Rick Perry’s Economic Record, in a Cartoon?

One of the key challenges for candidates who are polling near the bottom of the pack is finding a way to draw attention to their message and record. With fourteen candidates (and counting) on the GOP side, former Texas Governor Rick Perry has found one innovative and original way to break through the clutter – a cartoon explaining economic freedom and Texas. The Washington Examiner reports:

Watch Rick Perry use animation to explain economic freedom

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry released an animated video that highlights Texas' economic record under the governor's leadership.

The video, titled, "Economic Freedom: An Animation," features a man driving by signs sporting President Obama's campaign slogans and listening to gloomy news reports on the radio. Eventually the protagonist flees to Texas where his standing of living appears to markedly improve.

While the video may target younger voters — the main character eats a meal straight from the microwave, and relies on a smartphone — the video's subtle references hearken back to an older generation. As the Dallas Morning News noted, the video "uses such touchstones as the 'Wizard of Oz,' 'Jeopardy!,' 'I Love Lucy,' 'Cheers,' and 'Wheel of Fortune.'"

...As Perry fights to make it to the debate stage alongside the 14 other major Republican candidates for president, his Beavis-and-Butthead-style cartoon may be designed to reach voters that may not have otherwise given him a second glance.

The video is a little over three minutes long and, arguably, makes its points quickly and easily, and most importantly for a candidate lagging in the polls, memorably. The video is here: Rick Perry Economic Freedom Animation (the video does include a donation solicitation at the end, which Leadership Project for America neither endorses or opposes).