Texas accent troubles for Perry?

NY Times:

Sharing a last name with George W. Bush has no doubt contributed to the decision by his younger brother Jeb to stay out of the Republican presidential fray. But can sharing a Texas twang with the last president hurt Gov. Rick Perry’s chances of becoming the next one?

The observation is made frequently, and with remarkable consistency: Mr. Perry sure reminds people of another governor from that state.

“You close your eyes and you say, ‘Wow, I’ve heard this movie before,’ ” said Matthew Dowd, a former strategist to Mr. Bush.

As Mr. Perry worked the room at the Bedford Village Inn after speaking Wednesday at a Politics and Eggs breakfast in New Hampshire, Andrew Smith, an associate professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire, said, “You close your eyes and you can just hear George W. Bush.”

Mr. Bush and Mr. Perry have more than a few surface-level similarities: the cowboy boots, the swagger, the same way of hunching up their necks when they give a “heh-heh” chuckle. They share an I’m-the-Decider confidence and a down-home way of speakin’ that’s heavy on the dropped g’s. (On the campaign trail last week, Mr. Perry frequently warned against "over-taxin’, over-regulatin’ and over-litigatin.’ ”).

Mr. Perry, however, is hardly a natural heir to the Texas Bush legacy or the much-maligned reputation that Mr. Bush left among both Republicans and Democrats. The blue-blooded Bush clan’s dislike of the gun-slinging, coyote-shooting son of tenant farmers runs deep — from the first President George Bush on down to the family’s political Svengali, Karl Rove, to state-level operatives — and Mr. Perry further offended Bush-world when, in recent years, he publicly criticized President George W. Bush on a number of issues, and questioned his fiscal conservatism.

Yet the Texas likenesses could still be an issue for Mr. Perry, particularly to the degree he tries to appeal to the more moderate electorate found in some Northern battleground states like New Hampshire, which gave Senator John McCain a victory in the 2000 Republican presidential primary.

To the degree that conservatives make a psychic or political link between Mr. Perry and Mr. Bush, could also undercut Mr. Perry’s otherwise solid appeal to members of the Tea Party movement, many of whom feel that Mr. Bush betrayed their principles by becoming a big-government conservative.

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As someone who likes both guys, I have trouble seeing the similarities. I don't think they talk that much alike, and they certainly have different political approaches. Perry is clearly more conservative and is much less likely to try to cut a deal with liberals and to some extent moderates. They are both likable to non liberals.

As a Texan, I do not think they sound that much alike. Perry has a more fluid speaking style and can be more animated. Bush sometimes sounds kind of clipped.

it is not a bad thing for the Perry campaign that some on the Bush team are critical. That provides a degree of separation that goes against the theme of some in this article. The mean spirited tone of some of the comments is jarring, but Gov. Perry knows he is going to be criticized by political opponents, and the Democrats are already unleashing their mean spirited attacks. I think he will ignore both and stay on message.