Will the real Rick Perry please stand up? - The Fix - The Washington Post

Perry, who despite a long career in elective office is not well tested in debates, came out of the debate with his frontrunner status intact, but very fair questions that will linger about his overall candidacy.

One of those questions is whether he can survive the detailed policy discussions. Challenged Wednesday to talk about which climate scientists he most agreed with in his doubts about global warming, Perry stumbled through a pained response that included a comparison between global warming doubters and Galileo.

While doubting global warming won’t necessarily hurt him in a Republican primary, the exchange showed that Perry can get tripped up. While he may have clear the bar set for his first debate, he also showed he can stumble in a way that Romney has not.

Rick Perry, Galileo and Global Warming - ABC News

Texas Gov. Rick Perry clung to his skepticism of climate change science in Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate when he was asked if he believes man-made climate change is happening.

GOP Debate Fireworks: Perry Doubles Down on Climate Denial, Huntsman Says GOP Can't Run from Science : TreeHugger

[Watch some of Perry's global warming comments in the video at the above link (starting at the 38-second mark)] The first major GOP debate to feature firebrand Rick Perry went pretty much as expected on the green front: lots of calls for more drilling, plenty o' climate change denyin', and ample confusion about science itself. Here's what you need to know: