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South Carolina Debate Another Chance for Perry Redemption; Stumbles

Rick Perry meets with reporters after Wednesday's Michigan debate. He joins his GOP presidential rivals on stage in South Carolina tonight.
Photo by Ben Philpott for KUT News
Rick Perry meets with reporters after Wednesday's Michigan debate. He joins his GOP presidential rivals on stage in South Carolina tonight.

After a two-day media blitz attempting to counter Wednesday night's 53 seconds of forgetfulness, Gov. Perry and the rest of the GOP field are back on stage tonight at Wofford College in South Carolina.

The debate will focus on foreign policy and national security, which could provide plenty of pitfalls for what the Washington Post says is a group of candidates that, "...has little experience on national security issues aside from former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who served as U.S. ambassador to China from 2009 to earlier this year."

The Atlantic has five things to watch for in tonight's debate. Number one on the list - what can Gov. Perry do to turn it around in this debate.

Perry launched his presidential campaign in South Carolina. And based on the make-up of the GOP base in the Palmetto State, the odds were in his favor to win it in January. But now he's dropped to 4th in state polls. He told South Carolina's "The State" newspaper that he didn't have to win the state to get the Republican nomination, but that it would hurt his campaign badly.

And based on his appearance in a Veterans Day parade in the state capital, Columbia, he still has some supporters. But Perry still has much work to do to shore up that support.

KUT will have an update from the debate tonight.

Ben Philpott is the Managing Editor for KUT. Got a tip? Email him at bphilpott@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @BenPhilpottKUT.