Republican presidential candidate Texas Governor Rick
Perry talks to moderators at the end of the CNBC Republican presidential
debate in Rochester, Mich., on Nov. 9, 2011.
Rick Perry says he “stepped in it.” Now he’s trying to clean off his boot.
The Texas governor was looking to stem any fallout Thursday from a major misstep he made the night before during a GOP presidential debate.
Mr. Perry said he would eliminate three federal agencies but struggled to name them.
“Commerce, Education and the – what’s the third one there? Let’s see,” the Texas governor said.
Mr. Perry’s rivals tried to bail him out, suggesting the Environmental Protection Agency.
“EPA, there you go,” Mr. Perry said, seemingly taking their word for it.
But that wasn’t it. And when pressed, the candidate drew another blank.
“Seriously?” moderator John Harwood, one of the CNBC debate hosts, asked. “You can’t name the third one?”
“The third agency of government I would do away with – the Education, the Commerce. And let’s see. I can’t. The third one, I can’t,” Mr. Perry said. “Oops.”
Later in the debate, Mr. Perry revisited the question and said he meant to call for the elimination of the Energy Department.
The immediate fallout was brutal – at least on Twitter.
“Perry response will be on highlight reels for years to come,” business legend Jack Welch tweeted.
“Off screen, Dr. (Ron) Paul is sadly administering the last rites to Rick Perry,” Republican strategist Mike Murphy added. “Dr. Paul filling out paperwork as they haul Perry away. He’s ruling it a suicide.”
“Rick Perry just lost the debate. And the entire election. You only had to name three,” Tim Albrecht, the top spokesman for Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who is unaligned in the GOP race, tweeted from his personal account.
After the debate, Mr. Perry appeared to be in damage control mode.
In dramatic fashion, he bee-lined it to the “spin room” where a crush of reporters were gathered to interview campaign surrogates – and he immediately indicated that he knew he had made a really bad mistake. The first words out of his mouth as reporters crowded around: “I’m glad I had my boots on because I really stepped in it tonight.”
Still, Mr. Perry almost seemed to minimize the impact, adding: “People understand that it is our conservative principles that matter.”
“We all felt very bad for him,” Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman also running for the nomination, said after the debate, calling the moment uncomfortable.
The next few days will shed light on whether voters care about the misstep – and punish him for it.
Wednesday’s was the latest tough debate for the GOP candidate who has struggled in the national spotlight since entering the race in August, the last time he was at the top of polls. He has committed to four more debates in a year when the GOP electorate is clearly tuned into them, but his advisers are considering skipping future ones.
Publicly, Mr. Perry aides sought to downplay Wednesday night’s shaky answer.
“We had a stumble of style and not substance,” insisted Ray Sullivan, Mr. Perry’s top communications adviser. “He still named two more agencies than this president” would eliminate. -The Globe and Mail
Mr. Perry’s rivals tried to bail him out, suggesting the Environmental Protection Agency.
“EPA, there you go,” Mr. Perry said, seemingly taking their word for it.
But that wasn’t it. And when pressed, the candidate drew another blank.
“Seriously?” moderator John Harwood, one of the CNBC debate hosts, asked. “You can’t name the third one?”
“The third agency of government I would do away with – the Education, the Commerce. And let’s see. I can’t. The third one, I can’t,” Mr. Perry said. “Oops.”
Later in the debate, Mr. Perry revisited the question and said he meant to call for the elimination of the Energy Department.
The immediate fallout was brutal – at least on Twitter.
“Perry response will be on highlight reels for years to come,” business legend Jack Welch tweeted.
“Off screen, Dr. (Ron) Paul is sadly administering the last rites to Rick Perry,” Republican strategist Mike Murphy added. “Dr. Paul filling out paperwork as they haul Perry away. He’s ruling it a suicide.”
“Rick Perry just lost the debate. And the entire election. You only had to name three,” Tim Albrecht, the top spokesman for Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who is unaligned in the GOP race, tweeted from his personal account.
After the debate, Mr. Perry appeared to be in damage control mode.
In dramatic fashion, he bee-lined it to the “spin room” where a crush of reporters were gathered to interview campaign surrogates – and he immediately indicated that he knew he had made a really bad mistake. The first words out of his mouth as reporters crowded around: “I’m glad I had my boots on because I really stepped in it tonight.”
Still, Mr. Perry almost seemed to minimize the impact, adding: “People understand that it is our conservative principles that matter.”
“We all felt very bad for him,” Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman also running for the nomination, said after the debate, calling the moment uncomfortable.
The next few days will shed light on whether voters care about the misstep – and punish him for it.
Wednesday’s was the latest tough debate for the GOP candidate who has struggled in the national spotlight since entering the race in August, the last time he was at the top of polls. He has committed to four more debates in a year when the GOP electorate is clearly tuned into them, but his advisers are considering skipping future ones.
Publicly, Mr. Perry aides sought to downplay Wednesday night’s shaky answer.
“We had a stumble of style and not substance,” insisted Ray Sullivan, Mr. Perry’s top communications adviser. “He still named two more agencies than this president” would eliminate. -The Globe and Mail
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