HANOVER, N.H ? Hours after Chris Christie signaled he believes Mitt Romney is the Republican party?s inevitable nominee, Romney and the rest of the GOP field went about proving him right.
Romney again outclassed the opposition in Tuesday?s Bloomberg/Washington Post debate. Again, none of the other GOP contenders laid a glove on him. And in a telling move that seemed to acknowledge the limits of Rick Perry?s candidacy, the Texas governor effectively tried to survive the debate by not losing it.
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Perry reactions during debate
After starting the day with a coveted endorsement from Christie, the New Jersey governor who may have posed the most serious threat to Romney?s candidacy, the former Massachusetts governor ended it by standing above an increasingly muddled group of rivals. Aided by a group of competitors who?ve risen and fallen ? or not run altogether ? the former Massachusetts governor?s steady-as-he-goes strategy has returned him to unqualified front-runner status.
Romney parried jabs at various points from Perry, Herman Cain, Jon Huntsman, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. And, much like the previous five debates he?s participated in this year, Romney emerged largely unscathed from the fray here at Dartmouth College. Voting will begin in less than three months and yet the once and current Republican man to beat has so far avoided a real confrontation on the state health care plan he passed which was supposed to be an anchor on his candidacy.
In part, it?s because he?s already addressed so many pointed questions about the topic ? and Perry offered one Tuesday ? with answers that were deft and therefore unmemorable. The same can be said for how Romney has handled much of the campaign: crisply, cautiously and without breaking much of a sweat.
That?s not to say Romney?s rivals all blundered Tuesday night and he delivered a flawless performance. But each debate where he suffers from no real blows and can road-test his general election message brings the former Massachusetts governor one step closer to the nomination.
And Romney was further helped with two other consequential developments: Perry?s decision not to contest the debate and the attention heaped on Cain and his ubiquitous 9-9-9 economic plan.
After suffering through consecutive brutal debates, Perry and his team clearly made a decision to use this forum as a pivot point, rather than an opportunity, in which he would talk up his coming economic roll-out and not seek to tear into Romney or otherwise repair the damage from his past performances.
The Texas governor was absent from much of evening?s back-and-forth, rarely interjecting as some of his competitors did freely.
After the debate, Perry seemed to concede that he wasn?t looking to stand out.
?I just try to get up every day and do my job, and debates are not my strong suit,? the Texas governor told reporters following a post-debate party at a Dartmouth fraternity house.
Instead of attempting a debate knock-out, Perry is now aiming to reverse his steep slide in the polls with a series of policy speeches. The first, scheduled for Pittsburgh on Friday, will focus on energy and initiatives a president can push through without the approval of Congress. Then, in two weeks, Perry will deliver an address in South Carolina offering a broader growth agenda, said campaign officials.
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