Today’s lead Politico article titled “Is Rick Perry Dumb?” is yet another indication of the heightened scrutiny the Texas governor will undergo in his new role as the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. Despite the inflammatory headline, this piece doesn’t provide much fodder for the debate about Perry. Yet in the coming weeks and months, as every thing he has ever done or said will be examined with a fine tooth comb, we can expect that critics — and Democrats doing opposition research — will jump on any indication he is not a genius or lacks interest in policy. By contrast, his loyalists will be working hard to dismiss this line of inquiry while railing at the bias of the mainstream media and liberal elitism.
But the really interesting question this line of attack raises is not whether Perry has a high enough IQ to be president. Whether you love him or hate him, it’s fairly obvious after more than a decade as governor of Texas, he clearly knows how to govern. What the attacks on his intelligence will show us is not how smart he is but whether he has the temperament to run for national office. What Perry is undergoing is what I like to call the Ronald Reagan test.
Though even liberals now read Reagan’s letters and speeches and marvel at how literate and thoughtful he was, in his day, the 40th president was widely denounced as an “amiable dunce” by Washington insiders and liberal pundits. The contempt for Reagan from our cultural elites and the media was enormous. Yet Reagan never stooped to bitter counter-attacks against those who slurred him. He smiled, rose above it and simply stayed on message. His grace, good humor and sunny personality inspired trust just as much as his trenchant critiques of liberalism. Against him, the “stupid” argument simply failed on its merits, a result that left his political enemies deeply frustrated.
This is a test other conservatives have undergone sometimes with notably less favorable results. Sarah Palin is just the most famous example of a conservative politician who failed the Reagan test. Faced with a harsh press and liberal contempt, she not only failed to rise above her critics, Palin’s angry reactions and foolish comments wound up confirming some of the public’s suspicions about her failings.
Passing the Reagan test means not only must a conservative have the self-control to avoid lashing out at foes but also the self confidence to understand such attacks can’t hurt them. They must also have a sufficiently broad view of the political world to understand playing only to one’s core supporters — who will inevitably cheer bitter ripostes at unfair jibes — is not in their best long term interests.
Rick Perry’s intelligence isn’t going to be a major issue in 2012. After all, common sense is more important to being a good president than advanced degrees or even top grades in college. The real measure of his ability to be elected and to be successful after he is sworn in will be whether he passes the Ronald Reagan test by ignoring and even laughing off personal attacks.
