Perry: all hat and no brain

the LA Times says rick perry lacks subtlety, a trait is says is highlighted in yesterday's remarks about the FED and ben bernanke:

Rick Perry takes early shot at Federal Reserve chairman [Video] - latimes.com: "But Perry has never been known for his campaign subtlety and said more such easing would be a form of politics designed to help President Obama in 2012. He then donned his rhetorical 10-gallon hat and political spurs to lash into Bernanke.

“If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I don’t know what you all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas,” Perry said, presenting the kind of tough guy image that goes with being a straight shooter the Lone Star state."

i see the second coming of dubya, with the same type of knee-slapping, good-old-boyism that resonates with our not very bright, typical wide-screen watching, beer-swilling republican voter.

what's notable here is not so much the charge of "treason" against bernanke, if he should so much as think about printing more money, is the way perry is horning in on good ol' irreproachable ron paul, the patron saint of honest-money libertarianism with a dash of social conservatism.

of course, perry isn't bashing the FED per se. he just doesn't want bernanke -- a registered republican -- to do anything that might benefit obama's reelection. the GOP has been steadfast in one thing, and one thing only: denying obama anything that might resemble a positive accomplishment.

so while he's stealing some of paul's rhetoric, he's not above the use of the FED if it serves GOP purposes generally -- for example, the collusion of dubya and allen greenspan to keep interest rates historically low after 9/11. this not only provided stimulus for dubya's otherwise flailing reelection campaign, but fueled the housing bubble which ultimately crashed the banking sector in 2008.

so when it comes to gaming the FED for political advantage, the charges of treason ought to be subject to a bit of introspection on perry's part -- and yet, as the mindless partisan tool he is, such intellectual or ethical exercises are beyond the ken for midgets like the current crop of US politicians -- incumbent and aspiring both.