Verbatim

NOVEMBER 11, 2011
Two new polls show Perry in single digits

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry, struggling to put his epic debate gaffe behind him, has fallen into single-digits and runs fifth place in a new McClatchy-Marist poll released Friday. 

The former Republican frontrunner, who became a punch-line on late night talk shows after his stumble in a Wednesday debate, has eight percent support and is now closer to the back of the eight-candidate pack than the front.

The poll, which was concluded Thursday, also showed a realignment among upper-tier candidates, with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney reclaiming the lead with 23 percent and former U. S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich surging into second place with 19 percent. Atlanta businessman Herman Cain, who has been dogged by sexual harassment allegations that he strongly denies, has fallen into third place with 17 percent.

Texas congressman Ron Paul is in fourth place with 10 percent.

Perry’s free-fall comes after a series of sub-par debate performances topped by the latest stumble on Wednesday, when he was unable to remember one of three federal agencies he wants to abolish as president. Analysts and political bloggers uniformly depicted the gaffe as one of the worst in debate history, with some saying that it effectively kills Perry’s candidacy.

Perry, who has been Texas’ governor for nearly 11 years, bounded into the lead immediately after entering the race in mid-August but he has been unable to reverse his steady slide in the polls.

A CBS poll released Friday also showed Perry with eight percent and in fourth place ahead of Paul, who had 5 percent. The CBS poll showed Cain in front with 18 percent and Romney and Gingrich tied for second at 15 percent.

Both polls depict Gingrich as the latest candidate on the rise in the race for the Republican nomination. In the CBS survey, 61 percent of primary voters say they sexual harassment allegations against Cain won’t make any difference in their vote, but 30 percent say the accusations make them less likely to support him. Cain’s support among women has dropped from 28 percent to 15 percent since October, according to the CBS survey . 

--Dave Montgomery

So now our erstwhile governor has exposed for the world exactly that which an overwhelming majority of low-information voters are willing to elect to office. Thankfully the national stage is a bit more demanding. 

One less clown in the car. Hasta la vista... baby.

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