Rick Perry flubs Occupy Toronto quote, speech
CBC News
Posted: Nov 1, 2011 12:30 PM ET
Last Updated: Nov 2, 2011 11:35 AM ET
Straying from his normally composed and collected delivery, U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry larded a 23-minute speech to New Hampshire conservatives with facial contortions, wisecracks and words like "dude" and "awesome" on Friday.
It was just the latest in a string of goof-ups, including a campaign appearance the same day where he tried to slag the burgeoning Occupy movement by quoting a Toronto activist mentioned in a Globe and Mail story.
Unbeknownst to Perry, however, the article was a satire and the activist, a fiction.
Video of both incidents has gone viral. Perry's bizarre speech has rightist American publications speculating whether the Texas governor was intoxicated, and whether the incident will derail his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination like Howard Dean's 2004 run for the Democratic nod was scuttled by his emphatic exclamation at a rally in Iowa.
Once considered a top contender for his party's candidacy, Perry has seen his poll numbers dwindle in the last two months following a series of widely criticized debate performances.
In Iowa, the first state to hold a primary or caucus in the presidential electoral cycle, the latest poll has him in fifth place, well behind Georgia businessman Herman Cain and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Canadian Pacific strikers face back-to-work legislation
- Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is prepared to end the Canadian Pacific Railway strike if necessary, after both CP and the union rejected a proposal for voluntary arbitration by the government-appointed negotiator on Sunday. Raitt says she is "extremely disappointed." more »
- Quebec students and province to resume talks
- Quebec's university student federation has confirmed negotiations between student leaders and the provincial government will resume Monday afternoon. more »
- Syrian regime denies role in Houla massacre
- The UN Security Council condemned the Syrian regime at an emergency meeting Sunday, holding president Bashar al-Assad's military responsible for the massacre of more than 100 people, dozens of whom were children younger than 10 years old. more »
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- Neighbour may have helped find missing kids in Mexico
- Two Winnipeg children who had been missing for nearly four years were found in Mexico after a man raised concerns about his neighbour, according to a private investigator. more »
Latest World News Headlines
- Egypt presidential candidates allege vote fraud
- Three top candidates in Egypt's presidential race have filed appeals to the election commission, alleging violations in the first round vote that they say could change the outcome. more »
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- IMF chief blasted for chastising Greeks on tax evasion
- International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde is backtracking from recent remarks that she has more sympathy for poor African children than Greeks suffering under the country's economic problems and austerity measures. more »
- Nepal PM calls new elections after constitution failure
- Nepal's prime minister called new elections for November after the term of the Constituent Assembly expired at midnight Sunday without political leaders completing the task of writing a new constitution. more »
Dispatches »
- Foreign slaves serving the U.S. military machine May. 24, 2012 3:33 PM How does a hairdresser recruited for work in Dubai, wind up slaving for the U.S. military in a war zone in Iraq? There are tens of thousands serving in what's come to be known as America's "Invisible Army."
Connect Newsroom Blog
Etan Patz, Brian Banks & 50 Shades of Grey May. 25, 2012 8:56 PM On his first full day of his new life, former football star Brian Banks joins us live.
- Seniors float above Montreal's Quartier Latin
- Accused in blast that killed Alberta mom handled her funds
- Remains found in bag on Cape Breton river ID'd
- Neighbour may have helped find missing kids in Mexico
- Quebec students and province to resume talks
- Lip-dub marriage proposal an internet hit
- Syrian regime denies role in Houla massacre
- B.C. NDP calls for unity in fighting coast guard closure
- Canadian Pacific strikers face back-to-work legislation
