Last Night's Debate - 'Oops'

Ouch.

The big news out of last night's debate is that Rick Perry may have crippled his campaign beyond repair.

After saying there were three government departments he'd eliminate, he was only able to name two and froze for an agonizing 53 seconds when he tried to name a third one...ending with an embarrassed "Oops."

OK, anyone can have a brain freeze, but the problem here is two-fold; first, that he did it to himself, and second, that it reinforces his reputation with voters as someone who is an abysmal debater and likely to look like a fool facing President Obama. And that's a pretty low bar, frankly.

Even worse, he tried to recoup during th eanswer to another question, saying "It was the Department of Energy I was trying to think of." Aside from being lame, the Department of Energy is one of the last government departments I think you want to close given that our whole approach to energy independence needs to be ramped up and the efforts co-ordinated nationally.

Even Governor Perry realizes what a game changer this is.

Perry came into the debate at 9.3 percent on InTrade. He’s now down to 4.9 percent and dropping. One of his top fundraisers is reportedly saying that his campaign is over and it's time for him to focus on being governor of Texas.

Herman Cain managed to skate through on the sexual harassment question. Moderator Maria Bartiromo brought the topic up, saying: “Shareholders are reluctant to hire a CEO where there are character issues.”

Cain's response was to sort of sidestep an answer and attack the premise of the question: “The American people deserve better than someone being tried in the court of public opinion based on unfounded accusations,” Cain said. “This country’s looking for leadership and this is why a lot of people, despite what has happened over the last nine days, are still very enthusiastically behind my candidacy.”

It was an obviously prepared and rehearsed answer that got some cheers and was probably the smartest thing he could have said, but it doesn't really address the situation - or his poor handling of it thus far.

The candidates seem to have decided, individually or collectively that there's not going to be any sparks between candidates and they will focus on the positive. Newt Gingrich was his usual articulate self and Mitt Romney also continued to look like the most presidential person on the stage, at least in terms of his poise and ready answers.

He spent a decent amount of time talking about national security and foreign policy issues,an area where he's fairly strong. He reiterated unequivocally that as president, he would see to it that Iran did not obtain nuclear weapons.

When asked to address the flip flopping image, he was likewise strong, saying,“I think people know me pretty well, particularly in this state. I think people understand that I’m a man of steadiness and constancy.”

“I will be true to my family, to my faith and to my country, and I will never apologize for the United States of America.”

In summation, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich came out of the debate with some momentum, Herman Cain managed to avoid any major mistakes and Rick Perry is going to have some serious thinking to do about his next move.

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