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Who knew Texas Gov. Rick Perry would get into such a sticky mess by giggling over his own jokes and a gift of New Hampshire maple syrup?

It鈥檚 been nearly a week since YouTube clips from his speech at a gala event in Manchester went viral 鈥� along with suggestions that the presidential candidate couldn鈥檛 have been so relaxed and animated unless he鈥檇 been drinking or taking pain-killers.

Now Republican activists in the state are saying it鈥檚 time to stop the smear campaign.

鈥淲hether it鈥檚 another campaign that has initiated this, or the media have just decided that they鈥檙e bored actually doing their job in covering the issues of the primary 鈥� whatever it is 鈥� this has been almost a week of wasting the time of the American voters,鈥� Jennifer Horn told the Monitor Thursday morning.

Ms. Horn, a former Congressional candidate and founder of the nonprofit conservative group 鈥淲e the People,鈥� organized a press conference for Thursday afternoon with other unaligned Republican figures who hope to refocus attention on the substance of the primary race.

鈥淲e鈥檙e choosing the next leader of the free world here, and what should be reported on is the content of his speech,鈥� Horn said.

At 2 p.m. at The New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College听in Manchester, Horn was to be joined by several other Republicans who attended Perry鈥檚 speech and have not yet endorsed a candidate. Among them: New Hampshire Speaker of the House Bill O鈥橞rien and Shannon McGinley, board chairman of Cornerstone, the research and policy group that featured Governor Perry last Friday as the keynote speaker for its annual fundraising dinner.

The YouTube clips of the speech, viewed by more than 1 million people, show Perry praising New Hampshire for its 鈥淟ive Free or Die鈥� logo and gleefully touting his flat tax plan as he waves his proposed postcard-size tax form. He jokes that even Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner could get his taxes done on time with this form 鈥� and unlike another candidate鈥檚 plan, his wouldn鈥檛 expand the state鈥檚 tax footprint by 9 percent.

But the clips also show Perry taking on a more serious tone as he criticizes the Obama administration for its support of Planned Parenthood and hammers on the need for energy independence and a growing economy.

Perry鈥檚 playful approach to the speech prompted speculation in some social media, news stories, and comedy shows about whether he was under the influence. Horn says that does a disservice to the democratic process, and she would be just as upset if it happened to any of the other candidates.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 being suggested ... is not what happened. It鈥檚 not fair to influence voters ... with a story that simply isn鈥檛 true,鈥� Horn says. 鈥淚f you were there, you saw 450 serious, engaged primary voters who were impressed by what they saw, gave him a standing ovation, and walked away thinking, 鈥楪ee, for a guy who doesn鈥檛 do so well in debates, he really did a great job with this speech.鈥� 鈥�

Some in the media have taken a more measured approach to the story. In the Washington Post鈥檚 鈥淭he Fix鈥� blog, :

"The tone of the speech 鈥� regardless of the reason(s) for it 鈥� was a clear break from the more reserved and even stiff public persona that Perry has projected in the race to date.

"That, in and of itself, is somewhat newsworthy. Was this Perry trying out a new approach as he seeks to re-energize his candidacy? Is this actually Perry鈥檚 private persona? Or was this not strategic at all?"

And Perry himself speaks up in an Thursday in the San Francisco Chronicle, plainly saying he was not under the influence:

鈥淚've probably given 1,000 speeches. There are some that have been probably boring, some that have been animated, some that have been in between,鈥� he said.

But 鈥渁sk the people who were there,鈥� he said, 鈥渘ot some political opponent who has put a video up.鈥�

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