Not too long ago, Texas Governor Rick Perry represented the GOP’s great white hope for the 2012 presidential campaign. Like the young bucks he’s used to riding in the Lone Star state, Perry emerged out the gate, full of confidence and promise. Now he’s lagging in the polls, suffering abysmal debate performances, and ranks third behind Mitt Romney, the consummate flip-flopper, and Herman Cain, the former CEO of a mediocre pizza business.
Perry initially won over Tea Party types by questioning whether Barack Obama was patriotic and loved America. Republicans were attracted to his Southern twang and cowboy swagger, thinking he had the boldness and fortitude to take on the nation’s first African-American president.
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Now, as he fights to stay in the race, Perry has chosen to appeal to the least common denominator by flirting with birthers: willing to question President Obama’s legitimacy and teaming up with reality television star Donald Trump. Oh how the mighty have fallen. With record unemployment, millions losing their homes and an uncertain future in the Middle East, as the Arab Spring meets an Arab winter — Perry, Trump and their cronies revisit empty attacks and recycle dumb ideas.
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In a recent interview with Parade magazine, Perry was asked whether he thought President Obama was born in the United States, “I don’t have a definitive answer,” Perry said. The interviewer suggested that Perry had seen Obama’s birth certificate which was widely published after being released by the White House earlier this year. Perry replied, “I don’t know. Have I?”
The Texas governor said the subject of Obama’s birth certificate came up during a recent meeting with former GOP contender Donald Trump, who back in April, captured headlines and sparked controversy by raising doubt over whether the president was born in Hawaii.
Trump, who has presided over numerous failed business ventures, and filed for bankruptcy multiple times, somehow gained credibility among the anti-Obama, neo-Confederate fringe of the Republican Party.
Like Sarah Palin, Trump publicly toyed with the idea of a presidential run, and in the process garnered free press coverage for his reality television program, Celebrity Apprentice. Upon the release of President Obama’s long-form birth certificate, Trump said that he was “proud” of himself and took credit for having brought the debate to a close.
The difference between Perry and Trump is that the governor holds public office and has a responsibility to deal in truth — not dollars. Perry had a chance to emulate something approaching sensibility and intellect, but instead chose to play politics.
“He doesn’t think it’s real,” Perry said of Trump, referring to Obama’s birth certificate. “I don’t have any idea,” Perry continued. “It doesn’t matter,” he added, and then called it “a distractive issue.”
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It seems Rick Perry is becoming a cautionary tale of how to win at losing.
A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC news poll showed that his numbers have plummeted to 16 percent, down from 38 percent in August. The Perry campaign’s last ditch effort to score points with the far-right conservative base reveals he’s duly aware of his flailing popularity among primary voters.
What is most sad is that this is the nature of our politics. Race-baiting and xenophobia are not American ideals and should not be tolerated in the public, political discourse. Yet somehow the backlash to Obama’s 2008 victory has sent the nation spiraling backwards toward the kind of attitudes and divisiveness that characterized the period of white redemption between 1865 and 1870, when disenfranchisement and Jim Crow took hold.
Rick Perry needs to rise above the fray if he expects to have a chance at winning the White House. Mitt Romney and Herman Cain, who have also sought out Donald Trump’s advice and endorsement, should embrace a broader view of the political landscape. Tea Partiers may have a loud voice, but are not representative of the greater American electorate.
Serious times, call for serious leadership. Not carnival barkers and sideshows.
Edward Wyckoff Williams is an author, columnist, political and economic analyst, and a former investment banker. Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
