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Rick Perry's Damage Control Strategy: Have a Sense of Humor
The Atlantic ^ | November 10, 2011 | Molly Ball

Posted on 11/10/2011 2:37:12 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife

By facing the issue and joking about it, Perry frames his gaffe as a funny moment rather than a serious, and seriously stupid, one. He takes control of the discussion. Every minute he's on the air being interviewed about it is one more minute his moment isn't being replayed, one more minute some panel of pundits isn't fretfully analyzing its stupendous terribleness. By allowing his memory glitch to be the topic of discussion and owning up to it, he helps exhaust the subject.

Most of all, Perry is being humanized, albeit not in the way any politician would wish.

For all the talk about the Republican field's lack of a credible conservative to take on Mitt Romney, there's another, just as glaring void: the humanity gap. Romney's woodenness and lack of approachability are arguably just as much of an issue as his ideological heresies and lack of consistency. He's just not relatable. A little personality goes a long way in a politician -- just look at Herman Cain.

Perry's reputation in Texas is as a folksy charmer, but it's a persona he seems to have left back in Austin for most of this campaign. He's been stilted and spacey and unsure by turns, with flashes of a better politician occasionally showing through.

Now, though it may be too late, Perry is seizing the chance to show he's just like us. He, too, saw what happened on that stage and groaned. He, too, thought he looked awfully dumb. But in refusing to let it get him down, he can show forthrightness and sincerity, two traits voters are surely wishing they saw more of from this field of Republican candidates.

(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 5000dollarcandidate; 5000dollarstoplay; ammesty; amnestyperry; areyousmarterthan6yo; backtoaustin; borderinsecurity; byebyeperry; canthemanspeak; debatefail; debatingfordummies; gaffe; heartless; heartlessping; human; humor; keywordkooks; openborders; payforplay; perry2012; perryastroturfing; perryisajoke; perryscherries; perrysfangals; perrywinkles; rickperry; rickrino; rickromney; rino; rinorick; rinorickster; texastoast
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1 posted on 11/10/2011 2:37:14 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

What else could he do?


2 posted on 11/10/2011 2:38:08 PM PST by JaguarXKE
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Good luck.


3 posted on 11/10/2011 2:38:16 PM PST by napscoordinator
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

He should do what Cain does and say he was only joking and that people need a sense of humor.


4 posted on 11/10/2011 2:39:37 PM PST by linn37
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To: napscoordinator

In the words of Mary Cooper: “Honey, that’s ain’t gonna work, but you keep trying!”


5 posted on 11/10/2011 2:39:37 PM PST by JDW11235 (I think I got it now!)
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To: napscoordinator

In the words of Mary Cooper: “Honey, that ain’t gonna work, but you keep trying!”


6 posted on 11/10/2011 2:39:49 PM PST by JDW11235 (I think I got it now!)
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To: napscoordinator

In the words of Mary Cooper: “Honey, that ain’t gonna work, but you keep trying!”


7 posted on 11/10/2011 2:39:53 PM PST by JDW11235 (I think I got it now!)
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To: napscoordinator

Oops!


8 posted on 11/10/2011 2:40:27 PM PST by JDW11235 (I think I got it now!)
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To: JaguarXKE

Even Mitt blew it on how long he’d been married.

Romney: ““I’m a man of steadiness and constancy,” he said. “I’ve married to the same woman for 25 — excuse me, I will get in trouble, for 42 years.”

And everyone laughed.


9 posted on 11/10/2011 2:40:54 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: linn37

As if humor was something new to Perry.
Why, the man’s a walking joke.


10 posted on 11/10/2011 2:43:51 PM PST by MrEdd (Heck? Geewhiz Cripes, thats the place where people who don't believe in Gosh think they aint going.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
Waaaaaay too much was made of his brain-fart last night.

I changed from Perry to Cain because Perry couldn't explain the reasons behind some of his policies well enough to convince me that they were soundly-reasoned -- not because he might have a moment of forgetfulness.

11 posted on 11/10/2011 2:47:00 PM PST by BfloGuy (Even the opponents of Socialism are dominated by socialist ideas.)
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To: MrEdd

+1

He’s like the joke that you mess up the punchline to, and stumble and try and say it again and again (”What was that? What was that, again? Hold on, it’s coming to me! Oh, I forgot, nevermind, but it was really good!”), until it’s not funny. Then you say “Oops.”


12 posted on 11/10/2011 2:47:23 PM PST by JDW11235 (I think I got it now!)
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To: MrEdd
As if humor was something new to Perry. Why, the man’s a walking joke.

Love it!

13 posted on 11/10/2011 2:48:08 PM PST by rockabyebaby (We are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo screwed!)
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To: BfloGuy

“Perry couldn’t explain the reasons behind some of his policies well enough to convince me that they were soundly-reasoned — not because he might have a moment of forgetfulness.”

They’re not soundly reasoned because he’s a moron. As they say, “politics is show business for ugly people.” Silly Perry forgets his lines.


14 posted on 11/10/2011 2:49:40 PM PST by JDW11235 (I think I got it now!)
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To: MrEdd

Right and Cain never misspeaks. How many things has he said that he has had to walk back so far. Todays was Princess Pelosi.


15 posted on 11/10/2011 2:50:02 PM PST by linn37
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Media narrative so far: Perry is a closet alcoholic, Cain is a womanizer, Bachmann is a nut, Palin is a trigger-happy reality tv star, and Paul is a radical. The question is which candidate are they going to target next? Romney, Gingrich, or are they going to revisit those other ones?


16 posted on 11/10/2011 2:50:43 PM PST by yup2394871293
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To: linn37

There’s a difference between “misspeaking” and totally forgetting what the hell you’re talking about - big difference.


17 posted on 11/10/2011 2:53:03 PM PST by rockabyebaby (We are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo screwed!)
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To: yup2394871293
Gingrich has a new book
18 posted on 11/10/2011 2:53:53 PM PST by Berlin_Freeper
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; ColdOne; Convert from ECUSA; ...

At this point, IMHO, his best option is to suspend his presidential campaigning, but keep his name on the ballot; he’d be an asset to balance the ticket depending on who gets the nomination.


19 posted on 11/10/2011 2:56:11 PM PST by SunkenCiv (It's never a bad time to FReep this link -- https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Too late. Just like Gerald Ford with his airplane stumble, Perry will be lacerated by the media, especially the self-styled late night comedian political opinion makers. Truth makes no difference to these people. They have power and they know how to use it to further their political goals.


20 posted on 11/10/2011 2:56:15 PM PST by Bernard Marx
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