New Gallup Poll: 45% Of Republicans Say Romney Will Get The Nod

Please. There's not a single person voting for or against Obama because of a debate. He could put out the formula to cure cancer, and people would hate that he held onto it until it was politically expedient. He could get crushed by Sarah Palin, and he'd still get voted in by people who like to vote for the (D) next to the name, or for the Hopey McChange-ness of the fresh new campaign.

I mean, look at the "Promises" put out during the last set of debates. It's almost 2012, and:

a) We're still in Iraq (though drawing down and leaving soon, but heavily indebted to a "surge" that then-Senator Obama said "I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there. In fact, I think it will do the reverse"),
b) "Now, what I've done throughout this campaign is to propose a net (government budget) spending cut" (Oct. 15, 2008)
c) Is Guantanamo Bay still open for business?

Now, I'm not saying that any of these policies are good or bad or should be acted on. But they're major points he brought up in debates, and no one really cares 4 years later that he flopped, didn't act, or didn't follow his timeline. Those who didn't like him still don't, those who do don't care that he flopped, and people will probably elect him again, for whatever reason.

 

He died. 50 years ago. How did the debates go during Vietnam, or post-Watergate, or for Mondale? Ross Perot crushed the debates in 92. All he did was take a few votes from GHWB. Did Kerry do anything in the debates other than say "Swift Boat Veterans are liars?" Did Obama show a stunning foreign policy or economic advantage over McCain, or did everyone who wasn't a right-wing whack job say that they're not voting for a ticket where Palin is a 75-y/o's heartbeat away from President?

 

Perot was leading both GHW and Clinton in the polls. Then he withdrew form the race.

 

There have been more republican debates this time around than any time I can remember. The formats may suck, and it allows the lefty media to pounce on any miscues. The good news is that there are a lot of candidates, and every one of them has been vetted to an unprecedented degree.

Rick Perry has proven to be horrible in the debate formats. I'm not so sure his performance speaks to how good a president he could be. Not that I'm convinced he'd be good at it.

He has a lot of campaign money to run concise and polished ads. I've seen one a couple times now, and he comes across much better.

My hunch is that he's going to be going head to head against Romney for most of the remaining race. Until/if he runs out of donors' money.