Perry derides Romney as 'slick', tries to bounce back from shaky debate

Texas Governor Rick Perry is trying to parlay a shaky debate performance into a new attack on former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, deriding his opponent as "slick" and lacking authenticity.

"What Americans are looking for isn't the slickest candidate," Perry said Saturday, according to CNN. "They are looking for an authentic principled leader. You've seen what happens when our country chooses leaders who emphasize words over deeds."

Although not mentioning Romney by name, Perry aimed to recast his debate prowess as symptomatic of a willingness to say whatever was necessary to win the election - a charge he attempted to make in the debate.

"America doesn't need more slick promises," Perry said. "We need a principled leader who will stand on his conservative values."

Perry struggled in the GOP presidential debate Thursday night, bungling a planned attack that sought to paint Romney as a flip-flopper on social issues and misrepresenting the timing of a meeting with a Texas woman who suffered from cervical cancer. 

The Texas governor was speaking Saturday at a breakfast for delegates to the Presidency 5 Forum in Orlando, which will host a straw poll Saturday afternoon. Perry has been the only major candidate to aggressively target a win in the poll.

This is the second consecutive day that Perry has employed the "slick" attack, having also used the phrase while speaking before conservative activists Friday.

"As conservatives, we know that values and visions matter," Perry said at the Florida Conservative Political Action Conference. "It's not who is the slickest candidate or who is the smoothest debater that we need to elect. We need to elect the candidate with the best record and the best vision for our country."

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