Rick Perry Implodes. Herman Cain Stays #Winning.

You sorta have to feel for Rick Perry. You really do. The man's not terribly smart, and his relatively solid legislative record is inflated because of the state he just so happens to govern. I mean, seriously, how hard is it to run the state of Texas? With all that oil, it's practically impossible to not have a good economy. Perry is about as responsible for all that low-wage job creation as Adam Morrison was for all those Lakers championships.

Anyways, all this, and George Bush's two inexplicable terms, clearly gassed this guy up to the point that he thought he too could be President. He didn't realize that Bush's "regular guy with regular intelligence" model doesn't work anymore (or does it?) and figured he'd just cruise through those GOP debates. Wrong, of course. After jumping to the top of the polls once he declared, Rick Perry's quest for the White House has been marred by a series of fails, each increasingly more epic than the prior. But his meltdown during Wednesday's debate was so astounding, not only has it probably ethered his campaign, it has journalists scrambling for some scientific explanation for how terrible is was.

It was the Hoover Dam of mental blocks. Pundits referred to it as a “brain freeze” or a “gaffe.” In Internet parlance, it was an “epic FAIL.” But to neuroscientists, what happened to Texas Gov. Rick Perry Wednesday night looked like something very ordinary, exacerbated by stress: a “retrieval failure.”

It happens more often as we age. But the brain scientists say it shouldn’t be seen as evidence of an intellectual deficit or some medical problem. Instead, they say, retrieval failures offer a glimpse into how the brain does and doesn’t work, not just in the skulls of presidential candidates but for everyone else, too.

It’s impossible to know what exactly was happening inside Perry’s head at the Republican presidential debate, and the pundit class will continue to debate whether it was a neurological hiccup or a telling sign of a candidate who doesn’t know his own policies. What’s certain is that, at a crucial moment, on stage, live on national television, Perry could not remember the name of one of the federal agencies he would like to abolish.

Once he started to flounder, he probably found himself entangled with unhelpful thoughts, suggested David Diamond, a behavioral neuroscientist at the University of South Florida. In a stressful moment like this, the mind turns to the consequences of the error, making an elegant recovery all the harder.

“Even though Rick Perry’s life was not being threatened, his brain was responding as if there was a lion in the audience about to pounce on him,” Diamond said. “He’s now got the media pouncing on him.”

Wow, “retrieval failure", huh?



If this was a Obama, they'd call him "dumb", but I get the point. Personally, I don't think this is the sort of thing that should disqualify someone. It was a simple "blackout". It happens to me all the time at work, frequently in front of customers. Since I actually do know what I'm talking about (unlike Perry), occasionally getting stumped as I'm "choosing my words" doesn't seem to kill my credibility. Thus, I've got a little sympathy for Governor GoodHair. Sadly, GOP voters don't seem to. He was already doing Pawlenty numbers before this latest meltdown, it this probably spells the end of the road for The Ricker. Enjoy N*ggerHead, buddy! You'll have plenty of time for huntin' and fishin' there soon.

Oh, and BTW, did Herman Cain get off the hook quickly or what?
Funny how Rick Perry's Epic Fail has totally knocked Daddy Green off Page One. I mean, seriously, dude was damn near looking like Tiger Woods the other day, Perry goes out and freezes up on national TV, and Cain's suddenly old news. He has used this controversy to raise racks on rack on racks in campaign donations, and is still leading the polls in most battleground states. Heck, he's even extending his lead in many polls.

BTW, Cain accuser Karen Kraushaar is now saying that since the two other NRA accusers aren't willing to come forward, she probably will not have that Grope-O-Rama™ joing press conference after all. Give Cain credit for understanding his constituency. Conservatives hate "the lamestream media" even more than they hate sexual harassment. By playing the serial victim, dude has pulled off the amazing feat of getting white folks to side with him, even though he allegedly sexually harassed white women!!!!! That, my friends, is what you call pimpin' the game!

That Cain vs Obama matchup is looking more likely by the day. I told ya'll that brotha was made of Teflon!

Question: Was Perry's gaffe really all that serious? Is Cain the luckiest man alive?