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Perry>>Romney>>Head IntoThird Debate>>Hey! What about Ron Paul? 9 pm. ET.
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Watch Republican Debate Streaming LIVE- Thursday - Fox News Google 9 pm ET.
[link to 12160.info]
As they head into the FOX News/Google debate ahead of the Republican Party of Florida’s straw poll, the stakes for Romney and Perry are huge.
Romney has seen his own support solidify following Perry’s blazing entrance to the race last month. But the former Massachusetts governor has to prove that it is more than just a political version of “cash for clunkers” in which people who were eventually going to back Romney anyway just moved up their decisions.
That’s been good enough to put Romney in second place, but not good enough to win him the nomination. The latest Quinnipiac poll in Florida tells the tale: Whether Sarah Palin runs or not or even if the rest of the field disappears, Perry maintains a lead of between 6 points and 9 points in the must-win primary.
As the milder of the two, Romney faces an enthusiasm gap with Perry. Romney has been trying to close the gap by dampening the ardor of Perry’s supporters by raising questions about the Texas governor’s electablity. But as Power Play often notes, the problem with running an electability campaign is that primary voters tend to resent candidates who make the opposing party’s arguments for them.
The more Romney hits Perry on Social Security, the more Republican primary voters, who mostly agree with Perry on the subject, will be annoyed by the line of attack. Romney may be trying to goad Perry into taking a stance that is either too radical to satisfy skeptical establishment GOPers or too moderate to satisfy the conservatives who now prefer Perry, but the strategy comes at a cost. Hillary Clinton learned that in 2008.
Plus, the more dire President Obama’s political condition becomes, the less likely Republicans will be to play it safe with Romney.
Romney needs to find a away to get to Perry’s right on an issue or two to show that he is in step with the GOP mainstream. In their debates so far, Romney has relied on the lower-tier candidates to do a lot of the work for him.
Sen. Rick Santorum has been one of the biggest helps, bashing Perry on social issues, national defense and whatever else he can while offering no ill words for Romney. But the blows landed by Reps. Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann have hurt Perry the most. The conservative purists have tried mightily to hobble Perry, giving Romney the chance to stand back and watch the carnage without facing many questions about his own record.
Read more: [link to www.foxnews.com]
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