Rick Perry went on the Tonight Show last night, with Jay Leno, slipping easily into the conversational format of the show and comfortably discussing his gaffes and his plans for America.
When asked why he slipped up on the voting age during a campaign event in New Hampshire, Perry replied, “I was thinking drinking age, maybe . . . everybody has to have an excuse right? So that’s mine and I’m sticking to it.”
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When Leno asked Perry about his idea for a part-time Congress, when Congress couldn’t even get anything done full time, Perry responded.
“If this is what we get for full-time Congress, if this is what we get with the $174,000 a year, if this is what we get for getting inside information and going and then making money off the stock market, how about let’s just cut their salaries at least in half, cut their staff in half, let them go spend half time back home with a real job, working like everybody else does,” he said to applause from the audience.
Perry generously responded to the recent allegations against Herman Cain, suggesting that Cain have a long conversation with his family and with his supporters.
When Leno asked Perry whether the personal lives of candidates mattered in the campaign, he responded:
“Yeah. I think it matters. I think the issue is what are your values? Are you going to stand up and run as a faith-based individual, if you’re going run on a set of values. and then you’re — people hate hypocrites.” he said, “I think that’s the big issue, and you know, I’ve been in public service for 20-plus years and my life has been an open book.”
Perry also talked about social security being a Ponzi scheme (remember those days?) telling the Leno, age 61, that Social Security would be there for him, but not for actress Melissa McCarthy, who is 41. (If he was bold, he would have suggested that wealthy TV hosts and actors, don’t really need Social Security)
Perry suggested that Americans should have more control over their Social Security plans, being allowed to put it in a private account. Leno suggested that perhaps people were not responsible enough to control their own accounts.
“It’s better than letting the government keep it.” Perry shot back, followed by applause from the audience.
