Has Perry’s cowboy shtick already gone too far?

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s seemingly off-the-cuff comment at an Iowa campaign event that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would be treated “pretty ugly” in Texas if he enacts further stimulus measures has earned him reproach from liberals and some conservatives alike.

The newly minted Republican presidential hopeful said it would be a “treasonous act” if Bernanke “prints more money.”

Were his comments a threat of violence, an example of his cowboy shtick run amok, a statement unbecoming of a president or a clever way of stating his economic policy? Watch the video (originally posted by the liberal-leaning news organization Think Progress) and weigh in.