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I think it may be best to look at this based on context. I have only seen the highlights clip, and it looks tad unprofessional, but it may be (as some have said) that he was speaking to a friendly crowd. Looking at myself - the way I speak/act at work is very different from when I am with close friends and family. It would be unfair for someone to record a Saturday evening with friends, put it on YouTube, and then say 'hey look, its Spetznaz acting 'bizarre.' I think the context really matters, and I find it hard to believe that Perry (or any other candidate for that matter) would go and start making drunk/high speeches. Also, their handlers would not let them do so.

Furthermore, if Perry had a serious issue with drink/drugs I am certain it would have come up by now.

Please note I am not saying this as a Perry fan (I actually consider the man a RINO), but I strongly believe that for the United States to prosper a strong leader needs to be selected at the primaries, and then elected as president. The people need to make a proper and logical decision, and that decision needs to be based on fact and stringent analysis, thorough evaluation and proper judgement.

This means that all candidates need to be vetted and vetted well, and that way whatever decision is made will be the proper one. This is the only way Obama can be defeated, and it is also the only way a candidate like Romney (who is the father of RINOS) can be prevented from being the nominee. To this effect, I wish evaluation of the candidates (be it Perry, Cain, Newt, Santorum, etc) could be evaluated on cold hard logic and facts, on policies and issues, on truth and evidence. I also believe that doing it in such a manner would avoid a lot of the bad blood that has been bubbling up. We laughed at the PUMAs that afflicted the Democrats some years back, but it is very possible to see the same effect take hold on our side whereby supporters of one candidate refuse to support another, when all that would accomplish is a Romney nomination followed by the re-election of Obama.

I accept the video posted shows Perry in a bad light, and he does seem 'off,' but I also think it needs to be looked at in the proper context. I think the FReeper who said he was amongst friends (e.g. donors) may be right, and thus the tone of the meeting is very different. I think the candidates need to be judged by their ideas and policies and what they can deliver and where they stand in the Conservativeness spectrum. I do not support Perry, but he deserves to be accepted or rejected based on the weight (or lack of) of his principles and policies, rather than on a YouTube video with no context provided.