A lot of people are writing Perry off after his awful performance in the Florida debate, but this poll was taken AFTER the disastrous debate.

Perry is not a good debater. He is no match for his rivals, who know federal issues better than he does, and are much better at the tactics of debate. But the debate portion of the campaign is going to come to an end at some point, not too far distant, and when that happens, the focus will shift to meet-and-greets in Iowa and New Hampshire and other swing states. Perry is much better at connecting with people than Romney is. We can all make sport of Perry, but he is still in great position to win the nomination. Connecting with people is his specialty. Romney lacks the common touch.

Tagged: CNN poll, mitt romney, republican presidential primary, rick perry