WASHINGTON — Gov. Rick Perry of Texas tried to neutralize an onslaught of ridicule with a dose of humor on Thursday, appearing on television from morning until night in an urgent attempt to deflect grave concerns about his candidacy and to keep the Republican presidential race from advancing without him.It just looked so bad, the "oops" moment. Yeah, we all have memory lapses, but not during a presidential debate. That's why we have these debates in the first place.
As Mitt Romney sought to capitalize on the moment by persuading Republicans that he is the party’s strongest nominee to confront President Obama, the campaigns of Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich also jostled for new attention in the wake of Mr. Perry’s memory lapse that left him speechless at a debate on Wednesday.
Less than two months before the party’s nominating contest opens, Mr. Romney is taking steps to increase his investments in Iowa and South Carolina, two early-voting states with conservative electorates. He has played down the two states, but his advisers are moving closer to competing more aggressively in an effort to win over Republicans who have spent the year searching for another candidate.
But Mr. Perry plans to accelerate his television advertising campaign next week in Iowa to elicit empathy, minimize the damage from Wednesday’s debate performance, and at least keep voters open to supporting him. His aides said that he has sufficient resources to compete heavily in Iowa, but that he is increasingly turning to donors in Texas to make up for a falloff in national fund-raising.
Anyways, perhaps Mitt Romney's consolidating his lead. See Political Wire, "Romney Retakes Lead, Gingrich Surges Past Cain."
RELATED: At Hot Air, "Gingrich passes Cain for second place in Marist poll."
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