Posted on 09/08/2011 5:57:57 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
The most intellectually interesting portion of tonight's Republican presidential debate occurred in its opening moments, when Rick Perry and Mitt Romney sparred over their states' record of job creation. Perry cited his states record of creating jobs. Romney replied that his state inherited a worse situation, and wound up with a lower level of unemployment, while of course ignoring that Perry has governed during a recession. Perry responded that Romney created jobs at a lower rate than Michael Dukakis.
The whole exchange seemed to demonstrate conclusively that the method of evaluating a governor's record by its job creation, by any measure, borders on useless. The effect of state policy, compared to the broader environment or other factors beyond a governor's control, is simply too miniscule. Of course, this realization kicks the slats out from beneath Perry's entire general election economic message.
Yet Perry, stylistically, ruled the roost. The media seems to consider Romney the winner. Pardon the condescension, but they're not thinking like Republican base voters. Romney approaches every question as if he is in an actual debate, trying to provide the most intellectually compelling answer available, within the bounds of political expediency. Perry treats questions as interruptions. What scientists do you trust on climate change? I don't want to risk the economy. Are you taking a radical position on social security? We can have reasons or we can have results. His total liberation from the constraints of reason give Perry a chance to represent the Republican id in a way Romney simply cannot match.
In this way Perry eerily apes the style of George W. Bush, who was also mocked for his intellectually vapid debating style, but who succeeded in rallying Republicans behind him. I don't think it's a coincidence. I suspect the Bush-Perry debating style broadcasts a subliminal message of strong leadership. Romney feels compelled to bind himself to the parameters of the question before him. Perry ignores them. It is, in a sense, an alpha male move. I am not going to lower myself to your premise about scientists. I am going to declare my principles.
In my view, Perry established his alpha male style, and that impression will matter more than any position or statement he's made.
The title is sarcastic. It is a backhanded compliment. I offer as merely ONE tidbit of evidence this line:
“His total liberation from the constraints of reason give Perry a chance to represent the Republican id in a way Romney simply cannot match.”
Pretty funny, actually. I mean, it IS NPR, after all.
I'm still officially neutral on Perry (definitely anti-Mitt) but I liked Perry less after the debate. Nothing dramatic, but some of his answers were not good.
Or put another way, "Romney appealed to the head, while Perry didn't."
I'm officially off my short ride on the Perry bandwagon. He was pathetically ineffective in that debate. Wake me in November 2012 and I'll vote the ticket. Perry was my last hope.
That is an excellent picture of RINO Rick.
RINO Mitt looks terrible, peering with his shifty
used-car-salesman eyes.
And Michelle. Oh my.
Remember the “Massachusetts Miracle”?
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2011/09/08/is_the_governor_effect_real/
Hmmmmm...... alpha male.
Do they have alpha males in Boston? New York?
Perry's performance was so bad, I'm trying to pry myself away from the race altogether and just vote when the time comes. Perry was my last hope for a capable, qualified candidate.
The winner of this “debate”, by not taking part in the media/left hive set up farce,was she-who-must-not-be-named.
I think Perry had a C+ performance. Considering it was his first debate and he got thrown in the lion’s den, he came out much better than a C+ I think. He stood his ground, and though I didn’t agree with him on some things, he wasn’t weaselly like Romney tends to get. Everyone appreciates a straight shooter even if you think their wrong.
I think the debates need to make a cut down to Perry, Romney, Gingrich, Bachmann, and Cain.
Look at Romney and Perry. They are wearing the same uniform. I am amazed at how far we have come in analyzing what subtle changes in tie color, wording, and body language can have on perception since I first heard about it on PBS back in 1980 when the Reagan people analyzed a focus groups real time response to his speech, word by word.
It’s a science that has come a long way. Even those of us that are aware of it are manipulated every time we are exposed to information from someone or some company with the means to invest in such technology and “science”.
But, even with the money Obama is raking in, and he will certainly use it to such ends, sometimes no amount of propaganda and “dark arts” psychological warfare can get Hitler elected president of Israel. Ultimately, it is a tool and, as with all tools, its effectiveness has limits.
But those two do sort of look like Mutt and Jeff.
Rick Perry wiffed a softball tossed by Williams last night.
WILLIAMS: And Governor Perry, a somewhat related question. I’ll
quote the Pew Research Center. They recently found out white households
have 20 times the median wealth of black households in the United States.
How would you address that question, that problem, as president?
‘Barach Obama has been the worst President for African American-Americans in 100 years, he is the worst President since Woodrow Wilson segregated the federal Civil Service. The best way to help African American is to get rid of Barach Obama, get rid of the Democrats job killing regulations and to the economy moving again.
Yeah. I loved the “snots” too.
It’s so deliciously fun to watch them squirm and get nasty so they’ll feel better about a majority of Middle “dumb ass” Americans removing their “intellectual” from the White House come November 2012.
LOL!
—I am not going to lower myself to your premise about scientists. I am going to declare my principles. —
That there is huge. And spot on. Knowing a mans principles (assuming a person has them),and knowing they affect his world view and his response to the world, will effectively telegraph to you what he will do in a future situation.
It brings predictability to a government or company over which he presides.
I watched enough of it to have Romney ‘p’ me off on Social Security. He sounds like a Democrat, word for word.
Perry is so far standing by his prior statements on SS.
Any republican candidate who allows the presuppositions of the questions to stand is doomed.
Also consider that Perry has been focusing on the wildfire situation in Texas, made worse by Obama’s unwillingness to provide federal assistance to the point of grounding nearly half of the air tankers for undisclosed reasons.
Speaking of appearances, did anyone else notice how dark the hair color was for both Romney and Perry last night?
These are subjective impressions of the masculinity of the debaters, the kind of fuzz that one would expect from Peggy Noonan but, despite its imputed source, somehow it rings true.
The left will try to take Perry from top dog status down to mad dog status. It will be interesting to see how he copes.
The OP is a big Perry fan. I don’t think she recognized the sarcasm.
It’s a good article, though, on the mark. Seemed to me that Perry did himself well last night. Just acted like he always does.
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