I was gonna do longish post about Ron Paul and Herman Cain, but I don’t have the energy today, so a few thoughts about Romney on Tuesday,
Romney really prepares for debates. He and his staff try to anticipate questions and his answers are sharp and hard. Just listen to him talk about his health care law and hear what he does and doesn’t say. He also practices his answers so they don’t sound too scripted when they come out of his mouth. He is clearly a better debater than anyone else on stage. And yet there are weaknesses. Romneycare has vulnerabilities not just on the mandate but on rising premiums and rising use of emergency room facilities despite a health insurance purchase mandate. Santorum was on the right track and was winning the exchange until he blew his stack. Romney also let Perry get under his skin. Perry was like some southern fried Joe Pesci character. Perry was hostile and undersized (at least verbally.) But every time Romney turned Perry’s lights out, the Texan would get up and pick another losing fight. The next day I was walking by a muted TV that was broadcasting clips of one of the Romney-Perry exchanges. Seeing Romney’s red face and body language without the sound only made it clearer how really angry Romney was. Let’s face it, if Obama had used the “this has been a tough couple of debates for Rick ” line, a lot of people would be talking about how arrogant and condescending Obama was being (though Romney was right.)
