Take a look at these results from a CNN poll conducted Sept. 23-25 (i.e., after the most recent GOP presidential debate). They show support among Republican voters.
| 9/23-25 | 9/11 | 8/24-25 | 8/5-7 | 7/18-20 | |
| Perry | 28% | 30% | 30% | 16% | 15% |
| Romney | 21% | 18% | 17% | 19% | 19% |
| Gingrich | 10% | 5% | 6% | 6% | 4% |
| Cain | 7% | 5% | 3% | 4% | 6% |
| Palin | 7% | 15% | 12% | 16% | 15% |
| Paul | 7% | 12% | 6% | 12% | 10% |
| Bachmann | 4% | 4% | 10% | 7% | 12% |
| Santorum | 3% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Huntsman | 1% | 2% | 1% | 5% | 1% |
| Someone else | 3% | 2% | 6% | 6% | 5% |
| No one else | 4% | 4% | 6% | 5% | 9% |
| No opinion | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
You'd think that the two beneficiaries of the debates would be Mitt Romney and "Someone Else" (New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie?). But Romney's support is virtually unchanged and "Someone Else" dropped to 3 percent at the very moment that he or she was supposed to be surging. Maybe that's why Christie's spokesman said today that he isn't running.
My philosophy about Perry has been: Ignore him and he'll go away. It worked with Palin and Bachmann. I still think Perry will fade, too; he's just at an earlier stage in the blowhard life cycle. But the spotlight's been on him lately as he's made kind of a fool of himself. It doesn't seem to have mattered. That does give me pause.
Update. National Review Online is reporting that Christie is "very seriously" considering getting into the race, according to former Gov. Tom ("New Juuuzy and You") Kean. "It's real," Keane told NRO. "He's giving it a lot of thought. I think the odds are a lot better now than they were a couple of weeks ago."
Correction. An earlier version of them item called Tom Kean "Tom Kaine." Then somebody fixed it to "Tom Keane." It's Tom Kean. (Third time's the charm.)