COMMENTARY | During an interview with FOX News Neil Cavuto, Texas Gov. and President Obama's latest GOP challenger Rick Perry committed what the liberal left is attempting to spin to the heights of blasphemy. When asked why he suffers from the "Chris Christy phenomenon," of being "very popular" outside his state but "not nearly as popular" within his state, the answer raised both eyebrows and a few hackles.
"I'd say a prophet is generally not loved in their hometown. That's both Biblical and practical."
Richard Connelly, fellow Texan and political blogger for the Houston Press surely isn't feeling the love.
"We gotta say," Richard hacked up on his blog - appropriately named "Hairballs - "we are simply in love with the idea that Perry seems to be beginning to think that all he has to do is announce his availability for the GOP nomination and everything will fall in his lap."
Well Richard, in only one week after his announcement Rick Perry is tied with Obama in the polls... and while I appreciate your opinion, isn't having confidence in your ability to win a race one of the prerequisites of entering? Besides, wasn't it you who later wrote that "You have to admit -- Texas politicians can be very entertaining. Dangerous, yes; misguided, almost always; but at least they provide lots of laughs, none of them intentional"?
Funny, for a proud Lone Star Stater whose Number One on a list of fifty reasons why "Texas Is The Best State In America" is that "Texans are so damn charming when they brag about their state," Richard sure does spend a lot of time distancing himself from and apologizing for the fact that "three of our last nine presidents have been from Texas."
The day after Barack Obama was elected president, the Chicago Tribune wrote of how 62-year old retired Coca Cola information systems worker Larry Younginer knelt in front of the congregants at his suburban Atlanta church and offered a prayer of thanks.
"Lord, we have again come to you in prayer, and you have heard our cries from heaven, and you have sent us again from the state called Illinois, a man called Barack to heal our land."
Chris Matthews, reacting like some teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert said: "This is bigger than Kennedy. This is the New Testament. I felt this thrill going up my leg."
Overnight, the world was sniper-plastered with posters and statues of the deified Obama and worshipful cover stories full of similar encomiums filled news-stands around the world.
And you think Perry is buying into his own hype?
Still high on his trip to Berlin, Germany where thousands flocked to see the new American Messiah - oh, and perhaps the free concert offered by two popular bands who took the stage first - Obama humbly borrowed the words of (now Former Speaker of the House) Nancy Pelosi (D-San Fran) and agreed that yes, he is the one and "this is the moment that the world is waiting for."
"When the messiah speaks the youth will hear," Louis Farrakhan said of Obama in 2008. "And the messiah is absolutely speaking."
Then there is the website whose faithful truly believe that, "Obama is, of course, greater than Jesus"
In the meantime, the liberal flock is having a holy cow because Rick Perry had the nerve to insinuate himself anywhere near even the lower category on the divinity scale of "prophet".
Cenk Uygur , the uber-progressive online talk show host of The Young Turks - whose brief tenure as an anchor on MSNBC Live ended abruptly in July because he was considered too combative towards "those in power" has taken aim at Perry who threatens to obtain power.
"Rick Perry is somewhat unpopular in his own state" Uygur is quick to reiterate. "His approval rating is 41 percent and his disapproval rating is 42%. It's pretty close but an approval rating of 42 percent is not awe inspiring and if you're going to run for president and you only have that kind of approval in your own state, that's not very good."
Well Cenk, while Barack Obama still maintains approval in his home state of Illinois, Gallup says he is somewhat unpopular in a lot of other states. In fact, a recent Gallup poll shows his approval rating hit a new all time low of 38 percent with 54 percent disapproval nationwide. By your description of Perry's record it should be safe to assume that Obama's record qualifies -at best - as worse than "not very good."
"Part of the reason is he has this gigantic deficit he created," Uyugar theorized of Perry's poll woes in Texas, "$27 billion dollars - right. So that does not help."
Well, Perry's $27 billion affects only the residents of Texas. Obama racking up the national public debt to over $14,656,359,494,756 [and counting] and strapping $47,098.55 to the backs of every man, woman and child in the United States doesn't help either.
"Who's a prophet?" Cent Uygur asks.
Well, according to the American Heritage dictionary a prophet is, besides someone like Obama - "A person who speaks by divine inspiration or as the interpreter through whom the will of a god is expressed" and "A person gifted with profound moral insight and exceptional powers of expression" - a prophet can also be "A predictor; a soothsayer" or "The chief spokesperson of a movement or cause."
Perry's campaign slogan is, "Get America Working Again." Speaking at a rally in Austin, Texas, Perry said there are "One in six work eligible Americans who cannot find a full time job. Mr. President - that is not an economic recovery. That is an economic disaster."
Oh, and for those who want to believe that Rick Perry is simply "too dumb" to be president and prefer to cling to the hope that Barack Obama is one of the greatest intellects and the smartest president ever... Noemie Emery of the Washington Examiner shares these thoughts:
"Based on results, Perry," who wants to be president, "has been more successful as governor of Texas than Obama has been as president, or as anything else he has ever tried being, in the entire whole course of his life."
In the meantime, Obama has been president for almost three years, has proven to be "the political genius who shed 30 points in his first years in office - blew up his coalition in his first months in office" and "led his party to annihilation in the 2010 midterms."
Oh, and speaking of prophets, Miriam-Webster gives the example that this moniker can also be applied to "an economist who is regarded by many as a reliable prophet of future developments in the global economy."
"We cannot have four more years of these high unemployment rates," Perry said in Austin, Texas. We cannot survive four more years of "the failed stimulus', these record debts, this poor credit... it's time for a change."
Of the United States Economic Confidence and Job Creation Indexes, Gallup says we're at 9 percent and -54 percent respectively.
So what if Perry believes he can win. So what if he likened himself to a prophet. It's a hell of a lot less arrogant than saying, "I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions" and that, by virtue of his election alone he is "absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that - this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal."
Yes, just like Richard Connely, Gov. Rick Perry "is proud of Texas" and of his accomplishments as governor.
However, as Governor of Texas - rather than a Hairballs blogger touting his home girl Beyonce's "specific parts" as Number Five on his list of things that makes Texas great and unlike Barack Obama, who likes to roll up his sleeves and talk about creating jobs that never materialize - Rick Perry likes to brag that his state has created 40 percent of all the jobs in this country since June of 2009... and that the credit rating for the Lone Star State went up.
Top that.
So, how did Rick Perry manage to improve the economic position of Texas while the crushing policies of Barack Obama have wreaked havoc in other states as well as around the globe?
"Don't spend all the money. Keep regulations fair and predictable. Keep taxes as low as possible and then get the government out of the way."
"You can't call yourself a prophet," Cenk Uygur, former "combative" anchor for MSNBC and uber-progressive online talk show host of The Young Turks insists.
Um, according to Miriam-Webster, Mr. Uygur - "Yes we can."
