Bill Clinton Thinks Rick Perry Is Crazy

I love Bill Clinton.  I loved him during his presidency and I love him now.

I took the weekend off.  I needed it.  I've been working nonstop since my brother's death and hadn't taken any "me-time," so with this past weekend's Pride festivities in Eugene, I took the opportunity to put the laptop down and get some fresh air.  Thus, I missed Rick Perry's announcement that he would be running for President:  

Speaking to a crowded hotel ballroom of conservative bloggers and more than 100 members of the media in South Carolina, the Texas governor unveiled a new tagline of his presidential contest: "It is time to get America working again." 

"'That's why, with the support of my family and unwavering belief in the goodness of America, I declare to you today as a candidate for president of the United States," he said. 

Perry's remarks focused squarely on America's economic situation, and he held the Obama administration flatly responsible for sluggish job growth and the recent downgrade of the country's credit rating by Standard and Poor's.

So the GOP clown car has gained another member, and it's one of my favorite examples of hypocrisy and religious extremism.  Not only is he pandering to the right-wing set, having headlined the Response and given legitimacy to the insane rantings of hate groups such as the American Family Association, he is running on a "small federal government" platform.  It's one he's espoused before, back when the Obama Administration was handing out stimulus money and shoring up state governments.  He said "no way!" to the money publicly, then accepted federal aid on the sly, then claimed he single-handedly balanced the Texas budget himself.

I've kept track of his nonsense for a while, thus earning him the moniker "Ricky Hypocrite" on this blog.  Well, I'm not the only one calling him crazy, with former President and all-around badass Bill Clinton decrying the foundation blocks of Perry's campaign as unrealistic.

"I got tickled by watching Governor Perry announce for governor, for president," Clinton said -- perhaps stumbling a bit in the wind-up of a joke. "He's a good looking rascal." 

The former president elaborated: "And he's saying 'Oh, I'm going to Washington to make sure that the federal government stays as far away from you as possible -- while I ride on Air Force One and that Marine One helicopter and go to Camp David and travel around the world and have a good time.' I mean, this is crazy.

I love Slick Willie.