ORLANDO, FL — Rick Perry told Floridians not to fall for “slick” this time around in his last speech of the big Republican political weekend here.
Speaking at a breakfast his campaign held for attendees of the “Presidency5” straw poll — which Perry is actively participating in, unlike his rival Mitt Romney — Perry didn’t mention the name of the man who most say cleaned his clock in Thursday’s debate. But he strongly suggested that Romney is all talk and no walk.
“You’ve seen what happens when our county picks a president who emphasizes words over deeds,” Perry said, taking a shot at Obama that sounded like an attack on Romney as well. “Americans don’t need more slick promises, we need a principled leader who will stand on conservative values.”
Perry tried a similar line Friday, too, attempting to do post-debate damage control by in effect telling a CPAC crowd that debate skills are not a prerequisite for a good nominee or president.
Will it work? Wandering the late-night parties and bar gatherings in Orlando last night, the P5 crowd — which is made up of state party members and activists, for whom things like debates months before the first primary vote is cast actually matter — expressed disappointment in Perry’s performance and there was talk that he might lose the poll he’s spent big money on winning. That would be a blow to a candidate who stormed into the presidential race a little over a month ago, only to see his early momentum blunted by Romney’s debate prowess.
Anyway, we’ll find out later this afternoon how it all shakes out. But for now it seems Perry is hoping they’ll buy his line that being the kind of guy that wins debates doesn’t make you the kind of guy who would be a good nominee.
