Rick Perry and 'treasonous': Is the folksy campaigner gaffe-prone?
Rick Perry has proved he鈥檚 a gifted campaigner. In his initial swing through Iowa as an affirmed presidential candidate he came early to events, stayed late, and generally seemed affable and approachable to many voters.
Reviews of his style were good, especially compared with those of or his conservative rival, Michele Bachmann.
But style is one thing and content another. The Texas governor made a number of remarks in Iowa that verge on gaffes 鈥� as in, he鈥檚 going to have to continue to explain what he meant, to the point where he probably wishes he hadn鈥檛 said them in the first place.
For instance, does he really think Ben Bernanke should be tried for treason?
That鈥檚 perhaps the most over-the-top of Perry鈥檚 Iowa remarks. At a he said, referring to the Fed chief, 鈥渋f this guy prints more money between now and the election, I don鈥檛 know what y鈥檃ll would do to him in Iowa, but we 鈥� we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas. Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous 鈥� or treasonous in my opinion.鈥�
Obvious follow-up questions here include, is the governor of Texas threatening the head of the Fed with physical violence? Does he think the Fed is doing President Obama鈥檚 political bidding? And so forth. You can see where his next press availability is heading.
But that鈥檚 not all, as the late great infomercial star Billy Mays used to say about the Vidalia Slice Wizard. Governor Perry 鈥� a former captain in the Air Force 鈥� said that the US military would prefer a veteran as commander-in-chief.
鈥淭he president had the opportunity to serve his country. I鈥檓 sure at some time he made the decision that isn鈥檛 what he wanted to do,鈥� .
Asked if he thinks the president loves his country, Perry said to the questioner that they鈥檇 have to ask Mr. Obama to find out.
Finally, Perry told a crowd at the Iowa State Fair that the Department of Transportation is planning to require farmers to obtain commercial drivers licenses to legally drive tractors across public roads. He cited this as an example of the 鈥渙bscene, crazy鈥� regulations that he鈥檇 do away with if elected.
The problem is, the Department of Transportation is planning to do no such thing. They issued a statement denying this, last week.
鈥淲e have no intention of instituting onerous regulations on the hardworking farmers who feed our country and fuel our economy,鈥� said Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood in the statement.
What鈥檚 up with the loose lips? We鈥檝e got several thoughts.
One, Perry鈥檚 not used to the all-consuming attention of national media. In Texas, maybe nobody heard everything he said, or the media got used to letting Perry be Perry. But when you鈥檙e running for president, Politico and other outlets are going to be counting the number of bites it takes you to eat a corn dog.
Two, he鈥檚 not in Texas anymore. He鈥檚 not even in Iowa, in a way. He鈥檚 in the free floating national conversation of politics, and not everybody is going to just nod and agree with statements that get a rumble of agreement in Waco. There鈥檚 going to be more debate about what he says, and he鈥檇 better get used to it.
Three, it鈥檚 possible Perry鈥檚 just a loose cannon. His tendency to fire off words he may regret could be a side effect of his general folksiness. George W. Bush as a candidate quickly learned that he had to watch every word, and generally did so. Perry may have to learn the same lesson. Otherwise he鈥檒l get tangled in a repeating loop of media inquiries about his statements that will prevent him for putting out preferred political messages.
