my sense: Perry won the nomination tonight and lost the general

[scheming daemons]

For the same reasons.

He doubled down on "ponzi scheme" making him a tea party hero and the likely nominee.

But that same doubling down lost him Florida and Pennsylvania in the general.

And the GOP can't win without at least one of those.

[ProgressIn2008]

1. Cool. Then now we concentrate on holding Obama's feet to the fire for term 2? nt

[scheming daemons]

2. First work to hold senate and take house

[FarLeftFist]

4. 1st get him elected. Plus more Democrats. Continue to hold feet to fire.

[tawadi]

3. He looked like such an idiot. From the little I watched.

Maybe he will be their nominee, maybe not.

[rwenos]

5. Florida Especially

Good analysis on your part. Florida alone would seem to be the last place to want Perry to gut SS and Medicare. You might be right about PA too -- lots of rustbelt survivors, historically centrist politics in statewide races. It's just fun watching Pubs eat their own for breakfast. How can Perry negotiate/finesse the Cheney-bilt tsamurais who want his head on a pike?

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. 1964... that is how it might play out

[hlthe2b]

7. Strategically that makes sense to want Perry to win nomination...

but, damn, he scares the shit out of me. I find it unnerving to think he could get that close to the WH... Like Palin in french cuffs and brandishing a six-shooter.

[Skink]

8. Just have to worry about them using electronic means.

[backscatter712]

19. Very true - all the GOP has to do is get it close enough to steal.

Plenty of Katherine Harris types out there...

[Mojambo]

9. What percentage of the electorate do you think even saw this debate?

It's not that high.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. 1 percent would be a high number

:thumbsup:

Most people are not political animals.

But of the NOMINATING group, that is a higher percentage.

[RKP5637]

12. Probably more dems watched it than repugs. n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Due to the station

but of the nominating primary voting population it was higher. Like us, they are more of a political animal.

[RKP5637]

14. Yeah, it was definitely more pleasant watching it on MSNBC than fox.

[gateley]

25. Did it air anywhere other than MSNBC? CNN was doing a 9/11 special.

ETA -- I suppose Fox carried it, too. But I was surprised CNN didn't.

[Mojambo]

15. Which is why i think it helped him to win the nomination

I don't think it hurt his general election chances, because most of those voters weren't watching.

If he gives those same answers in the general election debate (he won't, I suspect) then it will sink him.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Yup, agreed

we may be seeing an LBJ \ Goldwater scenario...

Not to under estimate the crazee.

It is for the Republicans to lose. Hunstman is a rational candidate from that POV... Perry on the other hand... not so much...

But we should all remember Carter ... Reagan was a nut... right wing nut... nobody in their sane mind... well we all know how well the second term went.

[democrat2thecore]

10. Hey - seniors in Florida and PA will vote in their primaries, too.

Perry may have done irreparable harm for his chances at the nomination. It's not just the GE that Romney will win a HUGE number of senior votes against Perry and his mystifying bluster tonight.

[Skittles]

17. that guy is dumber than a bag of hammers

honestly, he may even be dumber than his predecessor

[kentuck]

18. Astute observation.

:-)

[JohnnyRingo]

20. I disagree. I think he should have stayed with the wildfires.

He was well into 1st place and had nothing to gain tonight, but may have given people who only knew him from his stump speech something to give them doubts when he had to freeball it.

Certainly I came away with a lower opinion and think Romney may regain some of his support.

[Angry Dragon]

21. Plenty of time for him to look like an idiot

He is use to talking to insane Texas republicans

[applegrove]

22. I so hope you are right!

[kiranon]

23. Expect Gov. Christie will enter the fray. n/t

[Smilo]

24. David Koch introduces the New Jersey governor as "my kind of guy" and "a true political hero."

:puke: :puke: :puke:

[tkmorris]

26. I'm not sure that being the Tea Party's hero wins him the nom

They were never as influential as they imagined themselves to be, and they grow less so every day.

[Awsi Dooger]

27. If Florida can elect Rick Scott it can hand its electoral votes to Rick Perry

I can't see Obama winning Florida in 2012. I'm in Florida now, and with an old Obama/Biden bumper sticker on my Pathfinder. Literally every day I hear some sort of critical remark, often several times per day, primarily from Cubans. The look on their face is pure hatred.

Florida was the most disappointing state in the country in 2008 in terms of the partisan index (state's relationship to the national percentage). Obama would have to win the national popular vote by 3-4 points to have any chance of carrying Florida.