A lot is being written today about the evolving political battle between Governor Rick Perry and Congressman Ron Paul. Most of the reporting has been quite fair on the surface; in fact, I have no direct objection to anything I have read or heard so far. But it seems to me the media are missing an important aspect of the story. It would serve them well to consider the film The Big Lebowski.
The Big Lebowski centers around a modern gentleman of leisure, Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, played masterfully by Jeff Bridges. After someone steals his favorite rug, the Dude is lured into a scheme involving a very wealth man who shares the same last name. At first The Dude approaches this as he approaches nearly everything, with minimal concern. He is an individual and does not like being drawn into other people's problems. But the Dude is manipulated by Lebowski and his associates, and soon finds himself in the middle of a kidnapping, just by trying to recover his rug and return to his favorite hobby: bowling.
Eventually The Dude has enough and stands up to his quasi-doppleganger.
The Dude, speaking to Lebowski: Let me explain something to you. Um, I am not "Mr. Lebowski". You're Mr. Lebowski. I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
I mention this in the context of the Paul-Perry dispute, because we have reached a moment in the campaign where finally, despite all of his libertarian, let the natural law take its course tendencies (and just all around niceness), Ron Paul has gone on the attack. Just like The Dude, there is a certain point where Ron Paul just isn't going to be ignored anymore.
Perhaps listening to Perry lift his End the Fed speech was the breaking point.
Paul's decision to attack is a story. And kudos to the press- they're reporting on it. But it's only half the story. The media loves highlighting attack ads. They are doing a decent job of covering that aspect of this part of the campaign.
But they are missing the other story. Like a Coen Brothers film, this thing looks simple from afar but up close is surprisingly complex. If a movie review simply reported The Dude stood up for himself and got his rug back, the reader would never understand the greater issues at play. It's the same with the Perry-Paul War. The real story is that Rick Perry has snapped back at Ron Paul. The fact that one of the other leading candidates, indeed the leading candidate per the latest polls, feels threatened by Ron Paul's advertisement can only bode well for the Paul campaign.
This is a major development in this race but the media, so far, has failed to note its significance. Paul obviously went after Perry because he feels he can steal support from his fellow Texan. Perry choose not to address the allegation (that Perry endorsed Al Gore in a 1988 run for president) but instead to counter-attack Paul (questioning Paul's GOP bona fides). If Perry were not concerned about losing support to Paul he would have simply ignored the ad, or merely addressed the Gore endorsement. Instead he sought to strike back, and his compulsion to do so, is the real story here.
(If you're tracking this convoluted metaphor, you know now that The Dude is the Ron Paul campaign and Lebowski is Rick Perry and company.)
The Big Lebowski was released in 1998, but only gained the exceptional acclaim it enjoys today when it hit home entertainment systems in subsequent years. Before that it was admired to a degree, but never really taken seriously. Most respectable movie critics thought it at first silly and simplistic and unworthy of more than a polite nod. In the end of the Coen Brothers story, The Dude wins and Lebowski ends up on the floor in tears. But only after a series of complications and unexpected developments. I don't know how this campaign will play out. But the recent change in tone toward the Paul campaign is notable- and the fact that the media hasn't caught it yet is as well.
Sensible libertarian views on nearly everything- except foreign affairs.