Perry Makes Tebow Reference During Presidential Debate
DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - Governor Rick Perry compared himself to popular NFL quarterback Tim Tebow during the final debate between Republican presidential candidates Thursday night.
The governor's message, during the event in Sioux City, Iowa, 'don't count me out'.
There were no gaffes for Perry during this debate.
It was the early debates that have proven to be Mr. Perry's downfall, and one of the moderators told the governor that many people are afraid he doesn't have the ability to take-on President Obama.
In response, the governor made reference to the once doubted, now thriving NFL quarterback.
Perry said, "There are a lot of folks who said Tim Tebow wasn't going to be a very good NFL quarterback. He won two national championships and that looked pretty good, and we're the national champions in job creation back in Texas, and so I am ready for the next level, let me tell you. I hope I'm the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses."
During the debate, Governor Perry did not criticize the other candidates. He mentioned his plan to make members of congress part-time, and to end lifetime appointments for supreme court justices and federal judges.
As for his reference to Tebow, CBS 11 political analyst John Weekley thought it was effective.
"I think a lot of people have written Governor Perry off, or at least written him down, that they felt like he doesn't have much of a chance, so it was a good analogy that a lot of people will recognize."
Along those lines, Governor Perry graces the January edition of Texas Monthly, getting the magazine's 'Bum Steer of the Year Award'. The title is given to the person with the biggest screw-ups, gaffes fumbles and stumbles.
So who won the debate?
According to John Weekley, Newt Gingrich came in first, then Mitt Romney, and Perry in a close third.
CBS 11 News will travel to Des Moines, Iowa and have live to coverage of the upcoming caucus on January 3.
