Perry's Problem: He Doesn't Think

(Newser) – Rick Perry officially burst onto the presidential scene just days ago, but he already "clings to an ice floe of diminishing credibility," writes Richard Cohen in the Washington Post: Perry has quickly established himself as "intellectually unqualified to be president," most pointedly when he sided with the 2% of climate experts who question global warming. Trouble is, such beliefs aren’t just "silliness"—they reveal a deeper flaw with Perry as a candidate. His views on climate change don’t come from his examination of the science; they stem from ideology.

Why does he cling to his belief? In this case, writes Cohen, it's because dealing with global warming requires "global programs," and issuing national and international standards is "not, to say the least, very Tea-Partyish." But as we learned from the Iraq war, going with your gut "is a terrifying way to make policy." Perry’s "adamant refusal to come to grips with the realities of global warming are reminiscent of the way Bush marched us into a war that still has not ended," Cohen writes. It’s not Perry’s "thinking I fear. It’s the lack of any at all." Click to read Cohen's entire piece.