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‘Learning Curve’ as Rick Perry Pursues a Job He Initially Misunderstood.” New York Times
"When President-elect Donald J. Trump offered Rick Perry the job of energy secretary five weeks ago, Mr. Perry gladly accepted, believing he was taking on a role as a global ambassador for the American oil and gas industry that he had long championed in his home state. In the days after, Mr. Perry, the former Texas governor, discovered that he would be no such thing — that in fact, if confirmed by the Senate, he would become the steward of a vast national security complex he knew almost nothing about, caring for the most fearsome weapons on the planet, the United States’ nuclear arsenal"
The media quickly picked up on it.
Trump offered Rick Perry a job neither one of them understood - MSNBC
Report: Perry Misunderstood Cabinet Job - Daily Beast
Rick “Learning Curve” Perry Didn't Know What the Energy Department Does - Slate Magazine
Energy Secretary Nominee Rick Perry Reportedly Didn't Realize He Would Be in Charge of America's Nukes - Vanity Fair
Energy Secretary Nominee Rick Perry Might Have Misunderstood the Job - New York Magazine
Rick Perry: Energy Secretary nominee didn't know his job would involve managing nuclear weapon stockpile - The Independent
Nominee Rick Perry is just finding out what Department of Energy does - NOLA
Now Rick Perry was an obvious target for this kind of smear. The smear depends on the idea that Rick Perry is stupid. Trump is incompetent for naming him. And it's time to bring back Obama and Moniz, who lied for Obama about the Iran nuke sellout.
But... wait a minute.
A New York Times report on the eve of Rick Perry's confirmation hearing for Secretary of Energy Wednesday alleged that the former Texas governor had only recently discovered that the job largely involves nuclear issues. But Perry acknowledged in 2014 that the Department of Energy is responsible for overseeing the country's nuclear arsenal.
But let's take a step back.
Rick Perry was a successful, by all accounts, governor of a huge state. The media would have people believe that Perry not only had no idea what the DOE does, despite its intersection with his areas of responsibility, but that he didn't bother to find out before accepting the appointment.
The two don't align very well.
To believe the media narrative, you have to also assume that the man they're talking about would have trouble tying his shoes. It doesn't translate very well to an allegation about a successful executive who oversaw one of the country's biggest success stories. But it's easy enough to believe that Rick Perry is a moron if you live in a coastal bubble and your only exposure to him, if any, was on Letterman or Dancing with the Stars.
And this is one reason why Fake News happens. Much of the media has so much contempt and distance from conservatives that they are willing to believe any lie.