Rick Perry: First Impressions
Yesterday, I listened twice to Rick Perry’s first advertisement. This afternoon – at the office where the internet connection is fast – I listened carefully to the first speech of Rick Perry’s campaign. And I can say that I am both pleased and mildly worried.
The video I thought fabulous. It was low-key, gentle, soothing, and devastating. It muted the drama and appealed to the intellect, pointing to the obvious and quietly encouraging the listener to compare President Obama with Governor Perry and to judge them by their accomplishments. If Perry and his team can keep this up, he is likely to win. I am of two minds, however, about his announcement speech.
On the one hand, he sounded the right themes. The antidote to this country’s soft despotic drift is decentralization. When Alexis de Tocqueville wrote about this question, he had his eye on France, and he was offering the American example – federalism, decentralization within the states, religion, and the nuclear family – as an antidote. As I argued two years ago in Soft Despotism, Democracy’s Drift, our troubles today today arise from the partial collapse of the family, from religion’s decline, and from our abandonment of federalism. Think through the implications of Terrence Moore’s first post – on the welfare state – and you will get the picture. In his speech and video, directly or obliquely, Perry touched on all three of these questions, reasserting the central importance of the integrity of the family, intimating that religion is our moral anchor, and demanding a return to federalism. If he thinks through the logic of his own commitments – and perhaps he has done so already – his instincts will be pretty consistently sound.
On the other hand, Perry was folksy throughout – and that worries me a bit. The tone of the speech and the manner of delivery were pitch-perfect for Texas. I am not, however, certain that this will play for a national audience. I do not mean to suggest that Perry should never be folksy. He comes from Paint Creek, and this comes naturally to him. Moreover, he needs at the outset to gather to him those who belong to his natural constituency – which is made up of white people who live in the countryside and in small towns. But to persuade a wider audience, Perry will have to pitch his argument to an audience that thinks itself more sophisticated. I am not arguing that the city slickers really are more sophisticated; I am arguing that they are in the grips of a powerful prejudice against people from places like Paint Creek.
You will respond that Bill Clinton came from Hope, Arkansas, and you will be correct. But Bill Clinton went to Georgetown University and Yale Law School, and he did a stint at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He was vetted. Perry is an outsider. Even in some circles in Texas, Aggies are regarded as hicks. It is easy to see what sort of campaign David Axelrod and his associates will gin up against Perry. It will draw on the instinctive bigotry that made it so easy to demonize Lyndon Baines Johnson and the younger Bush. Obama cannot run on his record. To win, he must demonize the alternative. It is going to be ugly.
Perry is an exceedingly successful Texas politician. He comes from a place that is self-regarding in the extreme (I speak as a native of Oklahoma) and inward-looking. He has never operated outside its borders, and he may be unaware of its parochial character. If he is, he needs to wake up right away – and Mitt Romney is perfectly situated to give him that wake-up call.
Here is what Perry needs to do. He needs to anticipate the assault.
For example, if Obama’s people play anti-Texas prejudice against him, he should mock their advertisements. Indeed, he might do well to hit them hard the day they play this card – by preparing humorous advertisements ahead of time comparing Texas . . . with Chicago. They could touch on corruption, gangsters, population explosion and population implosion, political practices. And it could all be done with a light touch.
The larger problem is this, however. Most Americans – outside Texas – associate a West-Texas accent and a folksy manner with stupidity. The Obama people – and, perhaps more subtly – the Romney people may try to depict Perry as a hick. This he can head off if he has the wit to recognize the obvious: that what plays in Texas may not play as well elsewhere.
My suggestion would be that he give two or three speeches at venues associated with the conservative intelligentsia. The speeches should be low-key, gentle, and, above all else, thoughtful. In them he should outline in a manner almost academic what he intends to do and why. One could deal with defense and foreign policy. Another could focus on healthcare. A third could take economic growth and the prerequisites for economic growth as its theme. In these speeches, his purpose should be to demonstrate that he is anything but a hick, anything but stupid, and that he has thought in depth and carefully about the larger issues we face. There should not be a hint of the campaign speech in them. They should be intellectually devastating without being polemical. His aim should be to dispel once and for all the suspicion that he is just another hot dog from Texas running his mouth in predictable ways.
I mention this now in the hope that someone in Perry’s entourage reads Ricochet. What Perry did in South Carolina on Saturday was appropriate for the occasion. But there are other occasions, and most of us are not Texans. If I were the head of the American Enterprise Institute, I would get on the phone tomorrow and invite Perry to give three lectures in DC. The trick here is to get out ahead of the onslaught and to kill the appeal to prejudice before it is even launched.
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Comments:
Apr '11
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
I both agree and disagree. Living in the Northeast, his twangy Texas accent and evangelical like delivery is somewhat grating. That being said, what really matter is whether or not he is fast on the draw. Can he aggressively articulate his positions and defend them against all comers? Has he got the skills and the game - in other words. Substance can uplift and overcome style, but he must have the substance to sustain. Only time will tell.
Jul '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Professor Rahe, I'm Here in Texas and have voted for Gov. Perry for every one of His runs, but to You outsiders may I describe Him thus: "shady used-car salesman." I don't know another way of saying it, but I bet a number of people would agree.
Gov. Perry has delivered.
Edited on August 15, 2011 at 4:26amMay '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
As someone who as toiled in the marketing salt-mines for 35+ years may I say that Professor Rahe has it exactly right. The strategic prescription he offers is spot on. The Perry campaign would do well to listen.
Jun '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
I think Bill Clinton taught us that you can't be too folksy. As long as your folksiness is accompanied by enough ruthlessness, it's an asset in American politics--not a liability. Remember General Russel L. Honoré from Katrina fame? Was he too folksy?
Edited on August 15, 2011 at 4:47amApr '11
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
I am also from Oklahoma. Even in such a conservative state I can tell you right now that Perry is not going to do very well with the youth vote. When it comes to West Texas folksy, Perry is Bush on steroids. ( I agree that the prejudice is unfair, and that ultimately he would be a much better president than BHO). I read in the Huffington Post that Perry made primarily C and D's while at Texas A&M. I absolutely cringe at the thought of trying to vouch for him to my more middle of the road friends. I cringe at the thought of how much fun the left-leaning entertainment industry will have with this guy.
I think intellectual snobbery from the left is nauseating, in reality Perry would probably be far more successful than Obama at turning the economy around, if for no other reason than the fact that he isn't stuck in the Keynesian box. But I believe that from a marketing standpoint Perry is a disaster. We need a candidate who can create the big tent.
May '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
I didn't care for his speech. I thought it came across as a string of platitudes delivered by a practiced televangelist.
But I agree with Lady Bertram. Let's see how he handles the coming media onslaught.
Feb '11
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Perhaps Mark Steyn might lend his indeterminate accent to Gov. Perry for the campaign?
Aug '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
It will be interesting to see how Perry plays his past and former Gore-association. I'm one of those now-staunch conservatives who used to be a liberal Democrat. If Perry's campaign managers can find a way to connect Perry's past and oonversion to former Dems, Declined to States and Independents, they may have a winning hand.
Oct '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Ok, I will say it: Sarah Palin with cowboy boots. More intellectual substance is required.
Edited on August 15, 2011 at 5:08amMay '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Comments here suggest I should find time to watch the entire speech... I've seen the commercial, which is pretty great with a couple hokey moments (near the end, profile shot of Perry, Perry turns dramatically to stare down the camera - I'll admit, I laughed).
I don't share the pessimism about attacks on Texas. Dubya, with a few glowing exceptions, had a bungling manner that made it easy to land sophomoric jabs at his intelligence. If Perry is really the sharp politician my first impression suggests, he should be able to knock down that narrative with well-placed retorts. Lord knows President Obama and the Democratic Party offer a wealth of comic possibilities!
What does bum me out is the continued talk of Romney as our only hope. In general I think "big tent" arguments leave the GOP with a mess of canvas and no solid stakes. The eventual nominee will be savaged by Obama and the media no matter what; give me a reliable conservative who can communicate principles without being abrasive on the touchy stuff! If Perry can walk that line, all the better.
May '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Please, all, read this WSJ article before you get too enthused about Rick Perry.
May '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
duplicate post
Edited on August 15, 2011 at 5:18amMay '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
computer freak out
Edited on August 15, 2011 at 5:20amDec '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
I believe he is sandbagging. Intellectually brilliant or not, he's a smart enough pol to not put on his most polished show yet. He will leave room for development and improvement. He must (and is) position himself as more authentic than Romney, more serious than Bachmann, and the antidote to Obama. He laid out the base principles (his thesis) in his announcement and he will either develop them through the campaign or assign himself to the fate being designed by the MSM as we speak.
Jun '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Ken Sweeney: Ok, I will say it: Sarah Palin with cowboy boots. More intellectual substance is required. · Aug 14 at 8:07pm
Edited on Aug 14 at 08:08 pm
You should visit what's left of the American frontier once in awhile. You might discover that the people are pretty clever when they have to be, and they often have to be. They just don't wear it on their sleeves.
Oct '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Perry seems to be long on looks and short on substance. The man is just working the crowd and a little too slick.
As one spends considerable time in Austin, what the ears hear, this is not a good matchup for the national tasks at hand.
When you pull back the sheets, you might not like who you got into bed with.
Dec '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
wilber forge:
As one spends considerable time in Austin...
Well there's yer problem. Get out of the capitol.
Edited on August 15, 2011 at 5:46amJan '11
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
If Perry is a conservative because he's from Texas, he's not my guy.
If he's a conservative because he grasps ... and can explain ... why the federal government has a defined and specific role to play, while the states and private sector have their own roles which must also be respected, and can explain why a federal executive is not just a national problem-solver who can trample over the limits of power just because he's feeling messianic today ... then maybe I can get behind him.
It won't be enough to have a generally conservative attitude. What we need is someone who knows how the components of conservative policy fit together. Someone should ask him if he can explain "substantive due process," and whether he likes it or not. If he can't swat that question out of the air, he ain't my guy.
Of course, at this point, if the Republicans nominate a swivel chair, I'll still vote for it. The only question is how enthusiastic I'll be.
Feb '11
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Perry has lots to prove and he can get started now that he's officially in the hunt. I'd prefer an extended primary season with a number of credible candidates battling and testing each other. Whoever wins will be that much more capable of dealing with the relentless and ruthless Chicago machine the incumbent will crank up. While we look back at 2008 with incredulity, we would do well to remember just how effective their campaign was at attacking and dismembering the Clinton dynasty. Let's just not be so quick to try to anoint someone in August--there's lots of time to see who rises and grows for the fight to come.
Dec '10
Re: Rick Perry: First Impressions
Perhaps we can ask Matthew Shaffer to comment on this, as he saw Perry speak in New York to a different type of audience.