Dear Governor Perry,
It's been a wild ride, hasn't it? We've had some fun times together, what with Michele Bachmann claiming your Texas-wide HPV vaccine can cause mental retardation and the wacky word cloud you launched at Romney when you challenged him on Romneycare. But that "Oops!" belly flop you performed at the debate last night has pretty much killed your chances for the White House. It's time to end your campaign and move on.
You had your opponents trying to help you out! "Five, you need five!" said Ron Paul when you couldn't remember the third government agency you'd like to cut. (Why were you looking to him for help, anyway?!?) "The EPA?" Romney offered. It almost turned the debate into a game show. And let me tell you, I was watching my Twitter stream, which is loaded to the hilt with liberals, and they all felt sorry for you. Governor P, if there's anything a conservative presidential candidate doesn't want, it's the pity of liberals.
You are so right when you say your public speaking goofs shouldn't matter as much as your ideas and your platform. (Far be it from me to fault you for your blunder. I'm the Queen of Foot-in-Mouth disease myself -- one of several reasons why I will never run for President of the United States.) But that's not how politics work in our country. It's all about the sound byte, and that YouTube video is upstaging everything else you have to say. All we can hear now is "Oops!" And if you can't get your message out clearly -- every single time you have the chance -- you're sunk.
Anyway, your numbers were low going into this debate. I know the sexual harassment scandal is hurting Cain and that gives you hope, but if hope is the thing with feathers that perches on the soul, your hope is a half-decaying pheasant shot down several weeks ago. You gave it your best shot, Governor. It's over. We'll miss you and your cowboy boots.
P.S. I never loved you.
Do you think last night's gaffe will end Rich Perry's campaign?
Image via Scott Olson/Getty
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Comments 14
Yeah, I was hearing the Final Jeopardy music too.
I always thought he was doing his best imitation of Ronald Reagan, and now I'm convinced!
Deer in the headlights... what a hoot!
It's pathetic that we are saying that Perry's campaign is OVER because of this. So the man has a brain fart during a debate. We should be discussing the ISSUES and his experience... two things that our current president continued to deflect and avoid, and the press NEVER pushed him on. And now our country is about to shoot off a cliff.
And if we're talking about career-ending gaffes in a debate, let's look at another, before we decide that this one is going to end Perry's campaign. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Obama's answer to a healthcare question: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxxxGUeZtno
So, true, mon amie... let's throw Palin on the bar-b too.
And that link shows a teleprompter fluff in the first snippet, and dealing with hecklers in the other. Not fun to watch, but doesn't rise to the truly laughable and cringe-worthy level of Perry. He's a creepy blow-up figure all the way around.
I never understood why a presidential election relies so heavily on debating. A president, in reality, rarely, if ever, debates and is constantly being advised by professionals and intellectuals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhDhDRvHaGs&feature=related
You are right, they all make gaffes, but some are just plain... beyond help.
You are wrong, I am not a liberal, never will be. I'm only pro-ThinkingPerson.
Yeah, I think it will be hard for him to overcome, largely becaue he so consistently performs poorly in debates. It's unfortunate that he managed to fall short of even the lowered expectations, but he was clearly flustered and I think we all know how it feels to have a brain blip with no teleprompter to rescue you. But he has a LOT of campaign money, and would be a better president than Obama, so he isn't likely to disappear any time soon. Conservatives believe in try-try-again, not waaaaaaaah...I quit!
The point I was trying to make (which I said in my first comment) is that ALL of them make mistakes. They ALL have gaffes (for the love of all that is holy, Biden could fill several volumes with his), but it seems like only the Republican candidates find their campiagns "ended" with a misspoken word.
Obama CANNOT speak without a teleprompter. He has proven this numerous times. He has repeatedly, when off prompter, made huge gaffes (57 states) or revealed who he truly is (to 'Joe the Plumber' - "I just want to take what you have and spread it around to everybody"). Throughout his presidency, he has managed to offend nearly every person in this country with his incompetence. And yet, the press and the bloggers here on The Stir continue to defend him and attack Republicans as "incompetent", "stupid", "idiots" and "extremist".
Can we PLEASE stick with the issues?