From the Houston Chronicle blog (where you can sit through a 4 minute and 39 second video of her remarks, it you’re that much of a masochist):
Texas first lady Anita Perry suggested today that the presidential race has been driven by the news media coverage of campaign debates and conceded that the debates “could affect the outcome of the race.”
In an interview with WMBF news anchor Chandi Lowry of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Anita Perry said that the debates have diverted her husband from other campaign priorities.
“One week, we were not out on the trail much,” she recounted. “We were being prepped — or Rick was being prepped — for the debate, so it really takes the time away that you can meet people one on one.”
Well, Anita, it was too bad it was just Rick being prepped. Sounds like the campaign staff missed a key opportunity to upgrade your software while he was in the shop for his facts-as-a-second-language classes. If you’ve got any chance at all to help your husband on his Brownian motion stumble towards the White House, you really must stop with this handwringing and whining. It wasn’t cute or funny while he was surging in the polls, but now that he’s in a free-fall, it’s like nails on a blackboard. Just. Please. Stop.
We know you and Rick would prefer being out on the trail… the trail of big money. The debates are just one of those pesky events you have to endure, like we here have to endure a Thanksgiving dinner with nitwit Tea Party in-laws who won’t shut off Fox TV even during grace. Some people – we call them “voters” – actually care that the person that they might elect as the leader of the free world can answer simple questions about domestic and international issues without dozing off or zoning out or saying something absurd. We can’t really gauge that in those hit-and-run appearances where a candidate throws out a few well-rehearsed lines, then takes off in a limo for a donor event.
Still, I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for those preparations, watching our jittery Secessionist-in-Chief pacing around the room, being bombarded with facts and talking points.
“Yeah, I got it. I got it. Okay. Libya’s the one in Africa, and Africa has other countries; it’s not like a country of its own. If there’s any question about Afghanistan or Iraq, I go to the “I was the commander in chief in the Republic of Texas” line. What?? Well, of course I’m just kiddin’ y’all. I know Texas ain’t a Republic. Jeez. Just checkin’ if you’re still payin’ attention. Can’t anybody take a joke anymore?”
And on and on… hours of cramming for that big exam. Gone are the days of paying some Aggie frat brother to get him a copy of the answers. Rick’s just now realized that it’s an essay test, not multiple choice. There’s no crib sheet. Given that he has the attention span of a gnat, holding in all these facts, answers, clever come-backs, and earnest pronouncements is like trying to nail a slab of Jello to the wall.
The candidate’s wife suggested that the coverage of the debates have played a role in her husband’s campaign standing.
“I think this race is largely media driven and I think the debates are doing it,” she said. “So yes, it could, it could affect the outcome of the race.”
So let me be sure I understand you, Anita: it’s the media’s fault for covering the debates? There’s no chance at all that it’s Rick’s fault for shaking down his “investors” of $17 million in campaign funds, then utterly bungling the debates, even to the point that other candidates, late-night comedians, pundits, and even his long-forgotten constituents took pity on his mental lapses?
I’ll give you this, Anita: in this cruel and heartless world, you’ve stood by your man. You built a safe little parallel universe for him, a world where he’s so very smart, good-looking, and clever. You’ve helped to insulate him from the sufferings of the real people of Texas. You’ve made sure he’s always in “friendly” situations with people who like and support him and are willing to open their hearts and wallets to him. Whenever someone criticized Rick, you fought back, blaming the critics, the media, and the “system” for being cruel and unfair.
After years of taking the easy way out of every situation, you’ve finally hit the wall. Don’t be blaming the media or the “system”. If you want someone or something to blame, look in one of the many gilded mirrors in your $10,000-a-month rent-a-mansion. You bought into the myth you’d created, convincing Rick that all he needed was a smile, a swagger, and a bag of money. The deep-pocket pay-to-play donors would do the rest.
Fortunately for all of us, even the GOP primary voters were smart enough to see through this charade. Now that the rest of the country has looked him over and flung him back into that greasy Texas bayou, it looks like you and Rick will have plenty of time to reflect on “what might have been”, before reality caught up with the Perry Legend.
12:35 PM PT: Thanks for getting this onto the "rec" list! I've said it before and I'll say it again: I have the most insightful, witty, literate, politically astute, and good-looking commenters on all of DailyKOS. It's always a pleasure to interact with y'all!