during which time he has been traveling around the country telling audiences he's not a very good debater. Tonight, when the GOP field will once again gather to debate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., my man Rick will have a chance to prove himself wrong. And if ever a candidate needed to prove himself wrong, it is Rick Perry and the time is now. He's got to come into the next debate loaded for bear, and demonstrate to those watching why he is the one that we can count on to go up against Barry "Almighty" and win.

The showdown at Dartmouth will be different from earlier debates. The discussion will be restricted "exclusively [to] issues related to the economy, debt, deficits, taxes, trade and jobs, the topic most on the minds of American voters," says a spokesman for Bloomberg News, one of the media co-hosts along with the Washington Post. Now, personally, I'm not sure whether that will help or hurt Gov. Perry, the struggling former front-runner. He presumably won't have to face questions about Pakistan and mandatory vaccinations, thank God, those are two topics that have kinda tripped him up in earlier debates. As far as immigration is concerned, which has been the governor's toughest issue so far, organizers have not said whether it will or will not be on the agenda. But Gov. Perry is going to have to approach things as if it will be, he has to be prepared to field questions, confidently and competently, on every conceivable topic, including immigration.


If it is, then I'm afraid that man Rick will surely face more criticism of his stand on in-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants. Perry has recently refined his answers, to some degree, on the topic in that he stresses the requirements students must meet to qualify for subsidies. But in recent town hall appearances in Iowa, he has faced a lot of skeptical questions on the topic. And even though his team won't be disappointed if debate moderators steer away from it, he best be prepared in case the don't. Having said all that, it is in the area thought to be Perry's strongest suit, the economy and jobs, that he might, increasingly, also have a problem. In two months on the campaign trail, Perry's economic program has been essentially one sentence: Look at what I did in Texas. Now, voters want more specifics. And quite frankly, we voters deserve some specifics. After all, specifics are the name of the game. And need to be this time around.


In the Orlando debate, Fox News moderator Bret Baier pointed out that most of the candidates have produced their respective plans outlining their ideas for achieving economic recovery. Perry has yet to do so. "Where is your jobs plan?" Baier asked. "Well, you will see a more extensive jobs plan," Perry said. But it's been almost three weeks since the debate, and still no Perry plan regarding a specific economic strategy. It's still Texas, Texas, Texas. "People understand that the state of Texas, during the last decade, something special happened there," Perry says. Meanwhile, front-runner Mitt Romney is quoting at length from his 59-point economic plan, and a surging Herman Cain is almost chanting "9-9-9." Perry needs a plan; and a debate specifically devoted to the economy would seem to provide the ideal opportunity to unveil it. So, we'll see. While I'll most definitely be rooting for him, I can't say, with ant degree of certainty, that I'm not able to be convinced into supporting another candidate if it appears that Gov. Perry is not up to the very important task of beating Barry.


Whatever the plan, Perry will certainly launch new attacks on Romney. And as much as I like Gov. Perry, I just don't see this as a winning strategy. On the eve of the debate, it already started with Perry releasing a new web ad, "Romney's Remedy," targeting, yet again, Romney's universal health care plan in Massachusetts. "Romneycare has cost $8 billion and killed 18,000 Massachusetts jobs, yet Mitt Romney wrote in his book that his plan was a model for the nation," said Perry spokesman Mark Miner. A few days earlier, Perry released another ad, this one charging that Romney's environmental policies in Massachusetts are a "carbon copy" of President Obama's. At the debate, Perry is likely to bring up Romney's efforts to limit carbon emissions and his work with left-leaning environmentalists while governor of Massachusetts. This in-fighting really needs to be reined in, with attacks needing to be more focused on Barry. He is the primary adversay here, and very clear distinctions need to be made by those taking part in the debate and Barry "Almighty."


Others much smarter than me, and with whom I very much agree, have said that Perry needs a major boost in New Hampshire. Especially with several polls now having him about 25 points behind Romney, and in the most recent survey he was 33 points back, essentially tied for fifth in the GOP field. Even if Perry is not counting on doing well in New Hampshire, finishing that far back in the pack will undoubtedly hurt him elsewhere. Why is Perry doing so badly in New Hampshire? One obvious point, is that he started late, while Romney is well-known there, actually owning a summer house in the state. In talks with voters, some said they oppose Perry on immigration, but more cite personal impressions. Several mentioned cultural differences; Perry seems cocky, they say, in a Texas way that doesn't play all that well in New Hampshire. Perry could possibly overcome that, but it would probably take an investment in time and money that he is not prepared to make.


The bottome line here is that tonight's debate, while it's the first in New Hampshire since June, will also directed toward a national audience. And judging by voters in Florida, South Carolina, and in New Hampshire have said, Republicans just want to see Rick Perry do a better job. They know debates aren't everything, but they'd like Perry more if he were talking about his victory, and not his excuses. And I have to admit that I fall within that crowd. I don't might the cockiness, so much as the appearance of a lack of confidence, which, quite frankly, is not something I would have thought I'd see coming from Gov. Perry. This may just prove to be make it or break it time for Gov. Perry, and I'd like to see a little less of his telling me what's wrong with Romney, and a little more about what's right with him. I'm still in his camp, but what I need to see, and hear, from him are the reasons why I should remain there. Because more than anything else the guy that all of these candidates are hoping to oppose, has got to GO!