I posted the following in the comments to this Item at Hotair headlined Brutal New Romney Ad: Perry's a Moron:

The truth is sometimes brutal. Perry is not ready for prime time. The only one who has consistently been prepared and performed well is Romney, as much as I know that drives some people here crazy. The Big Lie is that he's not a real conservative. Keep repeating that. It's what Obama's been saying with his claim that he took Obamacare from Romney. That fact in itself should tell us something about that claim. The truth is that a lot of people proposed an individual mandate clear back in the 1990s when Hillarycare was in play. The reason Obamacare was able to be passed was too many conservatives sulked in 2006 and 2008 and allowed Democrats to gain control of both houses of Congress. Another brutal truth. Too many of us would seemingly rather have another Obama term than support the best performer in the debates. Why I don't know. It's like we're stuck on stupid. After each debate, most people agreed that he won, but Palin didn't run and Christie not only didn't run, he endorsed Romney. Bachmann faded after her Gardasil mistake. Then Perry came in to great acclaim only to do a face plant in the debates. Then it was Herman Cain who doesn't look so great anymore. Now everybody's talking up Gingrich, after complaining that the GOP nominated McCain because it was his turn. So now we should give Newt HIS turn? Gingrich's past will be dug up and used to smear him like a deer hit by a semi. You can't blame Romney for Massachusetts being a liberal enclave any more than Perry can take credit for Texas being conservative. Any governor's record will be affected by the state he governs. That's why all the bragging about jobs created in Texas is pointless. What Perry can take credit for is that he didn't screw it up, which would be hard to do with the Texas legislature. Frankly, all the nonsense being spewed here in the comments makes the commenters look dumb, not Romney. Have you ever heard the line, "My mind is made up. Don't try to confuse me with facts." That's what the Anti-Romney folks remind me of.

Romney wouldn't be mixing it up with Perry if Perry hadn't come out of the chute attacking him, but Romney learned last time out that you can't let attacks go unanswered, while Perry ended up tripping over his own spurs.