Graph: It wasn’t the “oops” moment that did Perry in
You think Rick Perry’s infamous “Oops” debate doomed his campaign? He was in deep trouble long before that, according to campaign fundraising. The Perry campaign started great guns on Aug. 13, collecting an average of $312,675 every day until Sept. 22. That’s when Perry stumbled badly in the presidential debate in which he bungled a prepared attack line about whether Mitt Romney was a flip-flopper. In a strange, disassociated stream of consciousness, Perry asked whether Romney “was on the side of against the Second Amendment before he was for the Second Amendment? Was it was before he was before the social programs from the standpoint of he was for standing up for Roe versus Wade before he was against first Roe versus Wade?” All downhill from there…
Perry’s giddy performance at a New Hampshire event Oct. 30 didn’t help. It left some supporters asking whether he was drunk or under the influence of pain killers for his back surgery (Perry says no, he was just happy). Then, on Nov. 9, the “Oops” debate in which the Texas governor forever became a punchline in American politics when he couldn’t remember all three Cabinet-level agencies he’d abolish as president.
Blowback
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Obviously the debate where he had a stroke was the beginning of the end but he could have pulled up from the death dive if he had managed not to gnaw on his own foot in every subsequent debate. He didn’t and we all saw the burning wreckage strewn across the landscape.
sharrukin on February 12, 2012 at 9:37 PM
Perry will be the pick of a brokered convention. That is hardly losing, although it is definitely a three cushion shot.
platypus on February 12, 2012 at 9:40 PM
Nor every subsequent debate. By November, he had his act together, and his last debates were fine. Apparently that was too late though.
juliesa on February 12, 2012 at 9:40 PM
I can’t believe such a crappy graph actually got published. My bosses would never accept that kind of work.
steebo77 on February 12, 2012 at 9:41 PM
By mid-November, that is.
juliesa on February 12, 2012 at 9:42 PM
He was putting in ok debate performances but he needed better than that given what people had seen previously. Adequate wasn’t going to be good enough for people to lay their bets on him.
sharrukin on February 12, 2012 at 9:44 PM
Didn’t help himself with the “heartless” comment (which happened at the same debate as the “for it / against it” train wrack, IIRC) or the anti-capitalist bandwagoning in January either.
Shame.
Spannerhead on February 12, 2012 at 9:48 PM
He lost when he came out for illegals.
SouthernGent on February 12, 2012 at 9:50 PM
I think his heartless comment sunk him.
John the Libertarian on February 12, 2012 at 10:00 PM
On that issue, he tried to hurt Romney, but Mitt just humiliated Perry. I felt so bad for Rick, I almost called 911 to rescue him.
itsnotaboutme on February 12, 2012 at 10:01 PM
…in a debate, that is.
itsnotaboutme on February 12, 2012 at 10:02 PM
For most of us it was his “heartless” comment that finished him off. He was still able to raise money after that because that’s what his backers wanted to hear. Because of that the money chart is misleading.
FloatingRock on February 12, 2012 at 10:03 PM
Lots of bad moments mentioned here, but the most under-reported goof was when Perry, in his last debate, insisted he wants to re-invade Iraq.
itsnotaboutme on February 12, 2012 at 10:03 PM
Huh Perry’s not running anymore but for some reason his campaign is still being picked at by the media vultures….why is that?
Perry’s still got political juice, someone probably listened to him a CPAC and want to tamp down any enthusiasm for him, now that he’s supporting Gingrich. They have to remind everyone that’s unhappy with who is left running of their negative media spin of the Perry campaign. Just in case, you know he can influence primary voters.
Perry still has a long list of positives, but none of those are going be mentioned by anyone in the MSM including Fox News. Meanwhile Obama stole his campaign slogan “If you have my back, I’ll have yours”.
Dr Evil on February 12, 2012 at 10:16 PM
It began with “heartless”. The article was obtuse to the max. By the time he appeared on Letterman it was beyond being all over. Just what we need, a president who can do stand-up.
paul1149 on February 12, 2012 at 10:23 PM
Because they do that to every failed candidate, including Bachmann, Pizza-Man, Huntsman, etc.
itsnotaboutme on February 12, 2012 at 10:32 PM
It would be interesting to go back over comments on Hot Air and see the first time someone said that “it’s over” for Perry.
That phrase gets thrown around a lot, but some people know what they are talking about.
Dextrous on February 12, 2012 at 10:35 PM
It’s the Dallas Morning News. Even though Perry is no longer on the national stage, they still have an agenda to weaken him inside Texas.
Fabozz on February 12, 2012 at 10:37 PM
Caring about the sovereignty of America doesnt make me “heartless”, Perry. Get bent, Bush III.
Jeddite on February 12, 2012 at 10:45 PM
Yes. You know it. I know it. And certainly, Ms. Malkin and all her cronies know that was the beginning of the end.
The only reason I am at HotAir was because of MM, but I was totally disgusted with her attack on Perry for his heartless comment and then effing crickets when Gingrich wanted to give every freaking illegal since the 1986 amnesty, well amnesty. Disgusting. And it will be a long time, if ever, before that is forgiven.
Sad that a good man with a good record was tossed aside like garbage.
mrsmwp on February 12, 2012 at 10:56 PM
Perry is illegal-loving garbage, and deserved to be tossed aside. I hope he gets laughed at every day back in Bushland.
rightwingyahooo on February 13, 2012 at 7:08 AM
I was generally a Perry supporter until then. Yes, I’d wondered about his Democrat past, but it wasn’t a liberal Democrat past, and people do come around-isn’t that why we engage in political discussions? When he made his “heartless” comment, though, all I could think about was George Bush’s flippant “See you at the signing” taunt, and how hard we’d had to work to defeat amnesty. The sheen was off the governor for me at that point.
DrMagnolias on February 13, 2012 at 7:42 AM
The lack of smoothness in the debates certainly did do him in. People worry about how Baroque, a master debater (HA!), will take apart any GOP candidate.
Again the GOP feeds the narrative that Baroque is some kind of genius, that he can even think on his feet, that he was a constitutional professor. All total lies of course but the GOP is determined to shoot itself in the foot again.
CorporatePiggy on February 13, 2012 at 7:54 AM
I find it funny that no graphs like this are being done about Bachmann, Cain, Huntsman, etc.
Perry is still news – hmmmmmmm
gophergirl on February 13, 2012 at 8:19 AM