The reason why I don't take Perry's candidacy seriously

[Torie]

is stated well here.

The Pubbie hunger to defeat Obama is just too overweening, to allow such a flawed instrument to be put in play. Yes, I know about Christine O'Donnell and Sharon Angle, but Senate races don't count. This particular POTUS race does. JMO.

[Iosif]

You shouldn't take any of the candidates seriously. Obama is Bill Clinton with a tan. He'll breeze the election.

Whether or not that's a good thing I don't know anymore.

[specific_name]

If Perry enters the race he'll likely split the demographic that Bachmann would be depending on. He'd probably make it easier for Romney to get the nomination, all other factors staying roughly as they are.

[Del Tachi]

Watch out for Perry in the SC and FL primaries.

Victories in those states could float his candidacy until Super Tuesday, at least.

["'Oeps!' De blunders van Rick Perry Indicted"]

You shouldn't take any of the candidates seriously. Obama is Bill Clinton with a tan. He'll breeze the election.

They don't get US economic news where you live, I guess.

[anvi]

Yeah, the GOP has to be careful about Perry.  He is someone who could possibly steal some thunder in the early primaries and build up momentum against someone like Romney, who many in the GOP have deep qualms about.  But Perry can't be nominated if the Republicans are looking for a winner.  If the GOP nominates a serious candidate, Obama will have big problems, but if they nominate Perry, or someone like him, Obama will, even in these sh*tty circumstances, be able to hold on most of the states he won in '08, IMO.

[Bull Moose Base]

Yeah, the GOP has to be careful about Perry.  He is someone who could possibly steal some thunder in the early primaries and build up momentum against someone like Romney, who many in the GOP have deep qualms about.  But Perry can't be nominated if the Republicans are looking for a winner.  If the GOP nominates a serious candidate, Obama will have big problems, but if they nominate Perry, or someone like him, Obama will, even in these sh*tty circumstances, be able to hold on most of the states he won in '08, IMO.

Who is serious though?  Or maybe I should put it, who can remain serious and still win the nomination?  Is Romney still serious? Rejecting the debt deal with time up?  I realize no one's paying much attention to what he says now and he's still perceived as serious.  But what's going to happen if he wins the nomination and people finally see ads explaining what cap, cut, balance would mean?  Will any of them be that different from Perry?  Then again, two years after Bush left office, Florida elected a guy who'd committed Medicare fraud, not aware they'd hate him in 2 weeks.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

Even if Bush Jr. were more popular, I doubt the American people would elect a third Texan in 25 years.

Perry won't win.

[anvi]

Who is serious though?  Or maybe I should put it, who can remain serious and still win the nomination?  Is Romney still serious? Rejecting the debt deal with time up?  I realize no one's paying much attention to what he says now and he's still perceived as serious.  But what's going to happen if he wins the nomination and people finally see ads explaining what cap, cut, balance would mean?  Will any of them be that different from Perry?  Then again, two years after Bush left office, Florida elected a guy who'd committed Medicare fraud, not aware they'd hate him in 2 weeks.

It's a good question.  I think there are a couple of GOP candidates who I would consider serious, but they have next to no chance of being nominated.  Romney could create some rationale for why he supported Cut, Cap and Balance that might still have some play with the GOP base and might sound intuitively good to some independents.  But, JMO, Romney is really the "meh" candidate, and he wouldn't be able to top Obama in a general unless circumstances really sunk the president almost all by themselves.  The one guy in the field right now who could stand a chance against Obama in a general, Huntsman, probably won't make it to Super Tuesday unless he wins New Hampshire. 

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Perry scares me, but the GOP primary usually produces the strongest candidate. McCain was probably as good as they could do in 2008 before the economic collapse. I assume Romney will squeak by but will be overshadowed at points by flavor of the month type candidates like Perry and Bachmann.

[Zarn]

Romney is not the strongest general election candidate...

[Dereich]

Watch out for Perry in the SC and FL primaries.

Victories in those states could float his candidacy until Super Tuesday, at least.

Perry won't win Florida. Florida likes its establishment Republicans, Rick Scott being a rare exception. God only knows about the panhandle, but the rest of the state will go Romney.

[courts]

Romney is not the strongest general election candidate...

My money's still on Bachmann for now, even with all the wackiness associated with her.