Brain Trust - Ramesh Ponnuru

Ramesh Ponnuru is a senior editor for National Review. As The Matt Friedeman Show's Brain Trust interview, Ponnuru talked about Martin Luther King Jr and the presidential race. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

What are lessons that the Right can learn from MLK?

I think one really important lesson is that cultures can change, and that moral witnesses can do a lot to bring about that change. 

While people tell us that abortion is here to stay, that it's a firmly rooted, slavery and discrimination were much more so. 

I think that another thing is that this was one of the great social and political movements in American history, and it was clearly inspired by Christianity. 

A lot of people seem to miss that about the civil rights movement.

Will the religious council's endorsement of Santorum help him?

Of course, it's something Santorum is very happy about it, and he should be. But it may be a little late in the game here.

The Iowa Caucus and the NH Primary have already happened. Nobody who has won both of them has ever failed to win the nomination.

But we'll see what happens. Maybe Santorum becomes the strong alternative to Romney.

Will Rick Perry be the next out of the race?

I find it hard to see. I was one of the folks who listened to what Governor Perry said on the night of the Iowa Caucus and just assumed that he was dropping out.

But just recently he said that even if he came in last in South Carolina, he would be staying in the race.

If Romney wins South Carolina, is he an inevitable win?

If he wins in South Carolina, which everybody has said is going to be difficult for him, I think it's very, very hard to deny him the nomination.

But at the end of the day, it's up to voters. If Governor Romney gets the nomination, it's because significant numbers of Tea Partiers and social conservatives are giving him their votes.

Do you understand conservative reticence for Mitt Romney?

There's no question that if Governor Romney had a consistently pro-life record, a lot of these doubts would be out of the way.

He says he's had a change of heart, but I think it's a big reason why people are wary. 

On the other hand, we have records of people who started out their career as pro-choice and had a genuine change in their views.

Without teapartiers "we would have had a routine...raise in the debt ceiling."

Ramesh Ponnuru is a senior editor for National Review. As the Matt Friedeman Show's Brain Trust interview today, Ponnuru talked first of all about the proposed debt-ceiling deal, then about the race for president.


Tell me what you're thinking about the debt-ceiling deal.

Well, I have a lot of sympathy for Speaker Boehner given all the pressures that are on him right now.

But I am concerned with all of the possible cuts to defense.

We're talking about $500 billion in cuts to National Defense if the super committee doesn't reach an agreement.

When you consider that this is the first constitutional responsibility of the federal government, I don't think this is how you oughtta been running this.

Are the teaparties winners or losers here?

If not for the teapartiers, we would have had a routine, business as usual raise in the debt ceiling.

Again, I think most teapartiers are people who are strong on defense, so they've gotta be worried. This isn't a total victory.

Ramesh, if you're a liberal today is president Obama a friend or do you feel like you've been thrown under the bus?

Well, it seems like many liberals are quite upset with the president.

Congressional liberal leaders are seeming pretty upset right now. They think he's prioritized his reelection.

Do independents like this?

I think in general there's a public sentiment that likes to see Republicans and Democrats working together.

I think it does help (Obama)on the margin. I don't think it's going to matter if the economy is as bad as it is right now.

It will help him a little bit.

You just wrote something about the presidential sweepstakes. Is Romney the inevitable nominee or can he be knocked off?

I don't think he's inevitable.

I think over the past few months he's established himself as the clear frontrunner.

It's not because of anything he's done, there's just no other strong candidate right now.

He hasn't solved his healthcare problem, for example, and I think that's a serious problem he has.

Could Rick Perry be that guy to challenge Romney?

He's got the conservative, teaparty credibility.

He's also the successful governor of a large state.

He's getting in late, so you've got to wonder about his ability to compete in a place like New Hampshire.

I think of Fred Thompson in 2008...now this is a little bit different...but I wouldn't underestimate the lack of organization.

Palin said Perry hasn't been vetted enough. Is that a problem?

I kinda think if there was any big hidden scandal, it would have been uncovered by now.

How big of a frontrunner is Barack Obama so far?

You know, I don't think the numbers are particularly discouraging for conservatives.

The way I look at his numbers right now is it strikes me very much as Bush going into 2004. The numbers do not say he's a definite lock for reelection and they don't say he's a definite loser.

A lot depends on the state of the economy in 2012.

It's getting late in the day for President Obama to blame the economy on President Bush.

It's not so much that people don't think Bush is to blame, but they want Obama to do something about it.