(CNN) - Arguing the election cycle has too many presidential debates, Rick Perry's top spokesman said the Texas governor could use more time with voters instead of taking the stage with Republican opponents.
"We're about 60 days away from votes being cast," communications director Ray Sullivan said on CNN's "John King, USA" Wednesday. "The candidates need to spend time in Iowa doing those town halls and spending a lot more time with the voters, who oftentimes have the best questions and press the candidates the hardest."
Citing the dozen-plus debates in the works, Sullivan added: "There's no way that the candidates can do all those debates."
Perry, whose poll numbers have slid after a series of uneven debate performances, made headlines Tuesday when he described taking part as a "mistake."
"These debates are set up for nothing more than to tear down the candidates," Perry said on Fox News. "It's pretty hard to be able to sit and lay out your ideas and your concepts with a one-minute response."
Sullivan confirmed that Perry will participate in a debate on Nov. 9, hosted by CNBC with the Michigan Republican Party and Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.
"But look, we're taking each of these as they come, examining the schedule and examining the opportunities and the opportunity costs," Sullivan told King, CNN's chief national correspondent.
Sullivan said the Perry campaign needs to be in several key battleground states, including Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and Nevada.
"We certainly respect the process, but when you've got eight of nine candidates and 30 seconds to a minute, it takes valuable time away from campaigning in Iowa, as those elections approach," Sullivan said.
Also see:
Bachmann files to run in New Hampshire
From CNN Politics
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So Rick wants to pull a Sharon Angle and ditch the media? Is this clown for real?
So, I'm going to take my ball and go home.
True answer: Because debates make him look bad. He looks like another dim bulb from Texas, which mean Bush supporters will probably like him. I live in Texas, and I don't like him. He's backed by fanatical evangelicals. I think he's dangerous. (See the article, "Rick Perry's Army of God" in the Texas Observer.)
hes only trying to prevent voters from seeing the inevitable: romney's better
Perryhead already skipped the debates he was in, pretty sure he will not be missed in the rest.
Ha,Ha, Ha, what do you know, The big Texas blowhard has just figured out that if you cannot swim, stay out of water that is over your head. What a dumb son of a buck he is.
Cant debate, cant talk , cant connect with the voters. He had better just stay Governor of Texas where all you have to know is how to shoot a gun and shoot the bull.
God forbid that candidates for President have to do any of the following:
1. Adjust their schedules to accommodate what voters think is important
2. Demonstrate on cue a knowledge of issues and be able to explain why they take the positions they do
3. Display an ability to think on their feet and react to the unexpected
4. Show the world (not just US voters) how well they perform under pressure
I've always dreamed of the day when the decision about whom to vote for would come down to which candidate has the better PR firm, how about you?
A time-bounded response has been a fundamental part of debating since the time of the Greeks. Perhaps there were few real debates in animal science school.
Great,
But. But we need some entertainment of another Texan making a fool of himself. Could you imagine a third Texan elected president in the past 50 years. Having 3 Texas losers screw up the rest of the country is plain stupidity; Texas get out of America.
Sounds like he dont want to look stupid in front of millions anymore and uses the excuse of not being able to blab any more of his stupidity. if he can't take the heat he should not be president because he folds under pressure. Man up!
Yeah, if I had a dumb guy like Perry to promote I wouldn't want him talking in public either. Pass along this advice to the Bachmann camp as well. On the other hand, it is funny to listen to their idiocy. It's a crazy crop of candidates the GOP are fielding. I never thought I'd say that the smartest one out there was Palin who didn't run. Right now she's looking like a genius.
Like we can't see through this? Perry bombs in debates. Don't pretend to have a higher cause for ducking future debates. We are increasingly NOT stupid anymore!
Papa Perry can not only skip the debates, he can skip right on back to Texas and skip running for president. The last thing this nation needs is another G.W. Bush. Especially one that is not even as smart as the last Bush WASN'T..
Perry might as well skip the rest of the election while he's at it...
That may work in Texas but it want fly on the national level.
Perry, you're a genius. "These debates are very hard. Therefore, I should not have to do them. People will know I am smart because my wife says I am smart. Plus.... God don't make no junk."
This is not unprecedented, as Governor Perry also didn't debate his fellow candidate Bill White in our most recent Texas gubernatorial race.
Whatever, he knows he wants to really skip debates because everytime he participates, his rating plummets.
Huh? As a voter I would rather hear what you have to say in a debate than shake your hand and see you smile.
Anyone want to bet that if he was NOT stinking up the place at each debate with his lackluster performance, he would suddenly have time for them?
Love it. There are "too many debates". The truth is that, in any debates, his mouth proves him out to be the cow-punching moron that he really is.
Rick shares a problem with his fellow candidates- delusions of adequacy. From what I've seen, no way is this guy suitable or prepared for the job of POTUS. Too small-minded and pusillanimous, for starters.
Maybe he should just "poke Obama" in his words. (Unfortunate double-entendre there, Rick.)
Okay, secede from debates, your heart really wasn't in it. Nor your barnacle-brain. (Nice tax plan. Not.)
he is so full of it. what the real reason is is that he is too bush brained to be even start to explain things in that time frame. not hard. really its not.. that and im sure no ones giving him the money... and he obviously has anger issues. see how he reacts to other candidates of his own party? howd he respond to the chinese? or russia? or iran?
Perry's problem isn't that one minute is too short to lay out his ideas.
It's that one minute is too long for Perry to try to sound like he understands the issues.
If an idea doesn't fit on a bumper sticker, Perry's in over his head