Rick Perry Republican presidential candidate said he doesn’t have a “definitive answer” as to whether President Barack Obama was born in the United States. In an interview with Parade Magazine, the Texas governor said he has “no reason to think otherwise” that Obama wasn’t born in the U.S., but admitted that he doesn’t know for certain whether the long-form birth certificate released earlier this year is real. When told he had seen the birth certificate, Perry responded, “I don’t know, have I?” and said he recently had dinner with Donald Trump, who doesn‘t believe it’s real.
Nevertheless, Perry called the topic a “distractive issue” that “doesn’t matter” because Obama has been elected.”* So what is the reason for this statement? Is this an attempt to appeal to the birther crowd? Is this a wise strategy? Tell me what you think.
-
Live Feed
politics from the eyes of an ebony mom 
Comments
First Perry brings up Romney’s hiring of illegal immigrants (old story – see Romney’s previous bid in 2008) and now he is rehashing the “birther” controversy (ridiculous story – Pres. Obama has PROVEN this already). These seem like actions of a desperate candidate trying to bolster his ratings in polls.
Based strictly on what you have posted here, I would have to say that, as far as I can tell, Perry is merely stating that he can only comment on what he has personal knowledge to be true, and that to speculate on other points would be unwise.
Notice how I couched that entire paragraph in plausible deniability? That’s what politicians do when they don’t want something they don’t know to be a fact to be disproven, rolled up, and hung around their necks later. You don’t get to be an experienced and successful pol without mastering plausible deniability. You have to cover your tracks for the next 200 years because history is a cruel judge.
Rick Perry has not looked much like an experienced politician since he joined this campaign. The national spotlight is much brighter than at the state level, even in a large state like Texas.
Trackbacks
[…] Governor Rick Perry, is still flirting with the discredited idea. To continue reading see “Is Rick Perry Embracing The Birther Movement?” and “Rove issues ‘birther’ warning to […]