BRADDOCK: Dear Pundits, Gov. Rick Perry's Not Dumb
AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM) – The major political news site Politico asks the question out loud: "Is Governor Perry dumb? "
I can only imagine that if there were sites like Politico back when Gov. Bush ascended to the White House, there would have been a story titled "Is George W. Bush dumb?" In fact, Politico's story opens with a line harkening back to the presidency of the last Texan in the Oval Office:
"Another Texas governor who drops his "g's" and scorns elites is running for president and the whispers are the same: lightweight, incurious, instinctual."
Now, why does droppin' your g's put you in the runnin' for bein' stupid? Just wonderin'.
It's not just the Southern accent that brings the criticism, but it seems to be the first thing people point to when questioning the intellect of a Southern politician. Many talking heads/pundits in the national media questioned Perry's thinking when he said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would be "treasonous" and suggested Texas could secede from the United States.
GOP Strategist Jim McGrath, who's supporting Mitt Romney in the Republican primary, says the media's attacks on Perry only seem to be helping his cause. He also points out Perry faced a conservative rebellion 3 years ago for various reasons, but became the "darling of the right" following his performance at several Tea Party events where he flirted with secession.
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