Texas Governor Rick Perry slammed President Barack Obama Thursday in a speech at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Thursday.
The former Republican presidential candidat used some of the rhetoric from Hollywood star Clint Eastwood’s Chrysler ad that ran during halftime of the Super Bowl.
During halftime of the Super Bowl, Chrysler ran an ad featuring Mr. Eastwood, essentially promoting Chrysler’s usage of bailout funds showing how they have been able to restore their factories in Detroit and have not had to fire many employees.
The “Dirty Harry” star’s signature line in the commercial was to compare halftime in the Super Bowl to the current state of the U.S. economy. His message was meant to say that it is currently “halftime in America too,” in an effort to motivate Americans to keep working hard to help with the recovery of the economy.
The commercial was seen as a pro-Obama ad by many conservative figures after it aired.
During his appearance at the CPAC event Thursday, Mr. Perry mocked the president by using some of Mr. Eastwood’s words from the commercial.
“If it’s halftime in America, then I’m fearful what the final score is going to be if we let this president start the second half,” said Mr. Perry.
Mr. Perry’s speech was reminiscent of some of the rhetoric that he used along the campaign trail and in presidential debates while he was still in the primary race.
The Texas governor made a football reference during a debate in Iowa, stating that he wanted to be the “Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses.”
The Texas Republican dropped out of the race prior to the South Carolina Republican primary election and endorsed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Mr. Perry also commented on the competitive nature of the Republican primary race thus far.
“This election, is not about economic misery or runaway spending, but about what kind of leadership replaces Obama. We must stop pretending that the main goal of Republican governance is doing the the same thing as Democrats but spending less,” said Mr. Perry.
Mr. Perry is one of several former Republican candidates that has been selected as a guest speaker at the CPAC event.
Former Republican presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain were also in attendance at the CPAC conference.
Current Republican candidates Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Mr. Gingrich will give speeches at the event Friday.
