Opinion

Perry's extremism hardens to clay

When Washington Post columnist George Will wrote recently that examples of Gov. Rick Perry's extremism “evaporate in sunlight,” I couldn't resist sending him an email.

My only question: Have you read his book?

I received an automated reply.

But the extent to which such a seasoned and talented journalist was charmed by our governor — and the governor is charming, no question — left me flabbergasted.

The possibility that Will would write such a fawning piece without cracking the cover of “Fed Up!”, the book Perry released the day after his re-election win last November, leaves me wondering how much scrutiny lies between seekers of the presidency and the world's most powerful office.

Not enough, apparently, if they're charming.

This is a bipartisan admonition, by the way. I once fell too readily under the charm of former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who turned out to be a scoundrel. In retrospect, I wish I'd paid more attention when friends sent me that YouTube video in which he primped in the mirror to “I Feel Pretty.”

We tend to reduce all politics to shorthand, partly so we won't have to think about it as much.

That said, sometimes the minor anecdote tells you plenty. The story of what former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney did to his dog, driving for 12 hours with it strapped in a pet carrier on the roof of his car, still represents my single biggest misgiving about his judgment.

Perry's candidacy, however, should combust under sunlight not because of an anecdote but for more substantive reasons: ideology and competence.

His radicalism hardens to clay in “Fed Up!” He calls Social Security a failure “by any measure,” essentially endorses Arizona's harsh and impractical immigration legislation, and says Congress should be allowed to override any Supreme Court ruling with a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate.

That impulse to politicize the courts should alarm anyone with even a passing devotion to the Bill of Rights. Do you really think your right to speak freely, worship as you please and bear arms should be put up for a vote? Perry does.

As for competence, I keep thinking back to a phone interview with Perry during the governor's race. We'd been talking about his refusal to debate his Democratic opponent, former Houston mayor Bill White, until he released more tax returns. I asked Perry how he distinguished between that demand and his refusal to release papers related to his decision to allow the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham to go forward in 2004.

More Information Blog: Is this man ready to be president? Listen to Perry’s attempt to answer Scott Stroud's question.

The governor floundered for more than five minutes, then said he was legally bound not to release the documents by attorney-client privilege — which, of course, is an option but not a requirement (that's why it's called a privilege).

I've posted audio of that interview with the online version of this column and on my blog, “And Another Thing...” on mySA.com. I didn't do so during the governor's race because I didn't start taping until after I'd asked the question.

It's true that everybody stumbles from time to time, and maybe this was just a bad moment. But it's most definitely the sound of a man who is bluffing.

If that sounds like a man you think should be president, I don't know how to convince you otherwise.

jstroud@express-news.net

As originally published, this column contained an error.