And the Republi-CON Race is On

UPDATE V: "The race is on in the Republican Party to find America’s Not-Mitt." Read The New York Times, Debating With the Stars.

Time will tell if Perry's the Not-Mitt but:

"Under the traditional rules of American politics, last night was a very bad night for Texas Governor Rick Perry. In his debut debate, his first introduction to a national audience, he found himself first explaining and then doubling down on his description of Social Security as a 'Ponzi scheme,' with a few references to the 'monstrous lie' of its long-term promises thrown in for good measure. It was precisely the kind of moment that the Romney campaign must have been hoping for, and thanks to the moderators’ questions and Perry’s answers, it fell into Romney’s lap without him having to even raise the issue. As soon as the exchange happened, a Romney adviser e-mailed Politico’s Ben Smith: '[Perry] has lost. No federal candidate has ever won on the Perry program to kill Social Security. Never has. never will.' That’s spin, yes, but I’m sure the Romney people believe the basic premise. As well they should. Everything we know about American voters — and yes, Republican primary voters very much included — suggests that Perry’s comments will eventually be deadly to his electoral prospects. . .

Based on last night’s performance, Rick Perry intends to run as exactly the kind of presidential candidate that many leading conservatives insist that the country wants and needs. In four months time, we’ll begin to find out if they’re right."

Read The New York Times, The Rick Perry Experiment.

Are the Republi-cons still searching for Mr. Right but Electable?

Also, read the Republi-CON 'social security is a ponzi scheme' myth


UPDATE IV: Tammy want to know why is Ron Paul like the 13th floor, often omitted?

"Even when the media does remember Ron Paul, it's only to reassure themselves that there's no need to remember Ron Paul." Watch The Daily Show, Indecision 2012 - Corn Polled Edition - Ron Paul & the Top Tier:

The Daily Show - Indecision 2012 - Corn Polled Edition - Ron Paul & the Top Tier
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UPDATE III: Was the Iowa straw poll a 'GOP ideological purity test'? And if so, was Obama the winner? Read the Washington Post, Tim Pawlenty and the limits of ideological purity and The straw poll winner: Barack Obama.


UPDATE II: Speaking of the "nonsense of the Iowa straw poll", read Rick's Blog, Iowa Caucus: You have to be kidding.


UPDATE: "The nonsense of the Iowa straw poll is behind us. We’ve had another GOP debate. We have one more candidate (Rick Perry) and one less (Tim Pawlenty). [Read] some thoughts as the nomination contest actually gets going" at Time, Notes on an Elephant in Despair.

"It will be the best of times for some GOP hopefuls and the worst of times for others.

Every candidate has a dream scenario for Saturday’s Ames Straw Poll but also a chance for a hard flop. For every George W. Bush, who won the nonbinding poll in 1999 and went on to win the caucuses as well, there is a Tommy Thompson, who dropped out of the GOP race in 2007, one day after finishing a disappointing sixth in Ames.

While it’s notoriously hard to game out the results of the presidential trial ballot that takes place on the grounds of Iowa State University, it’s a little easier to understand the best- and worst-case scenarios for each candidate.

[For] a quick guide to the prospective highs and lows for each of the roughly dozen GOP hopefuls when the ballots have been counted late Saturday afternoon," read Politico, Ames: Best and worst case scenarios.