We've all heard that you get only one chance to make a good first impression. Unfortunately for Rick Perry, he blew that chance.Perry was in the catbird seat. He entered the race as the front runner at 38% in some polls. By contrast Romney has barely gotten to 30% on a couple of occasions and usually polls in the mid to low 20's according to RealClearPolitics averages. Due in large measure (in my humble opinion) to Perry being a Texas governor with a good record (and maybe a little nostalgia for GWB), Perry looked like the man with the plan.
Can he "reboot"? Are we going to see Perry 2.0 turn things around and win the nomination? Not likely. In politics as well as business damaged brands are damaged brands. Once a product/company/politician, whatever, has been established in the consumer's mind as "damaged" it is nearly impossible to regain market share. It can happen, but almost never does.
Gov. Perry was on Fox this morning and he's a likable guy with some good ideas. I like him and would vote for him, but it's over. He's damaged goods.
He's still likeable - more-so than Mitt - but I agree he's come across poorly at this point, with no time to repair or reboot.
ReplyDeleteI think his best bet is to get some campaign trail experience on the national stage, get a dose of humility and come back in 2016, 2020 and let the critics say "He wasn't ready for prime time then. He is now."
He can also serve the party by floating trial balloons on policy and letting them become part of the debate.
That's a good brand story. But he can't get caught looking like a birther, can't have any questionable financial dealings, and can't have a hunting camp with a racially-charged (however historic) name.
Might take more than 1 or 2 cycles...
I saw that Fox interview and found him appealing (and capable) too - he should have done the Sunday shows right out of the gate instead of introducing himself to the electorate at the debates. If he'd entered the race earlier he may have had time to iron out the problems, but it's too late.
ReplyDeleteWhy write him off so soon? They wrote Harry Truman off early too!
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