Further evidence that many Republicans are still hoping for a Superhero Candidate to swoop in to save the day and don't think Rick Perry is the one: For our weekly poll question (results in tonight's paper), we asked readers for their GOP candidate preferences, listing the three front-runners (Perry, Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann) and "Someone else" as the fourth choice. Perry got the most of those listed with 29 percent, but the clear winner with 42 percent was "Someone else." The readers who made that choice were all over the place in their comments, but two candidates tied for the most votes: Jon Huntsman and Sarah Palin. Not exactly a unified discontent.
In case you doubt that Perry is officially the front-runner nationwide, by the way, consider the fact that the "Is Rick Perry dumb?" iteration of the obligatory "conservatives aren't like us" sneer is already under way:
Doubts about Perry's intellect have hounded him since he was first elected as a state legislator nearly three decades ago. In Austin, he's been derided as a right-place, right-time pol who looks the part but isn't so deep
Comments
His anti-evolution stance makes him a non-starter to me. Anyone who thinks that the scientific case for creationism is anywhere near the scientific case for evolution such that they should both be taught on an equal footing in a public science class shows a serious lack of critical thinking skills.
The best case scenario is that he's pandering to a core constituency that lacks those critical thinking skills. But, that's not a good best case scenario.
Although I generally vote for the other party, it's a bit painful to see the Grand Old Party undergoing such a profound split.
Whether they nominate an anti-intellectual such as Perry, Bachmann or Palin, or a moderate, such as Huntsman or Romney, the other faction may very well run a third-party candidate. That never seems to work well.
As a political junkie, I'd much rather see a fair fight between two qualified, intelligent nominees, with no interference from fanatics of any political stripe.