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DEL.ICIO.USMary Perdue: The star of her husband’s campaign
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Republican incumbent Sonny Perdue has another TV ad up. And again it features his wife Mary. She’s the main character, speaking directly to the camera. She endorses her husband’s character, ending with: “We’d be honored to serve you again for the next four years.”
Why the Perdue campaign has taken this tack is clear. It’s a threefer.
You boost Sonny Perdue’s warm-and-fuzzy numbers.
You get an attractive, soothing female to smooth over any doubts raised by Democrat Mark Taylor about Perdue’s Florida land deal and the accompanying tax break passed by the Legislature.
And you reinforce the split between Taylor and the women of Georgia.
In the past, candidates for governor in Georgia have been very protective in the way they’ve featured their spouses in campaigns. Usually, they’re no more than a bit of stock footage in a commercial.
Here’s the question, and the risk for the Perdue campaign: When the First Lady of Georgia steps out to reassure voters about her husband’s character, when Mary Perdue declares that attacks on her husband’s business interests are “a shame,” does it become fair to ask her specifics about how she came by this knowledge?
Comments
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By Paul
October 23, 2006 8:04 AM | Link to this
Since when did “being fair� enter into the “Atlanta Journal-Constitution� (AJC) work ethic? My guess is that the answer to AJC’s question “does it become fair to ask her specifics about how she came by this knowledge?� might well be “I’ve been sleeping with the guy for a hell of a lot of years!� Gees, where are you coming from? What kind of an answer do you expect. Don’t your reporters know how to get the answers?
Why is not the AJC asking significant questions? Are you afraid that you might have to print something good about a Republican? The Governor replied to Mark Taylor’s assertion that what he signed related to a Federal requirement and that GA was only one of a few states that had not already done it. Nowhere have I seen any challenge to his claim. Taylor is now spending all of his advertising money making this assertion over and over. Does he not have anything else? Can’t he think of anything good to say about himself other than how well he eats?
It is pleasing to see political ads that make you feel good about a person.
By GLC
October 23, 2006 9:24 AM | Link to this
Perdue’s use of his wife, the First Lady of Georgia, to deflect attacks on his business interests and the customized $100,000.00 State tax break he got from the Florida land deal is just another example of how far he will go to use people and groups for his political ends. There is really no shame in his game.
The First Lady, a gentle, dignified, and caring soul happens to be married to a Governor, who, for good reason, is modest about the accomplisments of his first term. Among other questionable dealings, his term as Governor has been distinguished by being the first to be fined almost $20,000.00 for ethics violations. While standing by her man is laudable, it does not exempt Ms. Perdue from having to explain the variance between her efforts to reassure voters about her husband’s character and the known facts. This is especially the case when Ms. Perdue declares that attacks on her husband’s business interests and ethics are “a shame.â€? After all, she is not only using her position as spouse, but also First Lady of Georgia to do so. Accordingly, no public official, male or female, is beyond accountability.
Women voters are analytical beings, forward thinkers, and the November 7 outcome will demonstrate that they are far ahead of Perdue’s game.