Politico’s Molly Ball takes a deep dive into Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s past debate performances as his first appearance in a presidential debate approaches Wednesday night.
What did she find? A man who has kept off the debate stage as much as he could during his unprecedented three terms as governor of Texas (he’s debated just four times since he got the job), but “rarely makes a mistake” when he takes the stage “and almost always manages to win by not losing.”
For Americans with fresh memories of the last Texas governor to hold the White House, Ball’s reporting suggests Wednesday night’s debate at the Reagan Library in California will sound very familiar:
Confident and folksy, Perry has a talent for coming across as sincere, staying focused on his key themes, and answering the questions he wants to answer rather than the ones he’s been asked. He never, ever backs down: In four hours of debates spanning three different campaigns, all of which focused on knocking the incumbent — Perry — off balance, not once does he admit error, express regret, or acknowledge the merits of criticism.
Emphasis added. Read the rest — including interviews with Perry’s past opponents (both those who have shared a stage with him and those who haven’t) — here.
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Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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