They Must Find Perry Scary
They Must Find Perry Scary
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas has been a presidential candidate for less than a week, and already he's been the target of a smear effort and suffered a self-inflicted wound. The smear attempt came from Ed Schultz, hotheaded host of MSNBC's "The Mr. Ed Show," who on Monday made a laughable attempt to portray Perry as racist:
Schultz: I think there`s an element of racism every time people claim the first black president doesn't love this country. Perry comes from the radical country club that loves to remind white America President Obama is other, not like you. Perry also wants you to know that he`s pro-business: Perry: I'm a pro-business governor. I don't make any apologies about it, and I will be a pro-business president. Getting America back to work is the most important issue that faces this country, being able to pay off $14.5 trillion or $16 trillion worth of debt--that big black cloud that hangs over America. Schultz: That black cloud Perry is talking about is President Barack Obama. A Breitbart.tv video argues that Schultz used "deceptive editing" to make Perry appear racist, leaving out the words that followed "hangs over America," namely, "that debt that is so monstrous." But even in the edited version of the clip, it's clear that the "big black cloud" is the debt.
We expect this kind of race-baiting to get even dumber and more desperate as the campaign progresses. How long will it be before somebody claims, in all seriousness, that "one-term president" is code for "black"?
Here's Perry's error, committed Monday in Iowa, as reported by Reuters:
"If this guy [Fed chairman Ben Bernanke] prints more money between now and the election, I don't know what y'all will do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas," Perry said to laughter from supporters in Iowa. "Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous, treasonous in my opinion," he said. "The White House responded by saying it is important for the Fed to remain independent," Reuters reports--precisely the substance of what Perry said. But press secretary Jay Carney also said: "I certainly think threatening the Fed chairman is not a good idea," and: "When you are president or running for president, you have to think about your words."
Former Enron adviser Paul Krugman was outraged at Carney's "ominous" suggestion that "patriotic citizens were supposed to accept the administration's version of events, not ask awkward questions." Just kidding! Krugman did write those words, but he was referring to a similar comment, in 2001, by Ari Fleischer, President Bush's press secretary.
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