Some remaining thoughts from readers. One writes:
I hope you realize how close you came to Von Hoffmann-ing yourself when you started your debate live-blog with the comment: "Perry matches his basement-level expectations."
Another writes:
I actually feel really bad for Rick Perry.
I had a similar situation during my oral doctoral exam, where after talking theory for 10-15 minutes my panel basically asked me to state my sources. I completely blanked. I couldn't recall who had written what specifically, it was just all a mish-mash of realism/constructivism/liberalism/etc. And the longer I came up blank, the more I was thinking about coming up blank and not the damn bibliographical info the profs wanted. It was a vicious cycle. Granted, I'm not running for office and people that are should do better, but at the same time, they're human. And that kinda stuff is what rips me back to reality when I indulge in delusions of grandeur of running for office.
Another:
Your cited bloggers thought that Perry's guffaw was historic and unprecedented, but are they aware that Governor Jan Brewer had just as embarrassing a debate "moment" and survived to win the election? Perhaps that's a comment on Arizona voters, but it's worth noting that Perry has company in the realm of incompetence.
Another:
Aaron Carroll wrote: "Many of the answers the candidates gave on health care reform already exist." Aaron complains rightly about the candidates not knowing this. But can we throw in that the journalists moderating the debate had no clue either? Because they are in the exact same political-entertainment complex as the majority of the candidates on the podium. By the way, a debate in Michigan and the car bail-out is not being discussed at length? WTF?
Another disagrees with me over Romney's restraint against Cain when the harassment allegations were raised:
While I agree that cowardice is Romney's second nature, I think he's really playing the Obama card when it comes to Cain. An attack on Cain would only harm Romney, especially given that Cain will be forgotten in six months no matter what Romney says. It's smart politics, not cowardice.
The Dish 