Perry's political image

“We need to elect the candidate with the best record, and the best vision for this country," Rick Perry told an audience in Orlando recently. “The current occupant of the White House can sure talk a good game, but he doesn't deliver. Matter of fact, remember President Clinton? Man, he could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. And the next day be against ice cubes! The alternative is candidates who stick to principle, stand their ground, because they believe in something." Timothy Noah is unimpressed:

So ... being a good debater means you're ineffectual at best, inauthentic or downright dishonest at worst. Coherence equals glibness. If I were stuck with Perry's particular skill set that's probably what I'd be saying too. But by playing up the idea that strong, silent cowpokes like himself "stick to principle, stand their ground," Perry makes it harder to back away from extremist political positions such as his stated belief that Social Security, Medicare, and the direct election of senators are all unconstitutional. Perry's opponent, Mitt Romney, has no intention of letting debate audiences forget about this.

People have argued for countless years that we ought to be skeptical of those who state their opinions with eloquence or finesse. Such sentiment runs beyond the whole 'substance vs. rhetoric debate', which is important, and instead borders on dangerous. Noah's third sentence seems to round things off perfectly: "If I were stuck with Perry's particular skill set that's probably what I'd be saying too." Yeah, I suppose so.