Governor Goodhair Rick Perry’s Spicoli Moment

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

There has been quite a "buzz" about Governor Goodhair Rick Perry’s unusually expressive 2012 speech in New Hampshire last week. One pundit whose name I do not recall now described it as Rick Perry's "Spicoli Moment."

For those of you too young to remember, Jeff Spicoli is the stoner character in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). Here is a clip of Spicoli highlights.

The late night comics have had a field day with Rick Perry’s unusually expressive speech:

During his remarks at the Cornerstone Action Dinner in Manchester, the Republican presidential candidate seemed to titter at his own jokes, gesticulate wildly, make odd facial expressions and go off on strange tangents.

At one point he said he hoped his audience had gold stored in their backyards because "if they print any more money over there in Washington, then gold's gonna be good."

In another quip, Perry riffed on the New Hampshire state motto.

"This is such a cool state. I mean come on. 'Live free or die.' You got to love that right?" said Perry. "I come from a state you know where they have this little place called the Alamo and they declared, 'Victory or death.' We're kind of into those slogans, man: 'Live free or die.' 'Victory or death.' Bring it."

Later, Perry seems to overreact with delight when his hosts presented him with a bottle of maple syrup.

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late-night talk show hosts ridiculed Perry's remarks.

"Best case scenario: That dude's hammered," said the Daily Show's Jon Stewart. "Worst case scenario: That is Perry sober, and every time we've seen him previously, he's been hammered."

"How many think it's Rick Perry?" asked Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show." "How many think it's Charlie Sheen?"

A video from the speech has been viewed more than 475,000 times since being uploaded to You Tube on Saturday. While the video has been edited, at least some people who attended the speech affirmed its portrayal of Perry's performance.

Here is the full uncut version.