COMMENTARY | The Republican presidential hopefuls convened once again Thursday for another debate. This time, Fox News partnered with Google and YouTube to serve as the platform for the debate. While the debate included nine participants, all eyes were on frontrunner Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his closest competitor, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
With America's familiarity with Perry solidifying, Texas' governor had to maintain the status quo. Romney's goal was to attack Perry on the issues while clarifying his own stances. Who won? Here is an analysis of the major topics of the debate which answers that question.
Jobs and the Economy
Thursday's debate presented little in the way of groundbreaking initiatives to heal America's ailing economy. Both Perry and Romney recycled the age-old Republican strategies of lowering taxes while imposing fewer regulations on business. Moderator Brett Baier pointed out Perry lacked a specific jobs plan. Perry responded by touting his economic victories in Texas, especially tort reform, which drew an enthusiastic applause from the audience.
Romney on the other hand, alluded to his new 59-point economic plan as a viable solution. Although his description of the plan was broad -- lower taxes, fair trade, and energy independence serving as the pillars -- having a specific plan at all made Romney look presidential. Romney also gave his best audition for "Dancing with the Stars" by sidestepping the Wall Street Journal's critique of his plan as "surprisingly timid," stating, "I happen to believe that to create jobs it helps to have had a job, and I have."
Romney has been criticized for being too timid, but on jobs and the economy he went on the offensive. (Winner: Romney)
Social Security
Perry has been a Teflon candidate, with gaffes that catch headlines but quickly fade. Perry's stance on Social Security, however, has haunted the governor. His writings regarding Social Security in his book "Fed Up!" can't be erased. According to The Associated Press, Perry wrote that Social Security was a "Ponzi Scheme" and the program was "violently tossing aside any respect for our founding principles of federalism and limited government."
Instead of answering the question of how state-run Social Security would function, Perry attacked Romney, saying, "Now, it's not the first time that Mitt has been wrong on some issues before." This allowed Romney a response where he cited Perry's book as proof of his pre-campaign ideology of dismantling Social Security.
Perry is fumbling with the Social Security issue, and Thursday was no different. (Winner: Romney)
Healthcare
The most heated exchange between Romney and Perry came during the segment related to healthcare. When faced with statistics that Texas leads the country in the uninsured, Perry again pointed out that people were moving to Texas for "opportunity."
Romney's kryptonite has been his Massachusetts healthcare system. Perry could have equaled the playing field with Romney by attacking him on healthcare. Instead, Perry chose to attack Romey as a flip-flopper. Again, Romney deflected the attack by bringing up Perry's analysis of Social Security in "Fed Up!"
Romney turned the tables on Perry and questioned his consistency on the issues. (Winner: Romney)
Thursday was a war between Romney and Perry. Romney looked more presidential than Perry, and may have provided some much-needed steam for his campaign. According to Yahoo! News, prediction markets show Perry's likelihood of winning the nomination went in to a free-fall after the debate. Thursday night was not a good night for Gov. Perry. Lucky for him, the Lone Star candidate will have many more opportunities to shine, if he can.
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