Is Rick Perry the Tim Tebow of the GOP race?

SALT LAKE CITY -- In Thursday night's Republican presidential debate, the last before voters finally cast their ballots, Rick Perry said he hoped to be the Tim Tebow of the Republican Party, following his poor performances in debates.

"So am I ready for the next level? I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses," Perry said, responding to a question about President Barack Obama's debating skills and Perry's trouble in the debates. "There are a lot of folks that said Tim Tebow wasn't going to be a very good NFL quarterback. And, you know, he won two national championships. And that looked pretty good."

"I'm kind of getting where I like these debates," Perry added. "As a matter of fact, I hope Obama and I debate a lot. And I'll get there early. And we will get it on."

Tebow, the Denver Broncos starting quarterback, has become a national figure over the past few weeks, with his ability to win games despite his less-than-impressive stats. Tebow is a polarizing figure, however, with people either loving or hating him, with few in the middle.

Perry's analogy did not really seem to fit in with the debate, but seemed like an attempt to secure the Christian vote and drop the name of a popular figure. Perry may have some issues with his campaign, but according to national polls, Perry remains a long shot for the Republican nomination.

However, there is always the possibility Perry makes a similar late-game comeback to secure the nomination.

Related political news:

• Texas congressman Ron Paul had probably his best debate of the year Thursday, attacking Newt Gingrich on his involvement with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying," Some people say if it goes to the extreme it gets to fascism." In the last month, Paul has improved his national poll numbers, pulling behind Gingrich and Romney in early poll numbers for the Iowa caucuses. In several polls, Romney and Paul are interchangeable candidates, following Gingrich. With less than three weeks away to the Iowa caucuses, it really is anyone's game, with Paul likely a major player to win Iowa. The question is, can Paul make the next step and lead the Republican Party if he pulls out a victory in Iowa?
• With less than three weeks before caucus voters cast their first ballots in Iowa, former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich remains the Republican Party front- runner, despite attempts from critics to derail his campaign. However, an independent study released Monday may be a major hurtle for the Gingrich campaign. The independent review by the Tax Policy Center recently reviewed Gingrich's proposed tax plan, which would allow tax payers to choose between the current tax policies or a new flat-tax system with a 15 percent tax rate for all taxpayers. "This optional flat tax system will preserve deductions on charitable giving and home ownership, and create a new personal deduction of $12,000 for every American," says Gingrich's website. "This deduction is well above the current poverty level, ensuring that this new system does not unfairly target the poor."

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However, the analysis by the Tax Policy Center says households making more than $1 million a year would see their taxes drop by an average of 62 percent. Overall, federal tax revenues would drop by an estimated $850 billion in 2015, a figure that would dramatically worsen the budget deficit unless it is offset by unprecedented spending cuts, the study said.

1. The New York Times recently said Gingrich's momentum is slowing down, saying, "The polling data I've seen over the past two or three days suggests that Newt Gingrich's momentum has stopped -- and has probably reversed." If true, it could mean good things for Romney or Paul, who would likely benefit from Gingrich's drop in the polls. However, if Gingrich can hold on until the Iowa caucuses, it is possible his campaign could persist through the duration of the election season.
2. Earlier in the week, MSNBC and the Washington Post jumped all over a phrase -- "Keep America American" -- used by Mitt Romney during a campaign stop they said was previously uttered by the Ku Klux Klan. Reversing course, both organizations apologized to the Romney campaign for repeating a liberal blog's claim. The New York Times condemned the poor reporting, saying, "Don't just repeat it. Report it." ---

Written by Josh Furlong with contributions from the Associated Press.

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