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The Spectacle Blog
As Joe points out, Rick Perry is catching some flak for an ill-advised comment that he made yesterday about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Perry criticized Bernanke in a way that Perry’s critics can say intimates or threatens violence.
John Podhoretz calls Perry’s comment a “serious unforced error.” That it was, but it also helps to illuminate the importance of a hotly contested presidential campaign.
One of the important things about a presidential campaign is that it allows us to see how a candidate responds under pressure. It allows us to see who he (or she) really is.
As Podhoretz says,
I think it’s pretty clear from the clip that Perry was trying to play folksy straight-talkin’ populist guy while taking up a complicated issue using colorful dirt-kicker language to connect to his al-fresco audience as he might in his hometown of Paint Creek.
But in politics, as in football, too many unforced errors can result in a loss. We’ll have to see how Perry performs over the course of a long campaign. But one big reason Obama got elected president, despite a scant public record, is that he remained disciplined and focused.
Obama didn’t allow himself to get sidetracked by unforced errors and gaffes. He didn’t commit turnovers which would have allowed his opponents to score points against him. Instead, Obama was the model of political efficiency and single-mindedness.
If the Republicans are to recapture the White House in 2012, then their standard-bearer is going to have to be similarly disciplined and focused. He’s gonna have to realize that he’s in the political big leagues now, with the glare and scrutiny of the national media always searing into him.
This is something that political candidates tend to learn and internalize only within the crucible of a hard-fought political campaign. And that is why, I think, Michele Bachmann has become a much better and more deliberative presidential candidate.
“Bachmann is clearly being vigilant to avoid any new misstatements,” reports Katrina Trinko. Thus her “defining moment” in the Ames, Iowa debate, where she deftly deflected Byron York’s question about being “submissive” to her husband. And thus her wise refusal, on ABC News’ This Week, to be baited into a debate about the relative health effects of homosexuality and heterosexuality.
Of course, Bachmann’s improvement as a presidential candidate is hardly surprising. She’s been out on the campaign trail for months now, and, even before that, had grown accustomed to the harsh, penetrating glare of the national media.
Perry, by contrast, is a newbie to presidential politics and has yet to learn how unforgiving the national media can be, especially to conservatives. But how well Perry handles his newfound publicity absolutely should be a factor in the minds of Republican primary voters, because that will determine, in large measure, whether he can be elected president in a general election.
View all comments (27) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by John R. Guardiano
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/08/16/lessons-for-rick-perry-courtes
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Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 8.16.11 @ 2:28PM
Whose to say Perry isn't correct, i.e., debasing the currency isn't a form of financial terrorism?
Dai Alanye | 8.16.11 @ 10:19PM
I'm not a Bachmann fan, but I remain unimpressed by Perry, who more and more appears to be be another loud-mouthed politico of dubious background.
ggoblue| 8.16.11 @ 3:22PM
maybe someday we will stop worrying what those who hate us say about us...maybe we could wrap ourselves in their hatred and wear it like a badge of honor? maybe we can win an election while demonstrating the absolute impotence of the left and their minions in the mainstream press?
if not now, when?
zelda| 8.16.11 @ 3:55PM
"Obama didn't allow himself to get sidetracked by unforced errors and gaffes. He didn't commit turnovers which would have allowed his opponents to score points against him. Instead, Obama was the model of political efficiency and single-mindedness."
WRONG!! THE MEDIA COVERED UP HIS "UNFORCED ERRORS AND GAFFES".
simon templar| 8.16.11 @ 3:57PM
"Obama didn't allow himself to get sidetracked by unforced errors and gaffes. He didn't commit turnovers which would have allowed his opponents to score points against him. Instead, Obama was the model of political efficiency and single-mindedness.'
What world do you live in? That has to be the most innacurate statement I have ever read here.
That one left me nearly speechless.
HE HAD A SYCOPHANT GIGANTIC MEDIA THAT COVERED HIS IDIOTIC ASS AND THE GAFFE MACHINE OF HIS VP TO BOOT!
Stop living by their naratives and double standards. OUR candidates do not have to prove that they have never sinned or made a mistake.
Once again, as OF, has eloquently shouted,
IT'S THE POSER AND THE DEMOCRATS STUPID!
simon templar| 8.16.11 @ 4:08PM
Screw the media. We are sick of your whoreing, your bias, your sensationalism, and your narcism. YOU do not decide who will be our candidates nor our elected officials. YOU ARE NOT GATEKEEPERS. WE do not give a rats ass about your opinions and self promotion. Just report the news and elsewhere just shut up.
NotALibertarian| 8.16.11 @ 4:09PM
Perry's comment was "ill-advised"?
Really?
Mr. Guardiano -- and Mr. Podhoretz -- seem oblivious to the fact that the criminal element was voted into power three years ago.
Continuously printing money has the potential to destroy this country. The fact that the Fed has amassed the legal standing to be this destructive doesn't make its actions any less treasonous. I'm glad Perry is attempting to educate the public. His language was proportionate.
simon templar| 8.16.11 @ 4:21PM
TAS Readers, here is what Perry actually said,
"I mean, printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history, is almost treacherous, or treasonous, in my opinion."
No mention of violence or terrorist. That was Obama, the MSM, and the Dem Party.
John, I think it is time to come out of the closet, leave AS and go work for the Huff and Puff.
Start printing the truth, stop listening to and writing about the lies, distortions, and smears of the opposition and supporting these lies.
Stop dating easy slutty liberal journalism girls and get yourself a real conservative hot woman.
Oldefarte| 8.16.11 @ 4:45PM
Well stated indeed, ST! We must all reflect upon the fact that Republicans in general [and conservatives in particular] are up against not only the Democratic Party, but their propaganda suppliers, the MSM [and their POLITICAL CORRECTNESS]!!!!!!!!!
Oldefarte| 8.16.11 @ 4:52PM
PS: I have presently mild concerns about Perry's reported political affiliation with certain Muslim organizations, but there's plenty of time for his campaign fleshing out of same to everyone satisfaction. Excluding that, I really do like his pugnatious-combative style [re:Bernanke etc] and think that that is exactly what's needed in a Republican candidate [for me anyway]. If he takes an IN YOUR FACE personnae with this president etc, he'll be fulfilling my primary wish for a Republican candidate, that's for sure!!!
Occam's Tool| 8.16.11 @ 4:56PM
I am living for the Bachmann/ West ticket. 8 years of Bachmann followed by 8 years of West, and all would be well.
Darudz| 8.16.11 @ 7:20PM
Wow! A female and a minority-how good is that?
Occam's Tool| 8.16.11 @ 7:34PM
Hey, these are my prferences, in any order, for VEEP/POTUS: Cain, West, Palin, Bachmann. Bachmann/West has a good possibility--Allen would make a great attack dude.
NWBill| 8.16.11 @ 8:10PM
I would much prefer a President and a Vice-President who knew what their jobs were, and did them. Whether they are male, female, majority, or minority ... is immaterial to me. Tell us why you're the person for the job. If you get it, do it to the best of your ability and in the best interests of the country.
Whether you have parts, or not ... or you're dark, or not ... makes no difference. That's something liberals believe.
We should be above and beyond that.
Jim Treacher | 8.16.11 @ 5:21PM
"Obama didn't allow himself to get sidetracked by unforced errors and gaffes."
No, his ENABLERS didn't allow him to get sidetracked by them. They went out of their way to ignore them when they could and make excuses for them the rest of the time. Then they cut to a commercial.
Tom| 8.16.11 @ 5:41PM
There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with what Rick Perry said. Unfortunately, John Guardiano has repeatedly demonstrated that he is nothing but an unscrupulous political hack whose main purpose is winning elections; and truth, honesty, and integrity can be easily flushed down the drain in the process.
On June 14, 2011, Guardiana wrote in regards to Rudy Giuliani making another attempt at the White Hose:
“I still hold out the hope (alright, maybe it's a political fantasy) that Giuliani's position on abortion is sufficiently ambiguous and ill-defined that, with considerable effort, he could yet woo pro-life voters -- or at least stop them from actively opposing him.”
To which I responded (with correcting a few typosfrom the original):
“In other words, Little Rudy's only hope is that he can lie through his teeth and hope that pro-lifers are STUPID enough to fall for his act!!!!
Mr.Guardiano, since you openly advocate that tactic, I am publicly calling you a liar. You have forever lost all credibility with me. I will NEVER place the slightest bit of confidence in another word you say or write. Unscrupulous hacks like yourself are a cancer in modern American political life.”
Guardiano’s comments about Perry demonstrate that his brand of “successful” political campaign is still based on fraud, lies, double-talking, equivocation, deceit, and outright fraud. Mr. Guardiano, I said it on June 14, and will repeat is again; you are a liar. You place no value whatsoever in honestly presenting one’s views. You represent so much that is wrong and evil in modern American politics. As such, you are a complete and total failure as an American, as a conservative, and as a man. And I pray that winning a political contest NEVER means as much to me as does to you that I am willing to sacrifice my personal integrity in the process.
John Guardiano | 8.16.11 @ 6:43PM
Tom,
I don't know why, exactly, you lash out at me with such vitriol, but it's comical really. We apparently disagree, and so you call me a "liar."
I "place no value whatsoever in honestly presenting one's views," you write.
Really? I'm not sure how, exactly, you arrived at that warped conclusion, but OK. You're entitled to your point view, no matter how twisted and perverse, I suppose.
Of course, I never advocated lying. Here's what Rick Perry said:
“If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I dunno what y’all would do to him in Iowa but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas. Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost teacherous…treasonous in my opinion.”
So Perry accused the Federal Reserve Chairman of being "almost treasonous" and said that were Bernanke in Texas, he (Bernanke) would be treated "pretty ugly."
I'm sorry, but our current disputes re: monetary policy don't rise to the level of "treason," and suggesting frontier justice for the Federal Reserve Chairman is politically unwise and substantively inappropriate.
As I explained in this post, I don't think Perry meant that he wished the Federal Reserve chairman physical harm. However, some people might legitimately construe his remarks to mean just that.
John
simon templar| 8.16.11 @ 10:41PM
Yeah, liberals and RINO's would construe that!
I noticed you did not address, like a progressive RINO, his criticism of your statements about Rudy.
Well, I think it is becoming very clear for most of the readers here that the most, not all, of the writers and editors here are DC beltway sycophants for the establishment GOP beltway republicans. You will be doing everything you can to destroy the Tea party and anyone associated with it. What you want is to keep your power and keep things as they are. The same old game that you have played every decade...from Goldwater to Ronald Reagan to Palin to Bachman and on and on. You would be doing us all a favor if you would just join up with the opposition and get it over with. Go!
Tom| 8.16.11 @ 11:17PM
No, Mr. Guardiano, I don't suspect that you would understand why someone who values truth, honesty, and personal integrity would react in such a way towards you, since your writings clearly prove that you are totally devoid of such qualities.
And I for one don't give a rat's rear what leftists, Democrats, and RINOS have to to say about anything.
WJ| 8.16.11 @ 5:49PM
Maybe this dummy from Texas will self-destruct before he can do too much damage. I am sure all of you true believers think it's great and neat that he said this, but this stuff scares the heck out of the independents. They wont' vote for some Texas goober and we will have four more years of Obama the disaster.
ggoblue| 8.16.11 @ 6:03PM
scare the independents? the ones that haven't joined the tea party are hiding in a closet somewhere. did you see how they voted last november? the thing that scares them is the herd of rino's who won't put a stop to the federal govt. get real.
Bob| 8.16.11 @ 6:24PM
There you go again...Michele, day by day you prove to us you are a total idiot. You have had some wing ding verbal gaffes in the past but the Elvis birthday gaffe beats them all. Keep it up and soon all of us Democrats will be singing Happy Days are Here again.
NWBill| 8.16.11 @ 8:06PM
That WAS a very telling statement she made in Ames during the debate. It really proved once again that Michele Bachmann has the temperament to be President of the United States. She could have laid into Byron York's obvious trap; but, she didn't - and explained herself at the same time! VERY impressive!
Perry's a national "rookie" in a lot of ways; he's learning how "hot" the national political kitchen is on the fly. Bachmann's been in the kitchen for quite some time - and it looks like she knows how to work all the gear, and where everything is.
I'm anxious to see how the meal turns out.
simon templar| 8.16.11 @ 10:47PM
John, try concentrating on the misstatements of the Dems and their poser. Stop exaggerating our misteps, supporting the liberal distortions, and upholding the double standards set by the opposition. Construe this!
Bo| 8.17.11 @ 10:24AM
The fact of the matter is that there's a double standard. A conservative candidate has to be aware of that. Just this morning on NPR they were talking about how racist Perry is because he said "a black cloud is hanging over America". Obama can say whatever he wants and nobody will care. Our guy is going to get nitpicked. Life isn't fair.
simon templar| 8.19.11 @ 5:48PM
Well, then you are a fool to live by them.
Life is what you make it!
Eric Munhall| 9.1.11 @ 2:19PM
"Unforced Errors" & "Football"??? Not a big tennis fan, John? Good article despite the mixed metaphor.