PERRY'S BAD DEBATE PERFORMANCE: MAYBE IT WAS AN HOMMAGE

Maybe Perry...



... was just trying to pay tribute to the Republican Party's #1 hero:



After those awkward Reagan moments took place, in his first debate with Walter Mondale, the Gipper went back and regrouped. Roger Ailes told him to substitute happy talk for facts, and America concluded that Reagan won the debate with a now-famous quip:

"I want you to understand that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign," Reagan winked. "I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience."

That was the last Reagan-Mondale debate. Reagan went on to win 49 states that year.

Seriously, Perry may stage just such a comeback precisely because there's such alarm about his lousy performance last night -- assuming he's got it in him to bounce back. Flops like that do tend to concentrate the mind.

(Perry video via Hit & Run. Apologies for the video title -- it's not mine.)