Rick Perry's Def Comedy Jam
Earlier this week, I gave Rick Santorum props for defending his use of an expletive to respond to a particularly nettlesome journalist by saying, "If you haven't cursed out a New York Times reporter during the presidential campaign, you aren't a real Republican." At the time, I called it the best line of the 2012 campaign. The ruling still stands, but -- luckily for Santorum -- only because Rick Perry is no longer a candidate.
Over the weekend, Perry gave a speech at Washington's Gridiron Club dinner, an annual event that marks the one time a year when politicians are allowed to be actual funny instead of Washington funny. And as reports come out, it seems that the Governor of Texas killed it. There are pretty extensive excerpts in this report from Business Insider, but here are a few of his best offerings:
I like Mitt Romney. I mean, I like Mitt Romney as much as one really good-looking man can like a really good-looking man and not break Texas law.
“I used to have SO much fun needling Rick [Santorum]. I’d say, ‘Now, Rick, tell me again, which one of the Village People are you? You’re the policeman? Or you’re the Indian?’”
Perry also noted that he majored in animal husbandry at Texas A&M, which he said is "what Santorum thinks happens as a result of gay marriage."
Pretty good material, which brings a thought to mind: Rick Perry has some more time on his hands these days and Rob Long has a sitcom to shoot. Just saying.
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Comments:
Jun '10
Re: Rick Perry's Def Comedy Jam
Perry has the perfect temperament for a Presidential candidate, and his sense of humor was a very attactive trait. I sense that he can rehabilitate himself in advance of the next run, but I don't know what he can do to raise his profile. He is unlikely to be in a Romney cabinet; Secretary of Energy or Interior would be good slots, but his endorsement of Gingrich and refusal to bury the hatchet with Romney is a problem.
May '10
Re: Rick Perry's Def Comedy Jam
How about he remain Governor of Texas? Why would he dump his remaining term to take on a politically irrelevant cabinet position?
Edited on March 28, 2012 at 7:09pmRe: Rick Perry's Def Comedy Jam
Unfortunately, I don't think it's a matter of raising his profile. I had high hopes for Perry when he began his presidential campaign, but I think the comprehensive failings of his bid essentially foreclose the prospect of him being a serious player on the presidential stage in the future.
There's a difference between the John McCains and Mitt Romneys of the world -- candidates who run a competitive campaign for the nomination, fall short, and live to run another day -- and candidates whose perceived shortcomings take them permanently out of contention. Like Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin before him, I think Perry falls into the latter camp. Becoming a national punchline is the royal road to political irrelevance, often harder to bounce back from then being immersed in a scandal. Perry may have a bright future ahead of him, but I very much doubt that it's in the White House.
May '11
Re: Rick Perry's Def Comedy Jam
On Barack Obama:
"I read that he is in Korea, at the DMZ. Would somebody tell me: Why do ya have to go all the way to Korea to get a driver’s license? Must be something to do with that birth certificate thing."
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/rick-perry-best-one-liners-from-gridiron-club-dinner-2012-3#ixzz1qQyG3n54
Aug '10
Re: Rick Perry's Def Comedy Jam
So - when are Republican candidates gonna learn to trot out their A-Game before they lose the election, rather than after?
Feb '11
Re: Rick Perry's Def Comedy Jam
The lines are funny. I'd have thought, though, that he would have kept the jokes about his own team to the level of his Romney joke quoted above: avoiding current candidate weaknesses, building up good traits, and using himself as the straight man or fall guy to nail the punchline. It's been so long since the debates took place that I don't remember them all that well; does Perry have cause to hold a grudge against Santorum?