The reaction to a debate is more important than the debate itself. The first take on last night's Fox News/Google debate comes from the pundits. The final word comes from the polling.
A majority of Internet pundits say that Rick Perry did not do well...continuing a series of poor performances from Perry. It's important for Republican voters to evaluate Perry's debating skills while he is under constant attack as the GOP front-runner. Constant attack is exactly what the eventual nominee will face in the general election.
I don't expect that Perry will slide to second place right away in the national polling...but do anticipate that Romney will continue to creep up on him as Republicans become convinced that Mitt Romney is the more electable candidate.
All my political friends continue to remind me that there's a lot of time before the Iowa caucus. So Perry has time to right the ship. But he does not have the momentum right now.
Speaking of momentum, has any candidate squandered a win in the Iowa straw poll more dramatically than Michele Bachmann? I'm waiting to see which of the "undercard" candidates begins to siphon off her supporters more dramatically after last night's debate: Rick Santorum or Herman Cain.