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Rick Perry Excuses Himself on David Letterman

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Fresh off his freeze-tastic performance in the GOP Presidential debate Wednesday night, Rick Perry showed up on Late Show with David Letterman to try to turn embarrassment into embarrassment-ade, reading a list of top 10 excuses for his onstage forgetfulness.

Did Perry help himself out? The minimum standard for an appearance like this is that it makes the subject look like a good sport, and Perry probably did that. Then again, seeming like a good sport is not exactly his major problem right now.

I’m neither a politics nor a public-relations expert, but this strikes me as the sort of appearance that might do more good after a gaffe in a general election. To a voter who doesn’t follow the news closely, Perry’s laughing the spasm off could help send the message that it’s just another silly media frenzy, that the guy made a mistake like everybody does, he can laugh at himself over it, and we can move on because it’s a one-time thing.

The problem here is that a Presidential primary, at this stage of the game, is being followed by higher-intensity voters—people who have been following the candidates more or less closely and who therefore know that Perry’s record of shall-we-say shaky debate performances is not a one-time thing. It may not be a dealbreaker, but to the more committed primary voters, a good turn on Letterman is probably not going to un-break the deal, either.

The perception of Perry as hazy and asleep on his feet is probably not so easily shaken, as suggested by a subtle but sharp dig Letterman got in as the candidate took the Ed Sullivan Theater stage: “How do you feel, by the way? You feel all right? You ready? You well rested?” Rick Perry has laughed at himself, as he must, but the joke lives on.

Fresh off his freeze-tastic performance in the GOP Presidential debate Wednesday night, Rick Perry showed up on Late Show with David Letterman to try to turn embarrassment into embarrassment-ade, reading a list of top 10 excuses for his onstage forgetfulness.

Did Perry help himself out? The minimum standard for an appearance like this is that it makes the subject look like a good sport, and Perry probably did that. Then again, seeming like a good sport is not exactly his major problem right now.

I’m neither a politics nor a public-relations expert, but this strikes me as the sort of appearance that might do more good after a gaffe in a general election. To a voter who doesn’t follow the news closely, Perry’s laughing the spasm off could help send the message that it’s just another silly media frenzy, that the guy made a mistake like everybody does, he can laugh at himself over it, and we can move on because it’s a one-time thing.

The problem here is that a Presidential primary, at this stage of the game, is being followed by higher-intensity voters—people who have been following the candidates more or less closely and who therefore know that Perry’s record of shall-we-say shaky debate performances is not a one-time thing. It may not be a dealbreaker, but to the more committed primary voters, a good turn on Letterman is probably not going to un-break the deal, either.

The perception of Perry as hazy and asleep on his feet is probably not so easily shaken, as suggested by a subtle but sharp dig Letterman got in as the candidate took the Ed Sullivan Theater stage: “How do you feel, by the way? You feel all right? You ready? You well rested?” Rick Perry has laughed at himself, as he must, but the joke lives on.