“Here
we go again [...] So please, heed this advice. Rick Perry, as you have
no doubt already discovered, is not the easiest man to write about. He
is secretive and leery of the media (sometimes to the point of
hostility), and he has a strategically valuable knack for being
underestimated by his critics. I have been writing about him since the
eighties, when he began his career in the Texas Legislature. Along the
way I have learned a few things, which I have arranged in this handy
list of Eight Points to Keep in Mind When Writing About Rick Perry. [Texas
Montly] |
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“
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(I've included item titles only)
1. Perry is not
George Bush.
2. It’s not a big deal
that
Perry was once a Democrat.
3. Perry is cannier
than you
think he is.
4. Texas is not a
“weak
governor” state.
5. Perry is not a male
hair
model.
6. Perry is from the
middle of
nowhere.
7. Perry is an Aggie.
8. Don’t discount the luck factor.
So there you have it. In closing, I would like to
request that you please do your best to avoid tin-ear clichés about
barbecue, cattle, oil, football, and the Alamo. Remember, this is an
urban state of 25 million people. We don’t go to sleep at night
dreaming of William Barret Travis drawing a line in the sand. We do
admire our rural history, as this month’s cover attests, but our
vitality is in the cities. Enjoy your visit, best of luck, and please
get it right this time.
Yours truly,
Paul Burka
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I imagine I'm not the
first person to grin at the juxtaposition of "Our Heroes Have Always Been Cowgirls,"
and the Rick Perry
blurb. Still, this story can only help Perry if
enough non-Texans read it. Thanks mary.
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