In Which I Defend Rick Perry After He Stumbles Hard In Debate

It’s no secret that I do not like Rick Perry as a candidate and politician. I do not trust him. He isn’t that likeable to me. Looking at his record, he appears to be another in a long line of Big Government Republicans. I did not like how nasty the primaries became the minute he joined in. And, he doesn’t seem to really have answers, just platitudes. But, I am tending to avoid the bickering over the candidates, the “there’s no way in HELL I’m supporting this guy!” Obama must be defeated, this country cannot afford 4 more years of hopeNdope. And don’t forget, we must retake the Senate and keep the House. We could end up with Ronald Reagan’s recently decanted clone in the WH, and it would mean nothing if we do not control all of Congress. There are too many Democrat/Obama initiatives that must be fixed and repealed immediately.

That said, here’s what happened with Perry

(Business Insider) At today’s CNBC debate Texas Gov. Rick Perry was asked a question about his tax and spending plan – but completely blew an otherwise strong answer by looking like a complete fool.

Perry was listing the three Cabinet agencies he wants to abolish – and forgot the third one.

From the transcript:

Perry: And I will tell you, it is three agencies of government when i get there that are gone. Commerce, Education, and the – what’s the third one there? Let’s see…Okay. Commerce, Education, and the –”

Ron Paul: EPA?

Perry: EPA, there you go.

Moderator: Seriously — is epa one you are talking about?

Perry: No, sir, no, sir. we are talking about the — agencies of government — EPA needs to be rebuilt. >>

Moderator: you can’t — you can’t name the third one?

Perry: The third agency of government I would — I would do away with Education, the — >> Commerce…Commerce and, let’s see. I can’t. The third one, I can’t. Sorry. Oops.

About 15 minutes later, he finally remembered it was the Department of Energy. Let’s watch

Pundits all over the place are saying that this is the end of Perry’s campaign. His Intrade stock dropped heavily. The headline for the BI story cited in this post is “PERRY DEBATE DISASTER: This Is The Moment That Officially Killed His Campaign – For Good.” First of all, I don’t think so. This “gaffe” will soon be forgotten. If race baiting didn’t stop Joe Biden from being picked to be VP, if saying he’d been to 57 states with one more to go didn’t stop Obama, if demeaning people who believe in God and guns didn’t stop Obama, if (insert your favorite Obama craziness here), then this won’t damage Perry.

Second, and here is where I truly defend Perry, candidates are constantly having their heads stuffed with material, everything from foreign affairs, economic policies, etc, to who was a big donor they need to greet by name. All that material floating around in one’s head can interfere with the ability to remember even basic things. I’m sure this has happened to you (though, of course, you and I are not running for president).

Everyone can have a time where they forget something basic that they might have said a thousand times. Now, put yourself up on a stage in front of tons of people, with tons more tuning in on radio and TV.

So, let’s not over-react. Rick Perry will find some other real way to flame out. The video is still rather painful, though.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach. Please sign the drill now petition.

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