Rick vs. Newt: The debate factor

Rick Perry's candidacy failed almost entirely on the weakness of his debate performances, while Newt Gingrich's? is thriving on the strength of his. One problem: a good debater doesn't necessarily make a good president.

I try to be careful not to get into the horse race aspects of things around here, but I thought Gov Perry?s rise and fall was notable in the following sense.

Skip to next paragraph Jared Bernstein

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Before joining the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities as a senior fellow, Jared was chief economist to Vice President Joseph Biden and executive director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class. He is a contributor to MSNBC and CNBC and has written numerous books, including 'Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed?'

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It takes a lot to run an effective primary campaign these days, with money and organization and name recognition often at the top of the list.? But you also need to be a good debater.? Gov Perry wasn?t, and his high scores on those other assets failed to offset that by a Texas mile.

Newt, on the other hand, is a sharp debater.? And his lack of those other attributes, e.g., organization, has, at least for now, been largely offset by his debating prowess.

But here?s the thing: does being a good debater make you a good president?? I can?t see that it does.

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