Perry's Problem: Voters Think He's a Major A-Hole

red state ^ | 10-28-11 | brookhaven

[Brookhaven]

The Washington Post ran a story today about a group of Ohio voters here.  While the story centered around Herman Cain, there was a section buried deep in the story that offered an amazing insight into Rick Perry's current problems.

 At one point, Hart asked the participants to think back to fifth grade and the types of students they had encountered. From a list that included descriptions such as “teacher’s pet,” “loner,” “hard worker,” “nerd” and “know it all,” Hart asked them to write down which most applied to Cain, to Romney, to Perry and to Obama.

The majority described Cain as the classmate who was the “hard worker,” with others saying he was the “all-American kid” or “the kid everyone respects.”

In contrast, Perry left this group cold. If he is the person many GOP strategists believed was destined to challenge Romney for the nomination, no one had given that memo to these Ohioans.

In the fifth-grade exercise, eight of the 12 wrote down “bully” as the kind of kid he reminded them of. When the discussion turned to other attributes, he was described as the kind of neighbor others would not want to mess with, or someone who would build a fence around his property, or someone who would be in everybody else’s business.

“He wouldn’t be on the casserole committee,” said Sydney Mathis, a Democrat.

“Annoying,” said Lisa Cedrone, an independent voter who supported Obama in 2008 and is undecided today.

• bully
• the kind of neighbor others would not want to mess with (intimidating?)
• someone who would build a fence around his property (unneighborly?)
• someone who would be in everybody else’s business (busybody?)
• wouldn’t be on the casserole committee (unfriendly?)
• annoying

None of the descriptions are positive in any way. If you had to describe them in one word, it would be: a**hole. And not just you regular, every day, run-of-the-mill a**hole, but major a**hole.

I've believed Perry's problems were all about how he tripped up early—a couple of verbal gaffes and some poor debate performances. I also thought he could get back in the race by refining his message and showing up well in the debates. Now, I'm not so sure.

Erick Erickson has said many times on his radio show that the most likeable candidate always wins. I'm not sure if I buy that, but I am sure the reverse is true: the most disliked candidate never wins. Given the above statements by Ohio voters, Rick Perry's problems have nothing to do with his policy positions or debate performances, and everything to do with how voters perceive him personally.

PS

Yes, I know I could have used another word here, but no other seemed to get the job done. Language is a toolbox. Sometimes you need to use a paint brush to apply just the right shade of meaning, and sometimes you need a big hammer to make your point.

[onyx]

Your

[MEG33]

I still support Rick Perry.

[South40]

I met him in person, talked with him, he kissed me on my right cheek,

I met Rudy Giuliani, shook his hand and talked with him. He seemed like a real nice man. But that doesn't mean I want him to be my president -- I don't.

Perry is painfully ill-equipped to run a national campaign. Texans, and some of the more liberal/moderate FReepers, may be receptive of his liberal style of conservatism but conservatives from all around the country are not. Thus, he is polling in single digits in many states.

[BillyBoy]

I have never voted for, endorsed, or promoted Mitt Romney's candidacy. In fact, when this forum was taken over by Mittwitts after the '08 primary who DEMANDED Romney get to be McCain's veep or we "hate Mormons", I was one of the most outspoken OPPONENTS of having Romney on the ticket.

Diogenesis, are you still supporting Romney's Texas twin, Slick Rick?

[Quicksilver]

I’m not basing it on logic. I base it on having watched presidential debates going back to the 1960s. They rarely change the outcome. At that point in the campaign, both sides are going after the 10 - 15 percent undecided vote, and both candidates are usually very tightly scripted.

[Kartographer]

Sorry I don’t follow, maybe if you brought a few rounds and explained it again.

[Quicksilver]

I’m talking about presidential debates, not primary debates. Did you pay close attention to the McCain-Obama, Bush-Kerry, and Bush-Gore debates?

[Kartographer]

Make mine a double please.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Dio, I don’t think you meant to attack Billy. He doesn’t support Slick Willard.

[Quicksilver]

You’ll have to do better than that if you want a double. You’re lagging.

[Kartographer]

Well I don’t want to get so sloshed I vote for Perry even by accident.

[Quicksilver]

Good point. You should stay sober so you will vote for Rick Perry knowingly.

[Kartographer]

Sorry won’t happen. I will not vote again for anyone I don’t believe in. If that means Obama wins so be it, but there are somethings that stick in a man’s craw worse than dieing and voting for someone I truly in my heart do not believe in is one of them.

To be honest and not as an insult Rick Perry reminds me of a Christian version of Lyndon Johnson they both have the same swagger. I lived in Texas for four years meet a lot of good people and Texans are Texans the brag comes with them and you learn to live with it, but then every once in a great while you meet someone that is a Texan to tenth degree and you just can stand to be around them.

That’s as honest as I can be about it and me no disrespect to anyone.

[Quicksilver]

That is as it should be, IMO. You should vote for the candidate that’s right for you.

Texans are tough minded people, I greatly admire them.

[grey_whiskers]

My husband was a classmate of Perry’s at A&M. He was an asshole.

And you still married him? /rim-shot>

Cheers!

[grey_whiskers]

“He wouldn’t be on the casserole committee,” said Sydney Mathis, a Democrat.

Perry, just like me, has no idea what the hell a casserole committee is.

Yeah, we Minnesotans know it's really called a "hot-dish."

Hold the lutefisk.

Cheers!

[grey_whiskers]

Perry has been on the receiving end of non stop bullying and he gets pegged as the bully?

Well, if it makes you feel any better.

But only because you insisted...

Cheers!

[andy58-in-nh]

My very first impression of Perry was that he was a complete phony and most likely, not a nice person. Nothing I’ve seen since that time has changed my opinion.

[texas_mrs]

LOL! My husband will love your ‘gothca’!

[Impy]

Perry says that the Gore experience helped him to “come to his senses,”

Yes that's nice. But Gore was already liberal in 1988. This has been proven by myself and others, don't bother arguing with it, his voting record bares it out. So he can't claim the excuse that Gore was conservative or even moderate (it's irrelevant if he wasn't quite as liberal as Dukakis he was still a liberal and pro-choice) unless he's admitting to being stupid enough to believe any right-of-center rhetoric Gore may have been spewing. I don't think he was stupid, I think he was just going along with his party, Gore was the choice of his rat party bosses. He and his supporters should have just come out and said "I/He was wrong" instead of making the excuses. There are no excuses.

Perry's democrat beginnings and switch in 1989 when it became crystal clear that the rat party was gonna die in Texas makes clear to me what Perry primarily cares about, his own power.