SALON

Friday, Aug 5, 2011 12:30 PM UTC

If it walks like a W and talks like a W …

Does Rick Perry sound too much like George W. Bush to be elected president?

By

Topics: 2012 Elections, War Room, George W. Bush, Rick Perry,

If it walks like a W and talks like a W ...Former president Bush, right, speaks to reporters as Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks on during their visit to the Laredo Border Patrol Sector Headquarters near the U.S.-Mexico border in Laredo, Texas, Tuesday, June 6, 2006.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks increasingly likely to jump into the presidential race, and he has already been at pains to distance himself from the man he served in the late 1990s as lieutenant governor: George W. Bush.

But there’s one potential problem here. To many people, Perry’s Texas twang sounds eerily like Bush’s. Indeed, Perry’s hometown of Paint Creek is not so far from Bush’s childhood home of Midland. But, unlike Bush, who left the state for Andover and Yale and Harvard, Perry never left Texas.

Here’s a taste of Perry’s speaking style:

And here’s Bush:

Third-tier candidate Gary Johnson quipped the other day that Perry sounds like “he’s doing a parody of George Bush. And I was looking around to see if anyone else saw the humor in that. And it wasn’t. It was just the way that he talked.”

For an informed take on all this, I spoke to Allan Metcalf, an English professor at MacMurray College and author of “Presidential Voices: Speaking Styles From George Washington to George W. Bush.”

To my Yankee ears, Perry’s speaking style sounds a lot like George W. Bush’s sounded. What do you hear in it?

In terms of pronunciation, instead of the Northern long “i” he says “ah.” So “like” is “lahke.” And “guy” is “gah.” That’s a typical Southern and Southwestern pronunciation in contrast to the rest of the country. He also has a little bit of uptalk in his intonation, ending in a rising voice and making some of his statements sounding a bit like a question. That’s sometimes a Southern thing. Bush did that a little as well. I think Perry has more of a Southern pronunciation than George W. Bush did. I don’t remember the “ah” sound coming out so clearly instead of “i” in Bush’s speech. But generally Perry does sound Texas like George W. Bush.

Perry was of course George W. Bush’s lieutenant governor in the late 1990s. Are there other areas in which their speaking styles are similar or different?

 

In my book I say that there are two ways of sounding presidential. One way is to be distinguished and elevated, starting with the example set by George Washington and his immediate successors, who were highly educated and very well spoken. That tradition also goes up to the present with someone like Barack Obama, who has a rather well-spoken, high-end style. But then also, going way back to Andrew Jackson, is the notion that the president should sound like a man of the people. George W. Bush particularly made a point of sounding down-to-earth rather than elevated. I was impressed in the CBN excerpt [above] by the way Perry on the one hand sounded down-to-earth — he used “snitch” and “kinda” — but on the other he was talking about “laboratories for innovation” and clearly in command of dignified language as well.

Bush had just the down-to-earth style. It appears that Perry has both that and the educated and thoughtful style. That ought to serve him well.

 

A lot of Northern liberals hated listening to Bush speak. What are the connotations of this speaking style in the South versus the North?

The interesting thing is that until the mid- or even late-20th century, it appeared that someone with a Southern way of speaking wouldn’t have too much of a chance of being president. But I don’t think liberals were unhappy with Jimmy Carter’s Southern way of speaking, or Clinton’s. In recent years things have really opened up in terms of the particular regional accent presidential candidates have. You can be from anywhere and it won’t necessarily be held against you. I think voters still want a president who is down-to-earth and also one who can be dignified. But there’s no longer a stigma against being a Southerner.

If Perry’s speech specifically evokes George W. Bush in voters’ ears, would that be potentially problematic?

On the one hand, he sounds even more folksy in his accent than Bush, but on the other he doesn’t tangle up his words. Even Bush’s supporters were a little embarrassed about how he would fumble. It’s pretty clear that Perry has a much better command of the language. Bush didn’t command it so much as get chased by it.

Justin Elliott

Justin Elliott is a reporter for ProPublica. You can follow him on Twitter @ElliottJustin More Justin Elliott.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 52 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
The full Bank of America whistleblower details (affidavits)
329 points330 points | 7 comments
vote
Study: Young people are more liberal than they think they are.
64 points65 points | 22 comments
vote
How cash secretly rules surveillance policy: Today's congressional hearing was a joke. The reason: Firms like Booz Allen bankroll and own Congress. Here's how
40 points41 points | 6 comments
vote
The internal war between House Oversight Committee chair Darrell Issa and ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings blew up again Tuesday, when Cummings released the full transcript of a five-hour interview with the conservative Republican IRS screening manager.
40 points41 points | 6 comments
vote
Virginia Man Pleads Guilty To Forging Newt Gingrich Primary Signatures: Adam Ward pleaded guilty to 36 counts of voter fraud and perjury
40 points41 points | 2 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations