Perry on Hannity In One Minute

Can he say something to help his cause?

One thing that bothers me: Some are saying Perry isn't a good debater. I don't really care about that. About not being good with the zingers, about being glib and smooth in a give-and-take.

Sure, I'd like someone who's good at that, but frankly, as a Republican, I've rather gotten accustomed to candidates who aren't good at the mechanics, the technical style-points, of debating.

What bothers me is that many of these questions are just an invitation to supply a canned, planned answer. Most of these questions are perfectly predictable, and a good answer can be written and rehearsed ahead of time.

It's not like the in-state tuition thing was some kind of out-of-the-blue, unexpected question.

Or... was it?

So, Hannity will, I trust, ask a perfectly predictable question. This really is not a gotcha. It's an opportunity to make the best possible case for oneself. It's a pitch you see coming a mile away.

I don't mind getting all twisted up on corkscrew pitches. But the ones you know are coming -- you have to make contact with the ball.

Thanks to JohnE.

And... He does in fact sound far better on Hannity. He points out that anyone living in Texas for three years gets the in-state tuition, including people from Oklahoma.

That doesn't mean that in-state tuition for illegals is right; but it's false that they're getting "preferential treatment" over citizens of other states. Citizens of other states get the same in-state tuition rates, so long as they have the three-year residency requirement met.

None of this wins him the issue. He loses it. He always will lose it. But there are ways to barely lose an issue.

Here's The Bigger Issue... He finally does what he should have done early and often -- blame the federal government for not enforcing the border, and noting that governors like himself are left to make sense out of a bad situation.

Is that entirely true? It may not be entirely true but it's a good debate answer.

And by the way, Rick Santorum is a yipping, ill-informed demagogue.

posted by Ace at 04:01 PM

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