SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Fresh off two strong debates in New Hampshire, Rick Perry launched a campaign resuscitation effort here Sunday with a sharp, simple message.
?I am one of you,? he said to a crowd of roughly 100 at the Beacon Drive In restaurant. ?And where I grew up and how I grew up has made such an impact on my life, and continues to have an impact on my life and will continue to have an impact if I am in the White House.?
Continue ReadingWith a heavy emphasis on his Christian faith, and some pointed contrasts with his opponents, the Texas governor is waging a vigorous last stand to rally the Palmetto State?s conservative Republican voters to his side.
David Wilkins, a former ambassador to Canada and a key political player here, declared the state ?Rick Perry country.?
Perry certainly hopes that?s the case. He?s coming off a fifth-place finish in Iowa and trying to claw his way back into relevancy with this last-ditch campaign swing that started Sunday afternoon here in the state?s ?upstate? region.
?The target?s in sight, and I?m not giving up,? Perry said, adding that he has ?never quit a day in my life.?
Despite the disappointing Iowa finish, Perry has a sliver of momentum. In fact, if the first few debate performances had gone as well as the two he clocked this weekend, his campaign might never have tumbled from the top of the polls.
But now he?s barely registering a blip in the contest. The only candidate he mentioned by name at his stop at the Beacon ? where Perry ordered a pile of fried food and chili ? was Mitt Romney, whose record he blasted.
?The fact is if you want to know how somebody?s going to perform in the future, look to their past,? Perry said in a packed, closed-off section of the eatery on a rainy afternoon. ?In fact, Mitt said, ?if you want know how I?m going to perform, look at my record.? I have, Mitt.?
A woman called out that she didn?t like it. Perry responded, ?I?m with you, ma?am.?
On the debate stages in New Hampshire and Sunday evening in South Carolina, Perry projected confidence: He swung repeatedly at his rivals for being Washington insiders and connected that with the original argument of his candidacy. He blasted Barack Obama repeatedly and called the president a socialist. He hardly stumbled. He even made a self-deprecating reference to his infamous ?oops? moment from an early November debate, when he couldn?t remember the third of three agencies he wanted to eliminate from the federal government.
?It would be those bureaucrats at the Department of Commerce and Energy and Education that we?re going to do away with,? Perry said in response to a question about cuts that would inflict pain on Americans.
As the audience burst into laughs, Rick Santorum held up three fingers and a grinning Perry returned the gesture.
Even NBC moderator David Gregory couldn?t resist a dig. ?And that?s your final answer,? he quipped.
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