Easy as 1, 2, 3: Rick Perry and Self-Deprecation as Image Restoration

During the Republican primary debates for the 2012 presidential election, there were numerous opportunities for the candidates to present their agendas and policies alongside their criticisms of the Obama administration to increase their standing in the eyes of the voters. During these debates, some candidates display their public speaking prowess, while others display their lack thereof. Some even suffer from notable gaffes that often result in instances of apologia. For the public, these gaffes are perhaps just as important as the agendas and policies of the candidates. Not every voter has the expertise to understand the nuances of a candidate’s foreign and domestic policy, but most have the ability to understand that when a candidate misstates a common fact or forgets their points, the candidate is not as strong as those who have a mastery of the facts and their own policies. 1 These gaffes therefore require image restoration, which is the focus of this essay. Using Rick Perry as an example, we claim that self-deprecating humor can be an effective strategy for image restoration. To make this argument we first review the generic approach to image restoration. Second, we provide an overview of Rick Perry’s debate flub on November 9, 2011. Using the Perry example, we then argue that humor can be an image restoration strategy.