Perry downplays campaign’s slide

Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Sunday sought to brush off questions about his deep slide in Republican primary polls.

Perry said on “Fox News Sunday” that people are just beginning to study his economic plan. Once the public studies his proposals and his record as governor, “they’re going to go, ‘You know what, Rick Perry is who needs to be leading this country,’” Perry said.

{mosads}Perry has fallen to the back of the field in many polls as conservatives have embraced Herman Cain.

“This race isn’t settled at all,” he said.

Perry jumped to the top of most national polls after joining the race for the Republican presidential nomination but has fallen into the second tier of candidates behind former Massachussetts Gov. Mitt Romney and businessman Herman Cain.

A recent CBS News/New York Times poll found Perry with 6 percent support nationally, and a Des Moines Register poll found Perry with 7 percent support in the crucial early voting state of Iowa.

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Perry continued to paint himself as a “consistent conservative,” and drew a sharp contrast with GOP front-runner Mitt Romney on social issues.

“Mitt’s been on both sides of those issues,” Perry said. “He’s been for a ban on guns in Massachusetts, he’s been for pro-abortion, he’s been for supporting gay rights, and now he’s on the other side of those issues.”

Perry admitted, however, that his performance in GOP debates has left something to be desired. 

“Eighteen debates is way too many debates, frankly. That is an incredible amount of time and preparation and what have you,” he said.