https://redstate.com/erick/2011/12/20/the-candidates/feed/Conservative News & Politicsen-usSat, 13 Jun 2026 09:58:36 -0400<![CDATA[I will not be endorsing any time soon. I have made clear my reasons here.I am, however, continually surprised that anyone in the GOP thinks Mitt Romney is a really viable candidate. Should he be the nominee, the American public will be treated to interviews and commercials with every person ever fired or laid off because of Bain Capital, an organization from which MItt Romney still draws money.The Romney camp response is, in effect, &#8220;Sure, but look at all the people laid off because of Barack Obama.&#8221;Okay. Sure. In other words, in a race about job creation, we&#8217;ll have a fight over who caused the fewest people to lose their jobs.That&#8217;s a real winner of an argument to have.Meanwhile, yesterday, a number of bloggers across the conservative side of the internet rolled out endorsements for Rick Perry, including a number of front page writers here. While I realize Perry&#8217;s initial debate performances were weak and, should Perry make it out of Iowa he must absolutely and decisively remove Ray Sullivan from being in charge of communications, left people yearning for what might have been, the man is the three term governor of the second largest state in the nation under whose administration close to 50% of all jobs in the nation were created in the past decade, and who has never lost an election.And there is also the fact that Rick Perry is both a farmer and a veteran. In fact, Perry is the only veteran running for President who has a shot at actually winning. Republicans used to value military service in a candidate and they still should.I think Rick Perry has a vastly better shot against Barack Obama than Mitt Romney. Of all the candidates running, I think he has one of the best shots, though his internal campaign situation has badly served him and he never should have left Ray Sullivan in his position and I question whether he should have brought on Cousin Eddie . . . er . . . Joe Allbaugh, a Bushie whose presence will just cause more comparisons to Bush.I highlight Perry not to endorse him, but to point out that his qualifications and experience are a far better match against Barack Obama than Mitt Romney&#8217;s, whose claim to fame is his private sector experience, which he is forced to highlight because in the 22 contests on which MItt Romney has placed his name for public office, he has only won 5.While I think Perry has one of the best shots of beating Barack Obama, he is not the only one.]]>Tue, 20 Dec 2011 04:47:00 -0500<![CDATA[Erick Erickson]]>https://redstate.com/erick/2011/12/20/the-candidates-n41566