It didn't take long for the Republican Presidential debate to focus on the two leaders in the polls, as Gov. Rick Perry of Texas sparred repeatedly with former frontrunner Mitt Romney, while other candidates tried to shine in the first of three GOP forums over the next two weeks.
After two debates in which no one laid a glove on Romney, the former Massachusetts Governor jabbed at the newest GOP candidate repeatedly, as both men tried to say their records were the best on economic growth.
"Michael Dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did, Mitt," Perry said, referring to Romney's predecessor in Massachusetts.
"As a matter of fact, George Bush and his predecessor created jobs at a faster rate than you did," Romney shot back.
During the debate, Romney's campaign sent out a series of emails attacking Perry on a number of issues, all of them sporting photographs of Perry with big red letters that said, "CAREER POLITICIAN."
Perry and Romney also sparred over Social Security, as the Texas Governor did not back down one bit from his charge that the retirement system has morphed into a "Ponzi Scheme," arguing that young people are paying in but won't get the benefits they deserve.
"You cannot keep the status quo in place and not call it anything other than a Ponzi Scheme," Perry said.
While Romney rapped Perry for that use of phrase and more, the former Governor also had tough words on several occasions for President Obama as well.
"This President is a nice guy," Romney said at one point. "He just doesn't have a clue how to get this country working again."
One of Perry's best moments was when NBC's Brian Williams asked about the large number of death row inmates who have been executed in Texas; as with his answer about Social Security, Perry made no excuses for his stance on the death penalty.
"Have you struggled to sleep at night with the idea that any one of those might have been innocent?" Williams asked, in a question that may well be mocked on talk radio.
"No sir. I've never struggled with that," said Perry, adding that "in the state of Texas, if you come into our state and you kill one of our children, you kill a police officer, you're involved with another crime and you kill one of our citizens, you will face the ultimate justice in the state of Texas, and that is, you will be executed."
While the debate was certainly dominated by Perry and Romney, there were six other candidates all trying to improve their chances as well - but none of them had a major moment that would push the Perry-Romney spat out of the lead paragraph in the morning papers.
In no particular order:
- Jon Huntsman tried to get some of the spotlight as he jabbed at both Romney and Perry
- Herman Cain seemed to get a bit more attention and traction, as he kept mentioning his "9-9-9" plan
- Newt Gingrich again rebuked the moderators for trying to cause trouble amongst the Republican candidates
- Ron Paul lobbed a few jabs at his home state Governor, but none of them seeemd to knock Perry off balance
- Michele Bachmann didn't seem to have the same zip in this debate that she had in the last two debates in Iowa and New Hampshire
- Rick Santorum was not a major factor in this debate While Perry certainly held his own in his first debate appearance, the Texas Governor did find himself in a couple of verbal cul-de-sacs at times - but he made no obvious gaffes. In fact, Perry seemed to relish playing offense. We'll see if that continues next week on Monday in Tampa and then on September 22 in Orlando.
