Yep, it’s unmistakable. GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry, governor of Texas, bears an uncanny resemblance to former President George W. Bush, a former Texas governor. It may not be immediately apparently in still shots, but the minute you see Perry walkin’ and talkin’ on camera, you start rubbin’ your eyes and checkin’ your hearin’.
The media have pounced on the similarities like chickens on June bugs. Jon Stewart zeroed in on them last night, and then CNN’s Jeannie Moos weighed in this morning.
It’s eerie how much alike these two are, and very depressing. I’ve written so much about my dislike for Dubya that those posts alone would make a lengthy blog. Now, to have his doppelganger showing up after I’d made so much progress in my 12-step … er, 12-year recovery program is probably the worst thing I could have imagined. Dubya’s nomination in 2000 was the final straw that drove me out of the Republican Party after a lifetime of membership (at the time I was muttering something like “I hope the nation can survive this man’s presidency).
I detest that cocky Texas swagger, the cowboy boots with suits, the folksy way of speakin’, the my-religion-in-your-face thing. Both Texas governors, both “all hat, no cattle.” Now both pilots? Nooo! I’m being forced to re-live one of my worst nightmares. And if all that weren’t enough, Perry packs a pistol. George Bush on steroids. OMG.
I don’t know how Perry reads his tea leaves or counts his cattle, but he best play down that resemblance to Dubya. I’m guessing (or hoping) the similarity will hurt him far more than it will help and that it won’t play well outside of Texas. Even here in Denver where the Old West is still young, folks don’t cotton to boots and Stetsons with business suits. Most consider it an affectation, a getup, or a costume that should have been checked at the door along with the horse and gun.
But all that aside. What really, really gets to me in Moos’s piece is how Perry works a crowd. Friendly hand-shaking is one thing; pawing the women and kids like they’re family is repulsive. You don’t go touching and hugging women you don’t know, and you sure as heck don’t stroke their kids like you’re sizing them up for something illegal. Sheesh. To think I was offended by the presumptuousness of John McCain’s incessant “my friends.” I know I’m starting to sound like Howie Mandel, or maybe just a really uptight old lady, but if we don’t know each other, you don’t go puttin’ your hands on me. Period.
So, did I mention I don’t like Rick Perry?
If you think 14% is a low opinion of congress, wait till you hear my view of voters. I recommend drugs to get you through the next 8 years. When I heard that Rick Perry might become a candidate, I bet several unbelievers that they were looking at their next president. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse.
After watching the linked videos, I’m reminded of a kind of scared that the left leaning media and the Democrats are experiencing: It rhymes with “witless.”
I doubt fear is the motivation. More likely it’s incredulity.
I doubt if I could’ve picked this clown out of a line-up two months ago, and yet that short time has allowed me to develop a serious dislike for the man. As far as personalities go, I actually think dubya was a gem compared to this guy. And despite the similarities, there apparently is no love lost between the two from what I’ve heard.
BTW, I went over to Panos’ The gigya shortcode 1 – inserting videos post and got his help with embedding the videos from CNN.
Thanks. I have a hunch that during the next 14 months or so I’m going to want to do that a lot.
Wow, great minds think alike. Until I read this post I haven’t seen anyone make this observation about Perry besides me. It is eerie, they really sound alike and especially when Perry is talking he does start to look like W. Very weird. I don’t like him either but I think we have different reasons for the dislike.
Annie
Back when Bush was governor and Perry was his lieutenant governor, Texans must have thought they were seeing and hearing double. If I’m around the corner and Perry starts talking on TV, I usually think I’m hearing Bush. Both are so quintessentially … Texan. Maybe to Texans they don’t seem that much alike. Maybe it’s just us non-Texans doing too much stereotyping. But still, as you say, it’s weird, creepy weird.
As for why I don’t like him … the resemblance to Bush was just for starters. There’s all that other stuff about his record in Texas, the things he does vs. the things he says — everything you wrote about and a whole lot more. And the more I learn about him, the worse it gets.