A few minutes later, Mr. Perry again found himself on the outs with the audience as he sought to explain his decision to support in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants.
In the state of Florida, as speaker of the house, he supported in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.
But then it says that Mr. Huckabee, as governor of Arkansas, supported in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants and taxpayer-financed scholarships for illegal immigrants.
Was he distracted by the pressure of preparing for the 2007-8 seasof of presidential debates, during which Romney accused Rudy Giuliani of making New York a "sanctuary city," Mike Huckabee of supporting "in-state benefits for illegal immigrants" and McCain of pushing "amnesty"?
Former Sen. Rick Santorum attacked Perry for supporting in-state tuition rates for children of illegal immigrants, drawing Perry into a back and forth on the issue.
Romney then attacked GOP rival Texas Governor Rick Perry for supporting in-state tuition at the University of Texas for children of undocumented immigrants.
A few small grants here and there supported in-state cap and trade communications, a few operatives parachuted in -- but the job wasn't to build consensus, it was to sell a pre-wrapped package that nobody wanted.
Supporters of Romney wrote to defend him, finding his support in states that vote early to be a pretty significant finding.
Rick Santorum and Representative Ron Paul of Texas have pockets of support in states that have yet to vote.
It's an appealing proposition, and one that has attracted support in state legislatures, including Virginia's.
The commission majority found otherwise in its initial determination, after investigating the extent of the rivals' support in state Reform organizations.
