The Brief: February 12, 2010

THE BIG CONVERSATION

Debra Medina, take comfort in the words of Cat Stevens — "The first cut is the deepest." Especially if the cut is about 9/11 truthers.

While on Glenn Beck's radio show yesterday, Medina was surprised by a question on her support for the 9/11 "truth" movement that questions whether the government was involved in the terrorist attacks. Her answer, which went on for a few minutes as Beck tried to interrupt, seemed to give credence to the movement.  

"There are some very good arguments, and I think the American people have not seen all of the evidence there," she said. "So I have not taken a position on that."

After ending the interview, Beck promptly began to laugh at Medina, ending with the memorable ""Rick, I think you and I could French kiss right now."

Immediately afterwards, Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison took their turns lambasting their competitor. The Perry camp put out a press release arguing the comments were an "insult" to the victims, while the Hutchison folks said her comments were "an affront to the men and women who are sacrificing their lives to root out the terrorists."

It was the chance they'd been waiting for — a way to openly go negative on the underdog candidate without looking like bullies.

Even former FEMA head Joe Allbaugh got in on the action: "Ms. Medina, if you really believe that there are legitimate questions yet to be answered about whether the U.S. government was involved in the 9/11 attacks, in my opinion, you have no business running for Governor of Texas."

In her own press release, Medina said her comments were regarding the rights of Americans to ask questions and that she does not believe the U.S. government had anything to do with the attacks. As she travelled during the day, she also repeatedly explained she never heard Beck's interruptions. In fact, she said he never said anything while she answered and then abruptly ended the interview to begin lambasting the candidate.

That led some, like Phillip Martin over at Burnt Orange Report, to speculate the incident might not have been coincidental. Martin argued the entire debacle to be a plan from the Perry campaign: "In fact, if you read the whole interview, it's pretty hard to not read it as a setup — especially from a guy like Glenn Beck."

Paul Burka, on the other hand, wrote a post titled: "Medina self-destructs on Glenn Beck radio show." Many seem to think this might be an unrecoverable setback.

But lucky for Medina, Glenn Beck doesn't seem to penetrate the Politico offices. Today's big profile of her "Texas-sized momentum" makes no mention of the incident.

CULLED

• The results are in! According to the Texas Tribune/UT poll, Perry and White both hold substantial leads over their respective challengers. Perry stands with 45 percent of  self-identified Republican primary voters, leaving competitors Hutchison and Medina in a statistical tie (Hutchison with 21 percent, Medina with 19). That leaves Perry 5 percent short of a run-off. The results are even more dramatic in the Democratic primary, where Bill White has 50 percent of the potential vote, despite the six other candidates vying for the spot. Farouk Shami limped out with 11 percent.

• "Get Well Soon" cards. Bill Clinton was hospitalized yesterday and had to have his artery un-blocked in a procedure related to his previous open-heart surgery. But fear not Clintonistas! He will likely be released today and should be back at work on Monday being ex-President.

• For your viewing pleasure. The Hutchison campaign released a new ad today, "Honest." The message begins, "Maybe you like us both" and then procedes to slam Rick Perry's education record. And Longhorn fans are sure to appreciate the burnt orange barn jacket.

“It's a wonderful resolution. I don't shy away from it and never will." — U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, on taking the stage at Michael Jackson’s memorial service in the Staples Center to present a Congressional resolution honoring the deceased pop star.

MUST READ

Perry, White way ahead — The Texas Tribune

Democrat Shami could test his party’s correctness — San Antonio Express-News

Some in Mexico say U.S. is slacking in war on drugs —The McAllen Monitor

UTMB warns 1,200 of identity theft threat — The Galveston Daily News

Budget cutters eye state hospitals, Medicaid providers — San Antonio Express-News